Mobile Learning System Research Articles

Design and Architecture of a Location and Time-based Mobile-Learning System: A Case-Study for Interactive Islamic Content

This paper describes a software design, architecture and process of a novel mobile-learning (m-Learning) approach based on smart-phone devices for retrieving relevant content in real-time based on the user’s-location and the current-time and presenting the content to the user in a manner that support portable learning on-the-move. Mobile-learning using Islamic content is used as a case-study of the proposed system, which can easily be adapted for other learning-content. The proposed system is highly interactive and frequently purges the host-device for details of the current user-location and current-time (e.g. the time, day and month in the solar and the lunar calendars) before such details are used to retrieve the most relevant content. In this study, Quranic-verses, corresponding interpretations (Tafseer) and Hadith (Prophetic words or actions) relates to the online content being fetched in this application. For example, a user may be performing some travel/pilgrimage during Ramadan, in which the relevant content/teachings (based on the user’s location and the current time) are presented to the user in a timely manner in order to learn the rituals of that day or location. The information fetched is then presented and displayed in an interactive user-friendly manner. A summary and comparative analysis of some related applications is presented, showing the limitations of other m-Learning applications and demonstrating the new contribution of our architecture design. Finally, the described system allows authorized scholars to upload and report Islamic-decrees made in real-time based on findings/experience at a particular time and/or location-of-interest (e.g. the new rulings/decrees are then published online in real-time). It is anticipated that millions of end-users shall benefit from the proposed system through the benefits of fast, highly-accessible, user-friendly and relevant information retrieved online in real-time. Advantageously, the potential application and large impact of the proposed m-Learning approach for use with other learning-content/courses is notable.

The Effects of Students' Learning Anxiety and Motivation on the Learning Achievement in the Activity Theory Based Gamified Learning Environment

Background:The advancement of mobile game-based learning has encouraged many related studies, which, through the use of mobile 3-dimensional virtual reality, has enabled students to learn more and faster.To enhance the clinical path of cardiac catheterization learning, this paper has developed a mobile 3D Cardiac Catheterization Game-Based Learning System for cardiac catheterization.Material and methods:We designed an activity theory as a 3D mobile medical game-based learning system and evaluated the learning effectiveness, based on ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction) theory. Totally 102 students with the relevant medical background, divided into three groups (n = 34).This study implemented a quasi-experimental design at a medical college in south Taiwan, in the experimental stage, this study collects the questionnaire and test scores for learning achievement, learning motivation, medical anxiety and demographic variables in order to analyze group differences.Results:The learning achievements of this study show that the experimental group achieved higher scores than both control groups. The statistical analysis of the learning motivation and learning achievement shows ARCS-R (Relevance) as the most important factor, followed by of ARCS-C (Confidence).Conclusions:The results show that the learning content was relevant to the learner’s level, and that it brought more confidence and increased the effectiveness of learning.

Effects of a mobile self-regulated learning approach on students’ learning achievements and self-regulated learning skills

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the proposed mobile self-regulated learning approach in higher education settings. A mobile self-regulated learning system was developed to improve students’ learning achievements and self-regulated learning skills. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach by 60 undergraduates. The experiment group adopted the mobile self-regulated learning approach to read English passages, whereas the control group was not supported by the self-regulated learning mechanism while reading English passages. The results suggested that the mobile self-regulated learning approach significantly enhanced students’ learning achievements and self-regulated learning skills. Furthermore, it was found that the proposed approach did not increase students’ cognitive load. Participants also revealed that the mobile self-regulated learning system was very useful and effective according to the interview results and questionnaires.

An adaptive plant leaf mobile informatics using RSSC

An automated plant biometric system is now an important step in preserving nature’s biodiversity. This paper presents a novel Relative Sub-image Sparse Coefficient (RSSC) algorithm for mobile devices (MDs) representing plant leaves into a mathematically compact vector for its classification. The RSSC feature vector includes local Statistical Entropy Texture (SET) information inter-related to all the sub-images within a leaf. RSSC space is merged with Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) feature to refine the outputs using best-Nearest Neighbor (best-NN), designed for MDs. The experiments were performed on three different types of leaf datasets: (i) Flavia, (ii) ICL and (iii) Diseased leaf datasets. The results proves our method more accurate and better compared to other existing plant identification systems. The proposed approach is also tolerant under shape distortion caused while capturing. The mobile machine learning system for leaf image informatics is deployed on Android devices which helps botanists, agriculturists and medical biologists to recognize ubiquitously the herbs and plant species anywhere-anytime.

