The Community of Inquiry model has been well-researched in reference to online learning, but is only now being applied to the extensions of online learning, such as mobile learning. The CoI framework provides a process-oriented, comprehensive theoretical model that can inform both research in online learning and the practice of online instruction. It assumes that effective online learning requires the development of a community supporting meaningful inquiry and deep learning.

A recent framework that was developed in the area of mobile learning is the FRAME (Framework for the Rational Analysis of Mobile Education) model (Koole, 2009), which describes mobile learning as a process resulting from the convergence of mobile technologies, human learning capacities, and social interaction. It addresses contemporary pedagogical issues of information overload, knowledge navigation, and collaboration in learning. This model is useful for guiding the development of learning materials and the design of teaching and learning strategies for mobile education. The CoI model and the FRAME model both address the development of effective interaction between individuals and the technology they use to learn.

While the CoI model focuses heavily on the way in which individuals interact in the virtual environment, the FRAME model brings attention to the use of new devices themselves, as well as individual characteristics and social processes. The CoI is based on online interaction using any technology while the FRAME model is looking at interaction on mobile technology. This presentation will report on a research project that used the FRAME model and the CoI model to investigate mobile learning and presence in a community of inquiry.