11-05-2013, 12:54 PM
MOBILE LEARNING
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OVERVIEW OF MOBILE LEARNING
Mobile learning (m-Learning) is a form of distance education that involves connectivity through mobile devices and occurs when a learner is not confined to a predetermined location. Mobile devices go beyond the realm of PDA’s or smart phones; included are MP3 players, wireless notebooks, hand held gaming systems, Android OS devices, Blackberries, iPhones, and iPads.But mobile learning is more than just using a mobile device to access content and communicate with others - it is about the mobility of the learner. According to Mike Sharples, mobile learning can be defined as, “the processes (both personal and public) of coming to know through exploration and conversation across multiple contexts amongst people and interactive technologies” [Sharples, M., et al, 2007].
Mobile learning allows for a contextualization of learning that is impossible with desk-bound computing. According to [International Telecommunications Union (ITU), 2010],Mobile learning, they reasoned, involves the "exploitation of ubiquitous handheld hardware, wireless networking and mobile telephony to facilitate, support, enhance and extend the reach of teaching and learning.”
MOTIVATIONS FOR THE RESEARCH
There is a dearth of applications designed specifically for learning because mobile learning is an emerging market. [Hackemer and Peterson (2005)] noted that whilst students were comfortable with their handheld’s built-in functions, additional applications proved problematic, as most of the available software lacked formal usability assessment and documentation; this resulted in very few students being willing to explore applications in order to understand how they could be used. [Ford and Leinonen, 2009] highlighted a desperate need for a new approach particularly in the developing world environment. The model needs to take into account issues of usability, accessibility, and affordability, while ensuring that appropriate pedagogical models are adhered to… (p. 198). Thus, this research sets to develop a Web-based mobile learning application using FUTA CSC 506 as a case study.
SUMMARY OF THE REST OF THE CHAPTERS
Chapter Two gives a literature review of mobile learning, devices and technologies for mobile learning, review into the landscape of mobile learning on five publications.
Chapter Three gives a detailed description on analysis and system design. This chapter analyzes and appraises the performance of the existing system with a view to designing the newly proposed system.
Chapter Four gives an insight into system implementation, testing and documentation.
Chapter Five highlights the conclusion, recommendations as well as the limitations of the project.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MOBILE LEARNING
One can distinguish three generations of technologies in the life of the distance education. First generation technologies are the technologies of the Industrial Revolution which occurred in Northern Europe and North America in the 17th and 18th centuries. These were the technologies which produced the world of distance learning, based largely on print-based materials, the postal service and transport services. To these were later added audiocassettes and videocassettes.
Second generation technologies came from what may be called an Electronics Revolution of the 1970s and the 1980s and produced distance education systems based on satellite and videoconferencing technologies. These led in the mid 1990s to the development of the Internet and the World Wide Web and the beginnings of electronic learning or e-learning. This is the present generation of learning at the open universities.
Third generation technologies impacted the world in the last years of the second millennium. The whole world suddenly became wireless in a Wireless Revolution. Mobile phones became ubiquitous, e-commerce became m-commerce, and wired connections were abandoned for wireless ones. Mobile learning is the product of this Wireless Revolution. It represents the next generation of learning. The advancements in modern telecommunication capabilities have led to the concept of anytime and anywhere education. However, these are not without limitations. E-Learning, can only be done anywhere you can find a terminal, and anytime the network is in operation. Contrary to it, the mobile devices have become part of the learner and hence it demolishes the notion of distance and boundaries.
MOBILITY OF TECHNOLOGY
In [UNESCO Mobile Learning Week, 2011], mobile technologies refer to a combination of hardware, operating systems, networking and software including content, learning platforms, and applications. Mobile technology devices range from basic mobile phones to tablet PCs, and include PDAs, MP3 players, memory sticks, e-readers, and smartphones. Mobile phones are different from traditional educational tools such as books, chalk and pencils because they enable instantaneous access to vast and growing reservoirs of information between individuals and groups independent of time and physical location.
Legibility of course materials is an important requirement of a mobile learning device. The materials offered online as well as answers to assignments and the assignments themselves, are quite extensive and demand a readable screen. The size is also an issue, but ease of mobility should be taken into consideration. If the screen is to be large, the device inevitability has to be bigger.
DEFINITION OF DEVICES TO BE USED
What is a 'smartphone'?
