A mobile informal learning solution for workplace learners

This paper reports on the development of the “MobLearn@Work” App, which emerged from a study of informal learning among five employees at different companies in China. The purpose of the study was to develop a strategy for the design of mobile learning support tools that would enhance informal learning in the workplace. The App was developed by creating a platform to support informal learning through the integration of two sets of issues that emerged in the study: (a) affordances of contemporary Web 2.0 tools identified from the literature and by exploration of the participants’ mobile technology uses, and (b) informal learning activities of the participants that emerged in the context of their work. Consideration of these issues led to the conclusion that an effective App for informal learning should include functionalities such as really simple syndication, podcasting, Web-searching and microblogging, all of which were integrated into the “MobLearn@Work” App. The implementation of the App in these five cases over a six-month period yielded a further set of design recommendations, which are discussed in the paper.     

Futurescaping: school choice of internationally mobile global middle class families temporarily residing in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

This paper explores internationally mobile global middle class families (GMCF) in terms of how they rationalise moving away from their home country, select schools and reimagine their young children’s futures in an international setting. Building on Appadurai’s notion of ‘the future as a cultural fact’ and Anagnost’s concept of ‘life-making in neoliberal times’ we analyse how the search for escaping the past is dialectically related to seeking better futures. For GMCFs, the search for better futures within current neoliberal times leads to them discursively constructing spatial–temporal movements across international boundaries. The term ‘futurescaping’ is introduced and used to understand the act of imagining futures that are shaped by a person’s past and present experience. We argue that futurescaping is more than simply transnational mobility, but is a multidimensional act, which is dynamic, culturally value-ladened, historically embedded, futuristic and provides a unique view into the everyday lives of internationally mobile GMCF.     

基于场景感知的移动学习应用研究

移动定位技术能获取移动学习者所处的位置信息,使得移动学习系统能感知用户所处学习场景并据此开展有效的移动学习,从位置、时间、设备和学习者四个方面阐述了场景感知移动学习的应用要点。     

基于碎片化学习的远程开放教育移动学习模式探讨

人类学习方式经历了私塾求学、课堂学习及网络学习三个历史阶段,现代远程开放教育是社会发展的必然要求。移动学习(M-Learning)能够针对现代社会学习者流动分散的学习特征,利用碎片化学习方式,实现最佳学习效果,运用越来越广泛的移动学习必将成为未来学习过程中不可或缺的学习方式,是未来远程开放教育中的最佳学习模式。     

移动网络即时协作学习平台关键技术研究

移动学习平台是促进移动学习快速发展的重要因素,无线网络技术和移动通信技术及其相关移动终端设备的快速普及,使得基于有线网络和个人计算机的网络学习平台已不能满足当前学习者的实际需求.从无线移动网络环境下学习者的实际要求出发,研究具有移动Web即时通信、资源实时移动共享等功能的移动网络即时协作学习平台的体系机构和系统功能,探究实现该系统平台的关键技术,以便为移动学习者提供一种支持即时协作交流、实时共享资源与知识经验的新型移动网络即时协作学习平台.     

Exploring mobile learning in the Third Space

Mobile learning is enabling educators and students to learn in ways not previously possible. The ways that portable, multi-functional mobile devices can untether the learner from formal institutional learning give scope for learning to be conceptualised in an expanded variety of places, times and ways. In this conceptual article the authors articulate this notion by using the metaphor of the Third Space to envision what can be achieved with mobile learning. They outline their use of the metaphor, consider how it extends notions of twenty-first century learning and use a previously established Mobile Pedagogical Framework to provide a context for the discussion. They conclude with implications of learning in the Third Space for teachers and students. These implications suggest that roles of teachers and students and structure of the curriculum need to change to ensure we leverage the potential of mobile learning.     

Effects of the inquiry-based mobile learning model on the cognitive load and learning achievement of students

The advancement of mobile device and wireless communication technologies is having a great influence on the design concept of learning activities. In this study, we attempt to integrate field study into the inquiry-based mobile learning model; moreover, a mobile learning environment that allows students to access both physical and virtual resources is developed accordingly. During the in-field learning activity, the mobile learning system is able to present the learning tasks, guide the students to visit the real-world learning targets for exploration, and provide them with supplementary materials via the mobile devices. The aim of this research focuses on the effects of this mobile learning model on students' cognitive load and learning achievements. The 51 sixth graders who participated in this research were assigned to an experimental and a control group. From the pre and posttests as well as the cognitive load questionnaire, it was found that the students who learned with the inquiry-based mobile learning approach had better learning achievement and less cognitive load than those who learned with the traditional approach. Therefore, it is concluded that the mobile learning model has positive effects on elementary students in local culture learning.     

