Mastering Mobile Learning

Chapter 15Unique Affordances of Mobile Learning

Gary Woodill

The concept of an affordance was first coined by psychologist James J. Gibson in his 1977 article, “The Theory of Affordances,” and in his 1979 book, The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Essentially, an affordance is a quality or feature of an object, or of an environment, that allows an individual to perform an action. For example, the handles on a teacup allow it to be lifted without burning one’s hand. This is a key affordance of a teacup. The speakers on a home theatre system allow us to hear high-fidelity sound. This is a key affordance of those speakers.

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