The Measurement and Dimensionality of Mobile Learning Systems Success

The main purpose of this study is to develop and validate a multidimensional instrument for measuring mobile learning systems success (MLSS) based on the previous research. This study defines the construct of MLSS, develops a generic MLSS instrument with desirable psychometric properties, and explores the instrument’s theoretical and practical applications. By analyzing data from a calibration sample ( n = 241) and a validation sample ( n = 209), this study proposes a 6-factor, 25-item MLSS instrument. This empirically validated instrument will be useful to researchers in developing and testing mobile learning theories, as well as to educators in understanding MLSS from students’ perspective and promoting the use of mobile learning systems.

Lessons learnt from teachers’ perspectives on mobile learning in South Africa with cultural and linguistic constraints

South Africa’s classrooms are characterized by a wide variety of cultural and linguistic differences, providing teachers with educational challenges, particularly in mathematics and science subjects. In response, various mobile learning systems have been developed and piloted in the North West and Gauteng Provinces of South Africa. A framework has been proposed to support the development of similar technologies to be used in multilingual contexts. This paper evaluates teachers’ perspectives on this framework using interviews with eight teachers from a mixture of urban and rural schools in various locations across the two provinces. The results of the study reflect the important roles that language and culture play in the technology needed to support learning in linguistically diverse schools. They highlight the challenges that teachers in schools face in diversely linguistic classrooms and how technology can be used to enhance such classrooms.

Investigating mobile emotional learning for children with autistic spectrum disorders

Realizing facial expression is likely to be one of the earliest facilitators of social engagement, and it is a core deficit for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to build social relationship. Mobile learning creates the possibility of a learning environment and visual stimuli that can adapt its informal learning contexts to improve recognizing emotions for people with ASD. This study adopted features of mobile learning to help the realization of facial expression for the ASD. The proposed 3D Complex Facial Expression Recognition (3CFER) system was developed to help the deficit in facial expressions for this population. This study therefore, explored how children with ASD performed realizing facial expression using the 3CFER system; and how the phenomena of using the learning system for people with ASD performs. Participants (n = 24, 16 males and 8 females, m = 11.3 years old) were randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental group, and were involved with the pre-and post-test sessions. The control was not engaged in the system-treatment; and the experimental undertook the system-operation. The result showed that the experimental had great improvement in realizing facial expression compared with control, and surprise and shyness were mostly easy to be identified for them. The performance of using mobile learning system was promising well. However, the informal experience of recognizing facial expression in different social contexts was meaningful learning for this population.

MOBILE SCHOOL CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIA

Incorporation of e-learning and mobile web technology in the education produces significant positive impacts to the students. These technologies are able to complement the weaknesses of current practices in teaching and learning. This paper presents Mobile School conceptual model that has been developed for secondary schools in Malaysia. This model is developed by integrating the potential concepts and theories to solve the problems related to teaching and learning in Malaysian secondary schools. Validation of this model has been conducted using questionnaire instrument where the questionnaire has been distributed to 407 respondents including school administrators, teachers, students and parents. The analysis showed that the variables that have been integrated in the model could solve the identified problems. The variables are also important to be implemented in mobile learning (m-learning) system development for secondary schools in Malaysia.

A Performance Evaluation of a Multi-Agent Mobile Learning System

Mobile devices have emerged as our daily companion whose applicability evolves as the day unfolds. One of such applications is in the area of learning, called mobile learning (M-learning). However, as with all new technologies, M-learning is faced with the issues of standard, content packing, and deployment. And like other distributed applications on ubiquitous networks, M-learning is challenged with performance issues. This work shows the implementation and evaluation of a model for intelligent mobile learning system (IMLS) using a multi-agent system (MAS), such as the Java Agent Development Environment (JADE) framework. Two M-learning applications (agent-based and non-agent) were developed, deployed and tested. The agent-based application is deployed using an HTTP-based Message Transfer Protocol (MTP). The results suggest that agents can increase the performance of an M-learning application up to eight times.

