Exploring Context-Aware Activities to Enhance the Learning Experience

Mobile Learning Applications: Exploring Location Sensing Mechanisms

“…So, for each physical space a technical test should be carried out in order to decide optimal distances according to these characteristics. If a catalog of beacons is provided, as [16], these should be placed strategically with the aim of avoid signal interfere from each other. This facilitates a proper functioning of applications based on them.…”

“…It is interesting to note that, in the last recent years, authoring tools ( [3], [16], [17] and [18]) to facilitate creation of applications which use sensing mechanisms has increased. Generating applications with these tools is very useful for teachers, but they also need to understand how sensing mechanisms work in order to choose the most appropriate for each situation.…”

“…Achieving teachers have total control to design and create this kind of applications requires having authoring tools (for example, applications or Web sites) which help them to integrate location sensing mechanisms [16] without demand technical knowledge thereof. That is to say, it would be desirable that these kind of authoring tools allow teachers to create a mobile learning application that uses, for example, GPS without needing to know technical details of it.…”

“…In recent years different authoring tools have been emerging which give a high level of abstraction of technical details for different location sensing mechanisms. For example, in [16] an authoring tool is described which contains a catalogue of beacons. This make easier, for teachers, to associate learning content with them.…”

Mathematics Trails: Shallow and Deep Gamification

“…This also aims to improve the experience of the users and cooperation between them. As proposed by Hauge et al [34] context-aware activities can be implemented in such a system, for example, a Treasure Hunt, or a Conquer activity. Changes on the routes themselves can be made, like limiting the number of tasks showed, having a system where the completion of a task unlocks the next one, connecting task activities, either by having two tasks in the same place that refer one another in some way (for example, having a task become easier after completing another because one of the steps to solve it was already done in the previous) or by, for example, having a task placed at the end of another (one task may be "walk 50 meters south", and upon arrival at the solution, the next task would be unlocked)…”