This paper reviews several major theories of learning, and considers what additional theories might explain ‘mobile learning’. It then describes three small projects in Year 6 classes in English schools– where teachers and students used mobile devices over a period of several months–in order to make connections between theory and practice, and to seek new insights for theory from practice. The study found that behaviourist, constructivist and socio-cultural theories influenced teachers’ work, often simultaneously, while there was scant evidence of a symbiotic relationship between people and technology. The paper concludes that even in these early days of mobile learning in the mainstream there is clearly a need to consider changes in the nature of time and space, exemplified particularly in the relationship between home (parents) and school. It suggests that practitioners and researchers should work together to develop theories that will be useful in understanding and guiding practice.