Transnational strategies and lifelong learning in the shadow of citizenship: Chinese migrants in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

ABSTRACT

The Chinese are one of the oldest immigrant communities in Europe, and in some countries among the most economically successful. Media portraits of immigrant Chinese, however, are often filtered through racialised stereotypes, as culturally insular and economically savvy opportunists working in low-end take-outs, retails, and garment workshops. Based on ethnographic research conducted in a small European state Luxembourg, this article examines different modalities of learning and transnational strategies among three groups of Chinese migrants – temporary workers, visa overstayers, and restaurant owners. In analysing their pragmatic struggles, creative agency, and unending hopes for better lives, the paper illustrates how they engage in what Aihwa Ong calls the dual process of self-making and being made, vis-à-vis the Eurocentric citizenship regime, knowledge hierarchies, and exclusionary labour market. I offer a reading of their agentic, melodramatic everyday experiences as forms of lifelong learning, whether intended or unintended, that are rendered invisible and deficient in immigration laws, labour market practices, and sociocultural expectations. The paper challenges the Eurocentric citizenship regime and highlights immigrants’ heterogeneous ways of learning and transnational practices as part of the humanness often silenced in the global cycle of coloniality and inequality.     

英语移动学习在中职学校的实践

以往关于移动学习的探索都集中在成人教育和远程教育体系下,本文述及的实践是在中等职业教育中运用移动学习的一次有益尝试。文章从分析中职学生使用移动设备的现状入手,从中职英语词汇教学实践移动学习的基础、实施移动学习的方案设计和实施的效果等三个方面对基于手机短信的中职英语词汇移动学习模式的探索过程作了详细的介绍。     

基于开源框架的移动学习平台构建与应用

通过分析比较不同的构建方式,指出了利用WeiPHP开源框架的方便性和可推广性,详细介绍了移动学习平台的构建过程及功能实现,最后以文献检索课为例进行了实际应用体验,为教师探索混合式教学方式提供帮助。     

Detecting the correlation between mobile learning behavior and personal characteristics among elementary school students

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to explore the features of mobile learning behaviors among Chinese elementary school students, and relationships between mobile learning behaviors and personal characteristics in mobile learning environment. The current study designed and developed a game-based educational mobile environment and conducted an experimental research. Eighty-three elementary students participated in this study. The results revealed the features of elementary school students’ mobile learning behavior including: 1) the students had reasonable login frequencies and learning time duration with appropriate guidance from the teachers, and satisfying learning performance by self-learning; 2) higher grade, learning style with active information processing and higher test scores in the conventional Chinese subject course had positive impacts on the mobile learning behaviors, but no gender difference was found. Regrettably, students showed more digital consuming than digital creating in the current study. The results could provide necessary suggestions on mobile learning for young learners.     

Pedagogical and technological augmentation of mobile learning for young children interactive learning environments

The ubiquity and educational potential of mobile applications are well acknowledged. This paper proposes six theory-based, pedagogical strategies to guide interaction design of mobile apps for young children. Also, to augment the capabilities of mobile devices, we used a humanoid robot integrated with a smartphone and developed an English-learning app that applied the design strategies to this environment. Our observations of children's one-on-one use support the promise of the strategies and the combined use of robots and mobile devices to be a viable option to help optimize mobile learning.     

An intelligent mobile location-aware book recommendation system that enhances problem-based learning in libraries

Despite rapid and continued adoption of mobile devices, few learning modes integrate with mobile technologies and libraries' environments as innovative learning modes that emphasize the key roles of libraries in facilitating learning. In addition, some education experts have claimed that transmitting knowledge to learners is not the only educational goal, as cultivating problem-solving skills is also essential. By integrating the problem-based learning (PBL) model with book resources in libraries, one can identify the advantages of libraries in supporting e-Learning, resulting in innovative and valuable research. Therefore, this study presents a novel intelligent mobile location-aware book recommendation system (IMLBRS) with map-based guidance to support cooperative PBL in a real-library environment. Using map navigation and book recommendation functionalities, learners can search for books associated with problem-solving with increased ease and efficiency, thereby helping learners increase their PBL performance in a library environment. Experimental results reveal that learning performance during PBL supported by the proposed IMLBRS for book searches is superior to learning performance during PBL supported by the online public access catalogue (OPAC). Experimental results also show that the proposed system facilitates better learning performance for learners with a field-dependent learning style than for learners with a field-independent learning style. Moreover, the proposed system facilitates learner contemplation, cooperative learning, and library user education as learners interact with a real-library environment and peers during cooperative PBL.     

