An investigation of attitudes of students and teachers about participating in a context-aware ubiquitous learning activity

Abstract

In recent years, digital learning has been converting from e-learning to m-learning because of the significant growth of wireless and mobile computing technologies. Students can learn any time and any where with mobile devices. Consequently, context-aware ubiquitous learning (u-learning) is emerging as a new research area. It integrates wireless, mobile and context awareness technologies in order to detect the situation of the learners and provide more seamless adaptive support in the learning process. In this paper, a context-aware u-learning environment is developed for learning about campus vegetation in elementary schools based on an innovative approach by employing repertory grid method in designing learning content. In addition, we probe the feasibility of context-aware u-learning in courses by soliciting feedback from the students and teachers through interviews and questionnaires. The findings reveal that the environment is capable of enhancing students' motivation and learning effectiveness. Moreover, it is also capable of reducing the teaching load while enabling better control of class order. IntroductionMobile learning (m-learning) has been regarded as the advanced model following e-learning. Georgiev, Georgieva and Smrikarov (2004) defined it as the new stage of digital learning. It uses mobile devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, portable computers and so on. It can be seen as part of ubiquitous computing that integrates mobile computing, context-aware mechanisms and pervasive computing technologies in our daily lives.

What seams do we remove in mobile-assisted seamless learning? A critical review of the literature

“…In reviewing the reported MSL designs, we would also like to further distinguish "formal learning in informal settings" into two sub-types: (1) Teacher-led outdoor learning activities where students learn in groups, most likely within a confined time period (e.g., Kurti, Spikol, & Milrad, 2008;J.-L. Shih, et al, 2010); (2) Students to carry out teacher-instructed learning activities beyond the formal class hours and/or teacher-led outdoor learning activities at their own convenience, such as online discussions (e.g., H.-J. Huang, 2007), ongoing game playing (e.g., Metcalf, et al, 2008), or data collection or artifact creation (largely incidental encounters or improvisations) in daily life (most likely within 1:1, 24x7 access programs, e.g., (1) and (2) fall into the "externally initiated and structured" and "externally initiated but (semi-)internally structured" categories respectively.…”

“…Similarly, one-off activity designs which confine the learners to single, relatively small areas are considered not conforming to MSL4, e.g., activities within physical classrooms (e.g., Miyata, et al, 2010) or elementary school compounds (e.g., J.-L. Shih, et al, 2010). The point that we are trying to make here, without any judgmental intention, is that this set of MSL designs did not or not fully exploit the WMUTE affordances of learning anytime and/or anywhere -but such design decisions were made probably due to the one-off nature of the activities and/or the limitation of resources such as the availability of mobile devices.…”

Yükseköğretimde Her Yerde Öğrenmenin Akademik Başarı ve Motivasyona Etkisi

“…Buna karşın sınıf için uygulamaların sınırlı olduğu görülmüştür. Araştırmaların çoğunlukla ilköğretim seviyesinde uygulandığı [12,15,3] ve çoğunlukla algılayıcı teknoloji olarak RFID etiketleri kullanıldığı dikkat çekmektedir [5,6]. RFID etiketlerinin ve kullanılan PDA'ların pahalı oluşu sebebi ile bu araştırmada QR kodlar ve akıllı telefonlar kullanılmıştır.…”

What have we learnt about mobile LifeLong Learning (mLLL)?

“…For practitioners engaged in mobile learning, it is often deemed to be a bridge connecting everyday life activities with generic learning activities, short in duration and purpose-driven (Gu et al, 2011). Thus, mobile learning is seen as a means to transform almost any life situation into a learning experience, able to elicit specific attitudes and activate particular habits in the learners (Shih et al, 2011). As a consequence, mobile learning is rarely designed as an ensemble of structured activities, and the principal design questions arise from the difficulty in reconciling pedagogical flexibility and technological reliability.…”