Smartphones are the new generation of mobile phones, which are conquering the market these days. Smartphones with their mini keyboards are not just phones, but have computer functions such as email, calendar and address book, and office programs for reading and editing. The multimedia phone features such as camera, video, sound recordings or podcasting are advanced and can compete with specialised equipment.The key feature of a smartphone is that one can install additional application to the device. Smartphones can be customised with new software, and the variety of these programs is increasing. The social communication platforms, GPS functions and games are especially popular. All of this is supported by the fact that the mobile broadband with almost unlimited mobile Internet is gaining ground.
The intention of mobile learning is to utilize the capabilities of existing GSM, GPRS and UMTS mobile telephone handsets and PDAs to increase access to training courses.
Windows Phone 7
Windows Phone 7 incorporates the majority of features that users now expect to find on a mobile device, such as cloud service and media integration, easy and safe application installation, a stylish modern user interface (UI) that supports gestures and smooth animation, and device capabilities, such as location awareness, camera, sound recording, messaging, and multi-touch. Figure 2.2 shows the main features of a Windows Phone 7 device.
MOBILITY OF LEARNERS
E-learning mediated by personal computers is mostly bound by location and time (availability) because of the configuration of a personal computer. The computer has no wireless learning tool linked to the Internet, which means that one must always work in one place at a particular time determined by availability and connectivity. The ordinary (non-mobile) personal computer with landline connections to the Internet is constrained by the places in which they are located and their availability. Non-portable personal computers are not easily moved and therefore, learners are compelled to work in the same place and during the time slots allocated to them by authorities.
MOBILITY OF LEARNING
Researchers and practitioners of mobile learning are engaged in pioneering experiments for transmitting the full content of higher learning to students by means of mobile cellular devices. [Walker, 2007] points out that the advantages of mobile learning are not dependent solely upon the ability to use a portable and wireless communication device successfully but on the unique experience derived by mobile owners because it is received and processed within the context in which the learner is situated. The context is utterly individual – completely different from the rigid outlay of the traditional classroom or lecture room, and the computer laboratory. Mobile learning devices have also enriched the theory and practice of e-learning. Contemporary consumers of higher education in developing countries almost always use mobile learning devices as adjuncts to e-learning in higher education. Sophisticated mobile devices are currently capable of delivering a comprehensive range of e-learning materials by means of web connections, infrared and bluetooth transmissions. For [Ally, 2005] “mobile learning is at the intersection of mobile computing and e-learning; it provides accessible resources wherever you are, strong search capabilities, rich interaction, powerful support for effective learning and performance-based assessment”.
MOTIVATION FOR THE RESEARCH
Lately, there is an increasing interest in delivering learning content using Personal Wireless Devices (PWDs). The small and limited display size and resolution of these devices and interaction styles impose new interface designs. In this context, the interface has many constraints, needs to be simpler and can contain less number of components and objects. It needs to fit all in one small screen. Usually, the human computer interaction of mobile applications is left behind without consideration.
METHODOLOGY
Based on the findings from the literature search, three survey instrumentswere developed: software manufacturer/developer, business, and educational provider. Four manufacturer/developers were interviewed: two working for largeinternational corporations (Nokia and Palm Australasia), and two developersof software for mobile devices. Six businesses were interviewed, includinglarge national corporations, medium sized firms, and small companies.
Nineteen educational providers (n = 19) were interviewed, representing universities, high schools, private training providers, TAFE (the largest public provider of vocational education and training in Australia), and industry skills councils (the organizations that determine the content of national vocational curriculum).
The manufacturer survey instrument contained questions about the use of mobile technologies for business and personal purposes, product uses that were not an expected part of the product design, drivers of new product development, future trends for mobile technologies, and whether mobile devices were being produced only for educational use.
MOTIVATION FOR THE RESEARCH
Mobile learning has become a globally accepted phenomenon. Several learning institutions have implemented it in one way or the other. [Georgieva and Smrikarov]examined theevaluation of mobile learning system named FLAGMANdeveloped in the University of Ruse, Bulgaria. The analysis ofresults of evaluation confirms that the mobile learning systemFLAGMAN is technical feasible, didactic effective, costeffective and user friendly. Another analysis done by [Nordin et al]yields positive results and reveals that adult learners accept m-learning approach. The study also reveals that mobile Learning activities are great ways to motivate students and foster interaction among them.