Empirical investigation to explore factors that achieve high quality of mobile learning system based on students’ perspectives

This study presents three frameworks for mobile learning system based on quality factors derived from the updated DeLone and McLean information system success model. This study used the questionnaire as a quantitative method to explore quality factors for mobile learning system based on perspectives of 392 students. This study opens future work for using the identified quality factors as guidelines for researchers and designers to design and develop mobile learning applications.

An empirical analysis of the determinants of mobile instant messaging appropriation in university learning

Research on technology adoption often profiles device usability (such as perceived usefulness) and user dispositions (such as perceived ease of use) as the prime determinants of effective technology adoption. Since any process of technology adoption cannot be conceived out of its situated contexts, this paper argues that any pre-occupation with technology acceptance from the perspective of device usability and user dispositions potentially negates enabling contexts that make successful adoption a reality. Contributing to contemporary debates on technology adoption, this study presents flexible mobile learning contexts comprising cost (device cost and communication cost), device capabilities (portability, collaborative capabilities), and learner traits (learner control) as antecedents that enable the sustainable uptake of emerging technologies. To explore the acceptance and capacity of mobile instant messaging systems to improve student performance, the study draws on these antecedents, develops a factor model and empirically tests it on tertiary students at a South African University of Technology. The study involved 223 national diploma and bachelor’s degree students and employed partial least squares for statistical analysis. Overall, the proposed model displayed a good fit with the data and rendered satisfactory explanatory power for students’ acceptance of mobile learning. Findings suggest that device portability, communication cost, collaborative capabilities of device and learner control are the main drivers of flexible learning in mobile environments. Flexible learning context facilitated by learner control was found to have a positive influence on attitude towards mobile learning and exhibited the highest path coefficient of the overall model. The study implication is that educators need to create varied learning opportunities that leverage learner control of learning in mobile learning systems to enhance flexible mobile learning. The study also confirmed the statistical significance of the original Technology Acceptance Model constructs.

MTester—Mobile learning system

ABSTRACTIn the 21st century, education represents a key factor of economic and social development of a community. The majority of traditional methods intended for education are no longer suitable for it, since they are unable to meet the students’ needs. Mobile learning represents a new educational channel, which allows access from any place at any time. In this paper, an overview of various forms of education is provided, concepts of mobile learning are discussed, educational mobile applications are analyzed, and the design and the prototype of a mobile application intended for learning, called mTester, is described. Finally, the paper presents a case study of mobile learning use, conducted at the Business School of Applied Studies in Blace, Serbia. The first results show an improvement in the realization of courses and in the students’ final grades. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 24:412–420, 2016; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI 10.1002/cae.21719

MobiLearn: Context-Aware Mobile Learning System

Incorporing mobile systems in the teaching-learning process has enabled m-learning as a mean to customize student learning and to encourage collaborative learning. Some works have proposed m-learning systems, however, they don´t provide monitoring and personalization services based on learning styles and student learning context as it is incorporated in this research. Additionally, there is also a limited work focus on the development of basic disciplinary skills in mathematics and computing in high-school education. This paper describes the design and development of a context -aware mobile learning system that includes mobile learning objects (MLO) for the development of basic disciplinary skills in mathematics and computing for high-school education. Our work proposes learning monitoring and personalization services characterized by: using SMS, social networks (Facebook and Twitter) and provides educational content through MLO based on context and student learning styles.

Understanding the concerns of teachers about leveraging mobile technology to facilitate outdoor social inquiry learning: the EduVenture experience

ABSTRACTOur work is within the context of the ubiquitous discussion about adopting mobile devices to offer school-age students new learner-centric learning opportunities. Leveraging location-based context-aware mobile technology, based on the theoretical foundation of constructivist learning, we have developed EduVenture, an integrated mobile learning system by which teachers can facilitate students pursuing outdoor social inquiry learning in social and humanities education (namely, Liberal Studies in Hong Kong). This paper reports on our study in which we investigated 302 in-service Liberal Studies teachers’ concerns about adopting EduVenture in practice with the Stages of Concern model, in terms of five categorical concerns – Evaluation, Information, Management, Consequence, and Refocusing. Results reveal that their Management concern was the most intense. The findings not only offer us critical insights into formulating more articulated interventions for better supporting teachers’ adoption of EduVenture in schools, but they also provide a useful reference for researchers and practitioners who are pursuing work on integrating mobile learning into school education.

