Supporting Blended Learning Using Mobile Instant Messaging Application: Its Effectiveness and Limitations

This paper discusses the effectiveness of mobile instant messaging (MIM) Line in supporting a blended learning model and elaborates students' opinion regarding the limitations of the MIM. A total of 62 pre-service physics teachers were enrolled in an introductory physics course. Line-supported blended learning was implemented in an experiment group whereas learning management system (LMS)-based blended learning was as the control group. Data were collected through test, questionnaire, and interview. The test and questionnaire consisted of 20 multiple choice questions and five open-ended questions, respectively. Meanwhile, the interview was a semi-structured interview performed through a focus group interview. The analysis results have given the information that there is no significant difference in the overall improvement of learning outcomes between the two groups. However, students in experiment group have significantly higher improvement of analysis skills than their counterparts in control group.