Wireless Learning Technology in Higher Education – a Case Study in Singapore

Wireless Learning Technologies (WLTs) are set to replace the traditional methods of information sharing and set the trend for future information presentation and collaborative multiuser sharing. Wireless learning technologies (WLTs) used in education include mobile technologies such as smartphones, tablets and laptops as well as systems designed to be used specifically in technology-rich collaborative learning spaces. Such spaces are networked both technologically as well as through student-to-student interactions.This paper undertakes a literature review of wireless learning technologies for multi-platform compatibility over a multitude of personal devices and operating systems. It discusses the use of WLT for new collaborative spaces of learning. The paper further undertakes a comparative descriptive analysis between a space recently discussed in the teaching and learning literature with a case study of one classroom based on the authorial team’s participation and observation

The Ambient Horn: Designing a novel audio-based learning experience

The Ambient Horn is a novel handheld device designed to support children learning about habitat distributions and interdependencies in an outdoor woodland environment. The horn was designed to emit non-speech audio sounds representing ecological processes. Both symbolic and arbitrary mappings were used to represent the processes. The sounds are triggered in response to the children’s location in certain parts of the woodland. A main objective was to provoke children into interpreting and reflecting upon the significance of the sounds in the context in which they occur. Our study of the horn being used showed the sounds to be provocative, generating much discussion about what they signified in relation to what the children saw in the woodland. In addition, the children appropriated the horn in creative ways, trying to ‘scoop’ up new sounds as they walked in different parts of the woodland

Mobile technologies: prospects for their use in learning in informal science settings

Recent developments in mobile technologies have offered the potential to support learners studying a variety of subjects. In this paper we explore the possibilities related to science learners and in particular focus on science learners in informal settings and reflect on a number of recent projects in order to consider the prospects for such work. The debate on informal learning acknowledges the complexity of the area and the difficulty of defining informal learning. One view is to consider the settings in which learning takes place as a continuum from formal settings, e.g. university, to social structures, e.g. friendship groups (Sefton-Green, 2004). The literature on science learning with mobile devices at this very 'informal' end of the spectrum is currently sparse and so in the paper we reflect on some projects and possibilities across the continuum. Our main focus is how mobile devices can support informal learning in science and research possibilities. Some of the recent research on mobile learning has used an activity theoretical perspective, including one of the case studies we discuss and in the final part of the paper we highlight the influence of activity theory in helping us to consider the complexity of the learning settings

The Mobile Conference Information System: Unwiring Academic Conferences with Wireless Mobile Computing

Wireless mobile computing promises to usher in the next major paradigm in personal computing. Handheld computers in particular are truly portable and they are becoming increasingly capable of meeting most users\u27 computing needs. In this paper we outline a vision for deploying wireless mobile computing technology within the realm of professional conferences by creating a Mobile Conference Information System (MCIS). With detailed descriptions of applications and hypothetical usage scenarios, we describe how the system can be used to access conference information, to network people, and enhance common conference services. We also describe several constraints, limitations, and challenges with this concept, and we suggest how these problems can be overcome. In this paper we consolidate many current applications of wireless networked computing into one comprehensive system; we highlight several of the complexities and challenges that apply to any wirelessly mobile information system; and we offer a vision for a valuable platform for future research on the use of mobile technologies. The MCIS will significantly change how conferences are managed and enhance the experiences of the attendees

Collaborative trails in e-learning environments

This deliverable focuses on collaboration within groups of learners, and hence collaborative trails. We begin by reviewing the theoretical background to collaborative learning and looking at the kinds of support that computers can give to groups of learners working collaboratively, and then look more deeply at some of the issues in designing environments to support collaborative learning trails and at tools and techniques, including collaborative filtering, that can be used for analysing collaborative trails. We then review the state-of-the-art in supporting collaborative learning in three different areas – experimental academic systems, systems using mobile technology (which are also generally academic), and commercially available systems. The final part of the deliverable presents three scenarios that show where technology that supports groups working collaboratively and producing collaborative trails may be heading in the near future

New methods for collaborative experiential learning to provide personalised formative assessment

Supporting diverse and rapidly changing learning styles of new digital age generations is one of the major hurdles to higher education in the age of massification of education markets. Higher education institutions must now utilize unprecedented network speed and mobile technology to create stimulating learning environments for new digital age generations. This paper presents a new learning and teaching model that combines dynamic learning space (DLS) and mobile collaborative experimental learning (MCEL) for supporting diverse learning styles of students. DLS assists students with stateof-art modern wireless network technologies in order to support fast-paced, multi-tasking, data and content intensive collaborative learning in class. The model further extends student learning activities beyond classroom by allowing students to continue their learning anywhere and anytime conveniently using their mobile devices. MCEL provides automated continuous personalized formative-feedback 24/7. The main objectives of the model are to improve student engagement and to provide ownership of their learning journey, experiential learning, contextualized learning, and formative assessment at low cost. The model employs three factors that influence collaborative experiential learning and formative assessment. The three factors are: - The use of learning space within the classroom - Wireless learning technology - Mobile learning system (m-Learning) Pilot studies of the model are conducted and evaluated on two groups of postgraduate students. Their participation is observed, and a survey is conducted. The results show that (1) DLS encourages high-level learning and diverse learning styles to move away from passive low-level knowledge intensive learning activities; (2) MCEL supports Bigg's constructive alignment in curriculum design, contextualized experimental learning, and personalized formative learning

Pioneers, subcultures and cooperatives: The grassroots augmentation of urban places

About the book: There have been numerous possible scenarios depicted on the impact of the internet on urban spaces. Considering ubiquitous/pervasive computing, mobile, wireless connectivity and the acceptance of the Internet as a non extraordinary part of our everyday lives mean that physical urban space is augmented, and digital in itself. This poses new problems as well as opportunities to those who have to deal with it. This book explores the intersection and articulation of physical and digital environments and the ways they can extend and reshape a spirit of place. It considers this from three main perspectives: the implications for the public sphere and urban public or semi-public spaces; the implications for community regeneration and empowerment; and the dilemmas and challenges which the augmentation of space implies for urbanists. Grounded with international real -life case studies, this is an up-to-date, interdisciplinary and holistic overview of the relationships between cities, communities and high technologies

Using mobile devices to support online collaborative learning

Mobile collaborative learning is considered the next step of on-line collaborative learning by incorporating mobility as a key and breakthrough requirement. Indeed, the current wide spread of mobile devices and wireless technologies brings an enormous potential to e-learning, in terms of ubiquity, pervasiveness, personalization, flexibility, and so on. For this reason, Mobile Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning has recently grown from a minor research field to significant research projects covering a fairly variety of formal and specially informal learning settings, from schools and universities to workplaces, museums, cities and rural areas. Much of this research has shown how mobile technology can offer new opportunities for groups of learners to collaborate inside and beyond the traditional instructor-oriented educational paradigm. However, mobile technologies, when specifically applied to collaborative learning activities, are still in its infancy and many challenges arise. In addition, current research in this domain points to highly specialized study cases, uses, and experiences in specific educational settings and thus the issues addressed in the literature are found dispersed and disconnected from each other. To this end, this paper attempts to bridge relevant aspects of mobile technologies in support for collaborative learning and provides a tighter view by means of a multidimensional approach.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version