Study to initiate mobile learning among a group of young farmers from Kandy district: an activity theory based approach

Mobile phones have been successfully used in agriculture information dissemination. However, there was little emphasis on how to use them in facilitating learning. This study was conducted to define the learning context, with an aim to initiate mobile learning research, in agriculture informal learning. Objectives of the study were to i) define the mobile learning context in relation to Activity Theory principles, ii) describe the present methods of communications and interactions among the study community, and iii) explore the limitations in the traditional non-formal learning context and possible solutions. A design based research methodology, which is informed by Activity Theory principles, was adopted to define the learning context. Members of the Young Farmer Club (YFC), Ankumbura were selected for the study, while data were collected using quantitative and qualitative methods. The availability of mobile phones was quite high (76%) among the study group, while mobile based interactions were commonly used in accessing agriculture related information. Present methods of interactions and communications among the study group were found to be inefficient, costly and time consuming. Thus, they preferred an efficient, low cost, and simple method to replace the existing systems. They further needed a mobile based learning system to help gain knowledge on general agricultural practices. Future research is necessary to develop a suitable communication and interaction system and a mobile learning system. Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 26 (1): 26 – 38 (2014)

GPS sensor-based mobile learning for English: an exploratory study on self-efficacy, self-regulation and student achievement.

This study investigated the effects of self-efficacy and self-regulation on student achievement in a context-aware learning environment. Particularly, an innovative global positioning system (GPS) sensor-based mobile learning system was used to facilitate English learning of different plants on campus. A total of 41 university students participated in the study, divided into high and low groups of self-efficacy and self-regulation. The findings showed that both self-regulation and self-efficacy were significant predictors of learning achievement in the mobile context-aware learning (MCL) context. Moreover, while the GPS-based MCL learning session had positive effects on learning achievement, no significant increase in self-regulation or self-efficacy was found in either the high or the low group, supposedly due to the short duration of the activity. The participants found the system easy to use and useful, but they also raised critical concerns that can inform future improvements. We hope this exploratory study can serve as a starting point from which more interactive, user-friendly GPS sensor-based learning systems will be generated and more areas of application will be further explored to foster self-regulated, self-motivated ubiquitous learning of mobile learners.

Factors Affecting Nursing Students' Readiness and Perceptions Toward the Use of Mobile Technologies for Learning.

The purpose of this study was to determine the current usage of mobile devices, preferences of mobile learning environments and examine the readiness of nursing students in a public university. In order to investigate preferences and attitudes with respect to mobile technology use in nursing education, 387 students at a state university have been surveyed. It has been observed that while students preferred their current portable laptops, those in higher classes were more inclined to favor mobile phones. The common problems of battery life and high cost of communication, both in smartphones and tablet systems, suggest that hardware quality and financial constraints seem to be two main factors in determining these technologies. While more than half of students expressed readiness for mobile learning, one quarter indicated indecision. Through multivariate regression analysis, readiness to use mobile learning can be described in terms of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, personal innovativeness, self-management of learning, perceived device limitation, and availability. Class level, perceived ease of use, personal innovativeness, and self-management of learning explain intention to use mobile learning. Findings obtained from these results can provide guidance in the development and application of mobile learning systems.

