Issues and Challenges of Educational Technology Research in Asia

Abstract

Several studies that analyzed the advancements of technology-based learning have shown the increasing importance and popularity of such educational approaches in this century (Tan et al. 2012; Yengina et al. 2010; ZawackiRichter et al. 2009). In Asia, some technology-based learning issues have been particularly emphasized owing to the popularity of mobile devices as well as the government policy in some countries. For example, mobile phone subscriptions in Asia has been increased at a fast pace in the past decade (ITU 2012). In Macao, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Maldives, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Korea, Australia, and Thailand, the number of mobile phone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants is more than 100, i.e., on average, each inhabitant has more than one mobile phone in these countries. Moreover, the percentage of mobile phone owners in most of the other Asia countries is between 50 and 98, and is increasing at a fast pace (UNESCAP 2012). In the meantime, various mobile learning projects have been funded by governments in most Asia countries. For examples, the SMS-facilitated learning projects conducted in Philippines (Bandalaria 2005; Ramos and Trinona 2010) and Mongolia (Valk et al. 2010), the self-directed mobile learning projects in Korea (Lee 2012), the context-aware language learning project in Japan (Ogata et al. 2010), the mobile knowledge sharing project in Malaysia (Mohamad and Woollard 2010), the FutureSchools@Singapore project in Singapore (Looi et al. 2011; Wong and Looi 2011), and the national e-learning project in Taiwan (Chang et al. 2009; Hwang and Tsai 2011). Another important trend of technology-enhanced learning studies in Asia is the development and application of educational computer games, which has been increased rapidly in the past 10 years and is growing at a fast pace (Hwang and Wu 2012). In addition, Web 2.0-based collaborative learning is also a growing research topic in this region. Some researchers have further attempted to integrate Web 2.0-based technologies with mobile or ubiquitous learning environments or other technologies. Nevertheless, applying emerging technologies in education does not guarantee good learning effectiveness or outcomes. We propose that the following research issues and challenges should be addressed in the future.