Effects of Push Notifications on Learner Engagement in a Mobile Learning App
Abstract
In this study, we evaluated the effect of push notifications on mobile app engagement. Over the duration of a month, we collected data from 12,071 online users of an English learning app named 'English Practice' which can be freely installed from the Google Play store. Four criteria of app engagement used by us were as follows: session count, session length, time consumption and retention. In addition, we examined the frequency of sending notifications, how to display notifications and the use of notifications on wearable devices. The results show that push notifications with regards to incoming messages can increase learner engagement most. On the other hand, abusing push notifications (e.g. if they are too frequent) result in the opposite effect. Based on the results, we suggest that educators or developers focus on an increased integration of social communication tools inside apps.
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Engagement increased with the use of push notifications.
“In terms of engagement, Pham et al. (2016) found that engagement increased with the use of push notifications, while Motz et al. (2021) reported that push notifications supported cognitive presence by reminding students of assignments and directing them to information accessible on their mobile devices.”
From You have a notification: the role of push notifications in shaping students’ engagement, self-regulation and academic procrastination (2025) · cites this paper as Pham et al. (2016)
Cites
A diary study of task switching and interruptions
Czerwinski, M., Horvitz, E., & Wilhite, S. (2004) · Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/985692.985715 · Cited by 830 · see citing works
Disruption and recovery of computing tasks: field study, analysis, and directions
Iqbal, S. T., & Horvitz, E. (2007) · Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/1240624.1240730 · Cited by 300 · see citing works
"A pace not dictated by electrons"
Mark, G., Voida, S., & Cardello, A. (2012) · Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/2207676.2207754 · Cited by 221 · see citing works
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Mumcu, B. B., & Çebi, A. (2025) · International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education · doi:10.1186/s41239-025-00537-x · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“In terms of engagement, Pham et al. (2016) found that engagement increased with the use of push notifications, while Motz et al. (2021) reported that push notifications supported cognitive presence by reminding students of assignments and directing them to information accessible on their mobile…”
- Authors
- Pham, X.-L., Nguyen, T.-H., Hwang, W.-Y., & Chen, G.-D.
- Affiliations
- National Central University (TW)
- Venue
- 2016 IEEE 16th International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT)
- Publisher
- IEEE
- Published
- 2016-07
- Pages
- 90-94
- OpenAlex
- W2559383823
- Cited by
- 49
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 1.70
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT) (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Mobile Learning in Education
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Mobile and Web Applications
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Keywords
- push notifications, student engagement, mobile learning apps, English language learning, wearable devices, user retention, session duration
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