A Multi-Dimensional Assessment Model to Evaluate Web Based Learning Systems

The growth of communication technology in the last decade has prompted researchers to develop web based learning systems for various types of applications. The entities involved in the development of such systems are learners, instructors, system designers, administrators to name a few. With varying nature of applications and entities involved, the task of evaluating these web based learning systems appears quite challenging. The present study uses factor analysis to develop an assessment model for evaluating the web based learning systems developed by the authors. The analysis is performed on a data set derived by applying a survey instrument on a set of 140 learners using these systems. These learners ranked 20 items used for evaluation in order of their perceived degree of importance. It was found that the most important dimension was learning outcome which coincides with the general outcome of any mode of learning.Keywords: Web Based Learning Systems, Web based Learning Assessment, Survey Instrument, Factor Analysis, SPSSIntroductionIn recent times the most important innovation that has changed the face of educational technology is web-based education. This has been possible due to tremendous advancement in the field of computer networks and communication technology. There are two ways in which web based learning may be implemented. The primitive form of this type of learning is Electronic Learning (E-Learning). E-Learning is a general term that is used for learning from any electronic device such as radio, television, computer and all other devices that may be invented in the near future that are electronic in nature [8]. A major disadvantage of this form of learning is lack of ubiquity and idle time utilization. The advancement in the field of mobile communications in late 90's gave birth to Mobile Learning (M-Learning). Mobility added to E-Learning is M-Learning. M-learning enables learning independently of place and time as is ubiquitous through the use of wireless networks and mobile devices [21]. The effectiveness of web based learning is enhanced when several learners attempt to learn something together. In this form of learning, learners can capitalize on one another's resources and skills. Thus Collaborative learning (C-Learning) [7],[12] techniques may be used in E-Learning and M-Learning environments to increase their efficacy.Web learning systems are multidisciplinary in nature. They are used by learners from various domains who have varied experiences of using these systems. The design goals of these systems are thus highly dependent on the nature of the application and the knowledge of the learner. Efficient design of web learning systems is also dependent on the quality of the instructors, administrators and system designers. Thus there are several factors upon which the success of a web learning system depends. The aim of this study is to develop a multi-dimension model to evaluate web learning systems. It is to be noted that this assessment model is not general in nature. It has been derived on the basis of a survey performed to assess the web learning systems developed by author [2],[3],[4].Various methods have been employed by the researchers for assessing web based learning systems. A method typically used by several researchers is to develop a set of quality metrics for this purpose. Gafani [13] has used the ISO/IEC 9126 model to propose a set of quality metrics for evaluating Mobile Learning Systems. These metrics were defined and empirically validated for mobile wireless systems. Parsons et al. [24] proposed an assessment of mobile learning quality in terms of learner experience. A conceptual frame work for a mobile learning application was constructed and quality metrics were developed for this purpose. Wang [26] developed a comprehensive model and instrument for measuring learner satisfaction with asynchronous e-learning systems. This study performed different reliability and validity tests for analyzing data from a sample of 116 respondents of a survey. …

Mobile APP for motivation to learning: an engineering case

Synthesis of Materials is regarded as an important core subject in engineering education. However, many concepts and knowledge in the material synthesis can be rather abstract and difficult to understand by the student learners. Experiments are limited in scope due to lack of equipment, control of toxic materials, and risks of chemical reactions, which often restricts student imagination and student involvement in practical training. These reasons often led to poor learning attitude and learning performance among the students. Rapid developments in Cloud technology and mobile devices have provided new opportunities for developing novel learning tools for material synthesis. This study aims to introduce interest factors as a strategy for promoting learning interest and practical skills among the students. Chemical symbols, experimental themes, texts, and interactive elements were utilized to develop a theme-based Mobile Learning APP for teaching the practical techniques of material synthesis. The Mobile Learning APP was then integrated into a problem-based learning activity. A quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the resulting learning effectiveness from using the developed Mobile Learning APP. Results show that the Mobile Learning APP provided a significant positive effect on learning performance and that most students showed favorable attitudes toward the usage of the mobile learning system.

PERANCANGAN APLIKASI PEMBELAJARAN BIOLOGI KELAS XI IPA DI SEKOLAH LANJUTAN TINGKAT ATAS BERBASIS ANDROID

The background of the problem of this final task is due to the developments in technology and mobile phone or smartphone and also operating system in smartphone itself, such as Android. This design aims to make a mobile learning system design of Human Digestive System for science class at XI grade of Senior High School with android based. It is preferably in the learning process of biology, where the material is memorization. In spite of that, the lack of media used often makes children feel bored in studying biology.This final project was designed with language modeling software with object-oriented programming method which uses a modeling language Unified Modeling Language (UML). The programming language used was Java by using the Eclipse IDE. Trials have been conducted on the 2.2 emulator, while the implementation of the program is done on the Samsung Galaxy Young with Android 4.0.1. In general, the results that are displayed on the emulator and Young galaxy is not much different,but Android with a higher version has faster access speed . Keywords: M_Learning, Biology Android based.