The use of mobile technology and ubiquitous computing for universal access in online education

Abstract

Innovative modes of learning integrated with information and communication technologies (ICT) and mobile technology have emerged in recent years and become increasingly used in schools [6, 11]. Mobile devices, such as smartphones, have become ubiquitous parts of our existence in industrialized societies [13]. In a recent study of the top technologies to incorporate into the classroom [10], educators and researchers recommend greater inclusion of online and mobile technologies by teachers whenever possible [2]. With the emergence and development of information technologies, the world is becoming a ‘‘mobigital virtual space’’ where people can learn and teach digitally anywhere and anytime [9]. Because of the high cost of computer laboratories and technological devices in schools, many schools have an unfavorable student-to-computer ratio, and students can only access computer laboratories or use such devices once or twice a week [7]. Learning with mobile devices and ubiquitous computing technology promises ‘‘new opportunities and could improve the learning process’’ [5] and can help to achieve educational goals if used through appropriate learning strategies [4]. Therefore, educators should make more effort to facilitate learning by using mobile and ubiquitous computing technologies and integrate them with appropriate learning strategies for both teachers and students [12]. The authors in this special issue present several approaches and applications of mobile technology and ubiquitous computing in online education. In this special issue, four papers were collected. Each of the four papers went through three rounds of review. In the first paper entitled ‘‘Developing a context-aware ubiquitous learning system based on a hyper-heuristic approach by taking real-world constraints into account,’’ an optimization problem for determining personalized learning paths in the real world to improve students’ learning efficacy is formulated by taking into account the relevance between real-world learning targets and the environmental constraints. The authors, Peng-Yeng Yin, Kuo-Hsien Chuang, and Gwo-Jen Hwang, also propose a hyper-heuristic approach to efficiently find quality learning paths for individual students. In their study, a context-aware ubiquitous learning (u-learning) environment was developed for an elementary school campus to measure this proposed approach. They found that this u-learning approach is able to enhance students’ learning efficacy and motivate them. Moreover, the authors also indicate that their proposed approach could be applied in other fields, situations and environments, such as temples, museums, or ecology parks. Bernardo Tabuenca, Marco Kalz, Stefaan Ternier, and Marcus Specht, in their paper entitled ‘‘Mobile authoring of open educational resources for authentic learning scenarios,’’ identify a set of barriers for ubiquitous and mobile authoring of educational resources, and ten key shortcomings of current approaches. In addition, they also provide a design for a mobile environment in which to author educational resources. In this article, the authors report on a usability evaluation they carried out, confirming that the designed tool has above average usability. The findings in this study are reinforced by the hedonic quality evaluation conducted. The authors further suggest that the measures of ‘‘usability’’ and ‘‘hedonic quality’’ elaborated in the paper can be taken as a reference for future developments of authoring tools, serving as a base for quantified and qualified comparisons. C.-W. Tsai (&) Ming Chuan University, Taipei, Taiwan e-mail: jawen12b@gmail.com