STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD THE USE OF M-LEARNING - A STUDY IN THE BULGARIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

The training of future teachers in informatics and information technologies is a process that is related not only to their fundamental theoretical and practical training. An essential part of their scientific training is the mastering of methodologies for the study of current pedagogical problems. Under the guidance of lecturers, the future teachers are encouraged to formulate these problems, to explore them with appropriate methods, to reflect on the results obtained from the research, and to implement approaches to solving the case studies in their practice as a trainee teacher. One such case is the use of smart phones in the formal education of students in the Bulgarian secondary schools. To find a solution to this problem we (the team of lecturers and university students at Ruse University) are using the following methods: We clarify the essence of the term m-learning We have announced a multimedia presentation competition on the topic "How do I study with my smart phone" in order to explore the m-learning needs of high school learners. The competition was aimed at students from 8th to 12th grade from the Bulgarian secondary schools The topic has provoked the interest of many individual and group participants who have sent their presentations We have analyzed their experience and preferences regarding the use smart phones in the learning process We categorized fields for the use of mobile phones in the training process We have created educational resources suitable for mobile devices for the IT course in these fields In conclusion, we discuss the benefits of using mobile devices for positive emotional motivation of students in the implementation of blended learning and achieving better learning outcomes.