Learning&Information Technologies Cartography

Nowadays, many researches focus their efforts in studies and applications on the Learning area. However, there is a lack of a reference system that permits to know the positioning and the existing links between Learning and Information Technologies. This paper proposes a Cartography where explains the relationships between the elements that compose the Learning Theories and Information Technologies, considering the own features of the learner and the Information Technologies Properties. This intersection will allow us to know what Information Technologies Properties promote Learning Futures

Designed and user-generated activity in the mobile age

The paper addresses the question of how to design for learning taking place on mobile and wireless devices. The authors argue that learning activity designers need to consider the characteristics of mobile learning; at the same time, it is vital to realise that learners are already creating mobile learning experiences for themselves. Profound changes in computer usage brought about by social networking and user-generated content are challenging the idea that educators are in charge of designing learning. The authors make a distinction between designed activity, carefully crafted in advance, and user-generated activity arising from learners’ own spontaneous requirements. The paper illustrates what each approach has to offer and it draws out what they have in common, the opportunities and constraints they represent. The paper concludes that user-generated mobile activity will not replace designed activity but it will influence the ways in which designed activity develops

Prospects for inclusive mobile learning

Mobile learning promises more equitable access to education, especially to those who have suffered exclusion for social or economic reasons. Yet concerns have been raised that mobile technologies also introduce certain problems and barriers. Furthermore, unforeseen technological developments in the mobile marketplace undermine the fragile stability of mobile learning, while it struggles to assert itself as an acceptable innovation within education. This paper examines the concept of inclusive mobile learning for the new generation of mobile learning tools and strategies. It includes a review of some mobile learning projects that are furthering the inclusion agenda and bringing hope to learners who have particular needs. Finally, the paper offers a critical perspective on emerging forms of mobile interaction

Students’ Perception of Using Whatsapp in Blended Learning on Reading

This research aimed to investigate students’ perception of using Whatsapp in blended learning on reading comprehension. This was a descriptive research. The participants of this study consisted of 40 students of the second semester at STMIK-AMIK Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia. The data collected through questionnaire and interview. The finding of this research showed that majority of the participants had positive perception towards the using Whatsapp in blended learning on reading comprehension. All of the means of students responses in the questionnaire in each items were at 3.5-4.5 which indicated students’ responses were positive or at high level. The result from questionnaire also revealed that students agreed that using whatsapp in blended learning on reading comprehension was useful, helpful and effective in learning English anytime and anywhere. The findings from interview results also revealed that there were positive aspects and drawbacks of using Whatsapp in blended learning on reading comprehension. Nevertheless, the positive aspects of using Whatsapp in blended learning on reading comprehension gave more benefits to the students’ learning activities and their performances. These benefits could be continued to students’ learning outcome especially on their reading comprehension ability

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS IN USING GOOGLE CLASSROOM AS ONLINE ENGLISH LEARNING PLATFORM

Nowadays, distance learning has become an effective strategy in education to reduce the spread of CoronaVirus. Moreover, Google Classroom as a learning platform has become a preferable educational tool to support teaching and learning process in this pandemic. In addition, this platform is accessible on mobile phones, so it helps students to learn easier. Therefore the aim of this article is to investigate the students’ perceptions in using Google Classroom as an online English learning platform. The study is limited towards the accessibility of using Google Classroom. The study uses a quantitative method which means that the data presented and analysed using statistical analysis of numeric data. The instrument used in this study is questionnaires by using Rating scale named Likert scale. It measures the degree of agreement about the statements. The questionnaires contain the preferences or agreements in terms of five rates. This study uses descriptive statistics to analyse the result of the data. It is focused on frequency, median and mode of the data result. The research subjects are from the eleventh grade of senior high school students. The result of this study shows students’ perceptions of the accessibility in using Google Classroom to learn English online

Learning with Mobiles in the Digital Age

Personal mobile devices are central to the current digital age, and will soon be pervasive and ubiquitous, and unremarkable in most of the world’s societies and cultures. They are central to the educational futures for the digital age, to both in theory and practice. They are, however, not straightforward. Whilst the relationships of these technologies to formal education and its professions and institutions, conceptualised as ‘mobile learning’, seemed straightforward, it has also become increasingly marginal and irrelevant whilst the relationship between mobile devices and society outside formal education is increasingly problematising the nature, role and purpose of both education and learning. This article explores this tension; it characterises and conceptualises it in terms of competing paradigms.Published onlin

Using Whatsapp in Writing Activities: Teachers' Voices

One of the internet learning tools that can assist with writing during the COVID-19 pandemic is WhatsApp. The aim of this study was to find out the teachers' perceptions on the use of WhatsApp in writing. Participants in this study were 2 teachers at SMPN 44 Palembang taken by using purposeful sampling. This research was a case study design. Interviews were used to collect the research data. Interviews were conducted with 2 teachers at SMPN 44 Palembang. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data. The findings of this research revealed that there were teachers’ perceptions on the use of WhatsApp in writing activities, as follows: (a) independence from time and location, (b) grammatical error, (c) lack of vocabulary, (d) internet connection, and (e) incomplete WhatsApp features

Using What Students Have at Their Fingertips: Utilising Mobile Phones for Circular Writing

The integration of mobile phones into language teaching is at its infancy due to lack of uniform empirical support and limited studies focusing solely on vocabulary and pronunciation teaching. Arguing that writing should be merited further attention, we targeted a group of 26 English majoring students at a large-size public university in the northeast of Turkey to investigate their attitudes towards mobile phone-integrated language practice in the form of collaborative circular writing outside the school borders and collaborative whole class conferencing in the classroom with a seven-week case study. We gathered the qualitative data via an open-ended questionnaire, and a focus group interview showed that the participants enjoyed the activity as it enabled them to learn new words and structures, enhanced their writing by bringing them a sense of audience and showing them the importance of cohesion and coherence, and helped them know each other better despite the inherent technical problems such as limited storage capacity, credit problems, and group work requirements. It can be concluded that mobile phone can enrich traditional board, pen and pencil language instruction with its interactive nature and the chance to reach information anytime and anywhere if the teacher plans the process carefully and sheds light on the nature and objectives of this integration beforehand

Aprendizagem utilizando Dispositivos Móveis com Sistemas de Realidade Virtual

A computação móvel emerge como uma tecnologia inovadora para aárea educacional. Neste trabalho é apresentado um framework para aconstrução de aplicações educacionais em dispositivos móveis com recursosde realidade virtual. Este framework tem como objetivo principal fornecer aodesenvolvedor uma arquitetura consistente para implementação de programasem dispositivos móveis, com foco na aprendizagem. Para validação doframework foi desenvolvido um protótipo que demonstra sua interatividade,usabilidade e portabilidade, além de permitir uma experimentação daintegração das tecnologias de realidade virtual e computação móvel