Modelling blended solutions for higher education: teaching,learning, and assessment in the network and mobile technology era

The article addresses the role of network and mobile technologies in enhancing blended solutions with a view to (a) enriching the teaching/learning processes, (b) exploiting the opportunities it offers for their observability, and hence for their monitoring and formative/summative assessment. It will also discuss how such potential can only be captured by solidly integrating the process of instructional design with that of monitoring and assessment. First, the article presents the proposed conception of blended solutions, giving examples. In the second part, the article discusses a possible breakdown of blended solutions into its various components and how these can enrich both the teaching/learning and the assessment processes. Finally, it addresses the question of how to combine and/or use singly the various components of blended solutions. To conclude, implications for the implementation of blended solutions are discussed, also in relation to emerging contexts such as Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs).     

Meta‐analyses from a collaborative project in mobile lifelong learning

This paper focuses on the use of mobile technologies in relation to the aims of the European Union's Lifelong Learning programme. First, we explain the background to the notion of mobile lifelong learning. We then present a methodological framework to analyse and identify good practices in mobile lifelong learning, based on the outcomes of the MOTILL project (‘Mobile Technologies in Lifelong Learning: Best Practices’). In particular, we give an account of the methodology adopted to carry out meta‐analyses of published literature and accounts of mobile learning experiences. Furthermore, we present the results of an implementation of our Evaluation Grid and the implications arising from it in terms of management, pedagogy, policies and ethical issues. Finally, we discuss lessons learnt and future work.     

一种非完整移动机器人开环迭代学习控制研究

针对非完整移动机器人的轨迹重复跟踪问题,提出了一种开环P型迭代学习控制算法。首先给出非完整移动机器人的运动学模型,并结合离散时域对轨迹跟踪问题进行描述,然后设计迭代学习控制器并在给定条件下证明了其收敛性;MATLAB仿真结果表明,随着迭代次数的增加,该算法能够有效改善动态不确定环境中系统的稳定性与收敛的快速性。     

Transnational approaches to teaching and learning in higher education: challenges and possible guiding principles

The higher education sector has become increasingly internationalised over recent decades. This paper examines a range of challenges that can arise where teaching staff in one context support and implement learning and teaching initiatives in another international context – transnational teaching. We use examples and experiences from our own practice to highlight challenges that arise from implementing cross-cultural and transnational teaching and that warrant further exploration, including differing expectations; differing views of learners and learning; the illusory nature of transformed practice; and time constraints. We discuss these challenges in the light of Hofstede's model of cultural dimensions as well as critiquing this model. We then highlight some possible guiding principles for transnational higher education work that include modelling good practice; ensuring reciprocity and mutual benefit; ensuring individual integrity and institutional credibility; and developing and supporting transnational staff.     

Developing and validating a model for assessing paid mobile learning app success

With the proliferation of paid mobile learning applications (m-learning apps), understanding how to assess their success has become an important issue for academics and practitioners. Based on the information systems (IS) success models and the value-based adoption model, this study developed and validated a multidimensional model for assessing paid m-learning app success. The proposed model describes the interrelationships among seven paid m-learning app success variables: system quality, information quality, perceived enjoyment, perceived fee, user satisfaction, intention to reuse, and learning effectiveness. Data collected from 160 paid m-learning app users were tested against the research model using structural equation modeling (SEM). The empirical findings provide evidence that learning effectiveness is affected by user satisfaction and intention to reuse, which, in turn, are determined by system quality, information quality, perceived enjoyment, and perceived fee. The findings of this study provide several important theoretical and practical implications for the development, implementation, and promotion of paid m-learning apps.     

Development of a mobile learning system based on a collaborative problem-posing strategy

In this study, a problem-posing strategy is proposed for supporting collaborative mobile learning activities. Accordingly, a mobile learning environment has been developed, and an experiment on a local culture course has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Three classes of an elementary school in southern Taiwan participated in the experiment. One class was the experimental group who learned with the problem-posing-based mobile learning approach, while the other two classes were the control groups who learned with the conventional mobile learning approach and the traditional problem-posing approach, respectively. The experimental results show that the new approach not only improved the students' learning achievement, but also promoted their local culture identity and group learning self-efficacy.