The impact of teacher-led and learner-led mobile learning activities on increasing learners' motivation and learning outcomes has been reported as effective. However, the relationship between them remains unclear. In this study, the authors investigated the relationship through survey (n = 366) and interview (n = 7) data collected from students in one of the most prestigious medical schools in China. Three lessons are learned. First, confirmatory factor analysis validated a two-factor model on the use of mobile devices. The participants spend more time on studying with teacher-led than student-led activities. Second, structural equation modelling results suggest that the use of teacher-led mobile activities has a positive impact on learner-led activities and students' satisfaction with overall teaching quality. Third, students perceive mobile devices as useful learning tools when teacher-led activities are present, whereas in the absence of teachers' involvement, student-led activities are perceived as less efficient than other forms of learning.