Innovation in Mobile Learning: A European Perspective

In the evolving landscape of mobile learning, European researchers have conducted significant mobile learning projects, representing a distinct perspective on mobile learning research and development. Our paper aims to explore how these projects have arisen, showing the driving forces of European innovation in mobile learning. We propose context as a central construct in mobile learning and examine theories of learning for the mobile world, based on physical, technological, conceptual, social and temporal mobility. We also examine the impacts of mobile learning research on educational practices and the implications for policy. Throughout, we identify lessons learnt from European experiences to date

Augmenting reality and formality of informal and non-formal settings to enhance blended learning

Visits to museums and city tours have been part of higher and secondary education curriculum activities for many years. However these activities are typically considered "less formal" when compared to those carried out in the classroom, mainly because they take place in informal or non-formal settings. Augmented Reality (AR) technologies and smartphones can transform such informal and non-formal settings into digitally augmented learning settings by superimposing "digital" layers of information over physical objects or spaces. At the same time, the formality of these settings increases when connected to formal settings through these digital layers. The right combination of AR and mobile technologies with computer-based educational tools such as Learning Management Systems (LMSs) drives this digital connection, leading to articulated blended learning activities across formal, non-formal and informal settings. This paper contributes to the TEL field with: (1) three blended learning activities illustrating the idea of augmented informal/non-formal settings; (2) results from the cross-analysis of these activities that evidence the impact of technology to enhance blended learning; and (3) a set of lessons learned about the possibilities of NFC/GPS AR technologies and LMSs for blended learning. This work provides insights for the design and implementation of similar technology-enhanced blended learning activities. © 2008-2011 IEEE

Enabling live dialogic and collaborative learning between field and indoor contexts

This paper explores how field and indoor based students can be connected so that their contrasting circumstances and capabilities are used as a basis for learning. We describe the design of the ‘Out There and In Here’ system and activity. Using naturalistic evaluations in the context of higher education earth science, we find evidence that this approach can be beneficial in developing essential skills, by supporting dialogue and collaboration across diverse contexts. This provokes novel forms of reflection and motivation, and could inspire a new generation of learning tools combining mobile and collaborative technologies. We discuss important issues in this design space, such as asymmetrical dependencies and structures for dialogic and collaborative learning

The multimedia challenges raised by pervasive games

Pervasive gaming is a new form of multimedia entertainment that extends the traditional computer gaming experience out into the real world. Through a combination of personal devices, positioning systems and other multimedia sensors, combined with wireless networking, a pervasive game can respond to a player’s movements and context and enable them to communicate with a game server and other players. We review recent examples of pervasive games in order to explain their distinctive characteristics as multimedia applications. We then consider the challenge of scaling pervasive games to include potentially very large numbers of players. We propose a new approach based upon a campaign model in which individuals, local groups and experts draw on a combination of pervasive games, online services and broadcasting to take part in national or even global events. We discuss the challenges that this raises for further researc

Introduction to location-based mobile learning

[About the book] The report follows on from a 2-day workshop funded by the STELLAR Network of Excellence as part of their 2009 Alpine Rendez-Vous workshop series and is edited by Elizabeth Brown with a foreword from Mike Sharples. Contributors have provided examples of innovative and exciting research projects and practical applications for mobile learning in a location-sensitive setting, including the sharing of good practice and the key findings that have resulted from this work. There is also a debate about whether location-based and contextual learning results in shallower learning strategies and a section detailing the future challenges for location-based learning

Augmenting the field experience: a student-led comparison of techniques and technologies

In this study we report on our experiences of creating and running a student fieldtrip exercise which allowed students to compare a range of approaches to the design of technologies for augmenting landscape scenes. The main study site is around Keswick in the English Lake District, Cumbria, UK, an attractive upland environment popular with tourists and walkers. The aim of the exercise for the students was to assess the effectiveness of various forms of geographic information in augmenting real landscape scenes, as mediated through a range of techniques and technologies. These techniques were: computer-generated acetate overlays showing annotated wireframe views from certain key points; a custom-designed application running on a PDA; a mediascape running on the mScape software on a GPS-enabled mobile phone; Google Earth on a tablet PC; and a head-mounted in-field Virtual Reality system. Each group of students had all five techniques available to them, and were tasked with comparing them in the context of creating a visitor guide to the area centred on the field centre. Here we summarise their findings and reflect upon some of the broader research questions emerging from the project

Using virtual learning environments in bricolage mode for orchestrating learning situations across physical and virtual spaces

Producción CientíficaTeachers usually implement their pedagogical ideas in Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) in a continuous refinement approach also known as “bricolage”. Recently, different proposals have enabled the ubiquitous access to VLEs, thus extending the bricolage mode of operation to other learning spaces. However, such proposals tend to present several limitations for teachers to orchestrate learning situations conducted across different physical and virtual spaces. This paper presents an evaluation study that involved the across-spaces usage of Moodle in bricolage mode and learning buckets (configurable containers of learning artifacts) in multiple learning situations spanning five months in a course on Physical Education in the Natural Environment for pre-service teachers. The study followed a responsive evaluation model, in which we conducted an anticipatory data reduction using an existing orchestration framework (called “5 + 3 aspects”) for structuring data gathering and analysis. The results showed that learning buckets helped the teachers in the multiple aspects of orchestration, overcoming the limitations of alternative approaches in some specific orchestration aspects: helping the involved teachers to connect different physical and physical spaces, while supporting technologies and activities of their everyday practice, and transferring part of the orchestration load from teachers to students. The results also suggested lines of future improvement, including the awareness of outdoor activities.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project TIN2011-28308-C03-02 and TIN2014-53199-C3-2-R)Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación - Ref. VA277U14 and VA082U16