DESCRIPCIÓN DE LAS ALTERNATIVAS

The majority of research participants indicated that M-Learning plays an important role in developing trainees’ safety skills. For example, of 133 trainees who responded to the questionnaire (trainee-respondents), 100 (75%) think that mobile technologies helped to improve their safety skills more easily while 7 (5%) do not think so. Likewise, of 29 instructors who responded to the questionnaire (instructor- respondents), 19 (65.5%) think that mobile technologies helped trainees to improve their safety skills while 3 (10.5%) do not think so. The remainder of participants adopted a neutral position.

Likewise, various comments from the interviews, questionnaires, and onsite observations support this finding. For example, chances of trainees’ exposure to interactive and entertaining safety videos and tutorials have increased with the use of

mobile technologies. Instructor 3 from the Basic Operations Training Unit (BOTU) shared this example:

I can easily get an enjoyable safety video on YouTube, which I think is relevant to the topic in hand and airdrop it to the trainees or email it to them. It is true that I could do this in the past, but in the past, how would I share it with them on their personal devices so that they can take it home and watch it at any time?

In addition, mobile technologies facilitate the access to many exciting safety videos that were produced by top specialized institutions as well as documentaries and series of investigations done on safety incidents inside and outside the classrooms. Such documentaries and series of investigations capture trainees’ attention and increase their awareness and knowledge about safety. Instructor 6 from the Mechanical Training Unit (MTU) gave the following example:

Being job skills trainers, we are dealing with operating equipment. We are disassembling and reassembling the equipment, and we have to do it safely and to teach our trainees to do it safely. There are lots of safety videos made by top specialized institutions that allow us to share them with our trainees, and they can play them in the classroom and outside the classroom.

Moreover, mobile technologies facilitate the provision of various types of training resources (such as information, images, videos, and stories) which help trainees to develop their safety presentations and projects. Trainee 1 from the Process Control and System Technician Unit (PCSTU) said:

Every morning, one of the trainees has to deliver a small presentation about a safety topic to the class. The iPad is really helpful for them to prepare the slides easily and with rich content. In addition, previously we could only share our daily safety messages on the interactive whiteboard, but with the iPad, we can share all safety messages, projects, and files instantly on each other’s device.

In more than one classroom observation I attended, the instructors asked trainees to find a safety message and share it with the rest of the class. Trainees appeared to be engaged with various online resources on their devices, and within a few minutes, a trainee was able to find and share a safety message with the rest of the class. This was followed by a whole class discussion on the safety message.

Therefore, it is the features of easy access to enjoyable, engaging, and interactive learning materials and the easy sharing of them that make the role of mobile technologies noticeable as indicated by study participants and as observed in the

context of study. Until recently, such learning resources used to be available on the stationary computers at the computer laboratories, but they were accessible only during the breaks, unlike now when trainees can access these resources at anytime and anywhere. Trainee 3 from the PCSTU said:

With the iPad, you can see the safety messages at any time. It’s not just one time only when see them on the board and you forget them. So, having these massages on the iPad reminds me of safety all the time and increases my knowledge about it.

Conversely, some study participants doubted the impact of mobile technologies on the development of safety skills. They explained that safety is a living thing that needs to be promoted during real work, not via online videos. Instructor 8 from the PCSTU shared the following argument:

The best places to give trainees safety awareness are the workshops and labs where we can really teach them and force them to wear safety equipment and deal with operational equipment safely. Learning about safety and building the habit of working safely has to be in the workshop, not on the iPads.

Other participants argued that the newly-developed digital content sometimes misses some important safety videos and tips, which makes it obligatory for instructors to fill these gaps using ‘non-standard’ videos. A questionnaire respondent (instructor) commented:

There are some materials on the iBooks about safety, but they do not cover much. Therefore, I have to look for some online resources. This takes a lot of my preparation time, and I may end up getting some tutorials that do not meet Saudi Aramco standards or specifications.

Indeed, some researchers found that mobile technologies can raise safety awareness through the various videos, presentations, and documentaries they can provide (Douphrate & Hagevoort, 2015; Reychav & Wu, 2014; Kenny, Park, Van Neste- Kenny, Burton, & Meiers, 2009); however, practicing safety onsite will remain critical to ensure safe operations. Other researchers such as All, Plovie, Castellar, and Van Looy (2017), Douphrate and Hagevoort, (2015), and Tichon and Burgess- Limerick, (2011) confirmed that mobile technologies can give workers and trainees the opportunity to engage and interact with interesting and enjoyable safety training materials and to retain more information, allowing them to apply it effectively to their jobs.