El aprendizaje móvil y su relación con la motivación para aprender inglés

Es imperativo para los estudiantes aprender inglés para enfrentar los retos que la sociedad actual plantea. Esta propuesta consiste en la utilización de dispositivos móviles para fomentar el aprendizaje del idioma inglés en estudiantes de educación superior de la Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas.De acuerdo con Krashen (citado por Cheng, Hwang, Wu, Shadiev, & Xie, 2010). La motivación es un factor determinante en el aprendizaje de inglés, disminuye la ansiedad y elimina las barreras que limitan el aprendizaje, provocando un mayor y mejor aprendizaje.Estudios demuestran que el aprendizaje del idioma inglés está relacionado a la motivación y a la confianza para aprender el idioma.De acuerdo con Huang (2014) el aprendizaje móvil, es el desarrollado con la utilización de dispositivos como smartphones, tablets y laptops, aunado a las aplicaciones que se han generado en los últimos años, creando ambientes virtuales que se pueden aprovechar para orientar a los estudiantes a aprender el idioma inglés. Tienen la ventaja de la portabilidad y se pueden conectar con otros dispositivos, propiciando la interactividad social y el trabajo colaborativo. Asimismo, tienen la característica que es individual y se puede utilizar para emprender búsquedas al momento.Un aspecto muy importante en la utilización de dispositivos móviles y aplicaciones, es el componente lúdico que integran, esto permite un aprendizaje más efectivo y motivante. Además, investigaciones recientes han demostrado una relación entre lo lúdico y la percepción que tienen los estudiantes de la efectividad y la eficiencia del uso de aplicaciones para aprender el idioma inglés.En conclusión,cuando los estudiantes utilizan aplicaciones móviles que cuentan con un componente lúdico, demuestran mayor agrado y por ende su utilización es mayor. De esto modo, durante las interacciones que tiene el estudiante entre los materiales didácticos móviles y demás usuarios, se desarrolla el proceso de aprendizaje del idioma inglés

Specialized Dictionary Mobile Apps for Students Learning English for Engineering, Business and Computer Science

Use of dictionaries is an integral part of language learning and teaching. With the availability of smartphones, EFL, ESL and ESP students can access and download a variety of specialized mobile dictionaries Apps (MDAs). Specialized MDAs are of special importance for students learning English for engineering, business, and computer science purposes. They contain thousands of essential specialize technical terms covering several sub-categories within the engineering, business and computer science fields. They are a good tool for enriching the students’ specialized vocabulary and helping them learn faster and remember more in a shorter time. This article aims to show ESP instructors examples of engineering, computer science and business MDAs available in the Google Play or Apple Stores; how specialized MDAs can be located; criteria for selecting specialized MDAs; the lexicographical features of specialized MDA and instructional stages with MDAs. Instruction with MDAs goes through three stages: pre-task, task, and post-task phases. The instructor serves as a facilitator. She can help students find and download MDAs that meet their needs and purposes and match their proficiency level; gives pre-questions; and follows the students up to make sure they are making the best use of MDAs. The article concludes with some recommendations for ESP pedagogy with MDAs

A review of recent methodologies, technologies and usability in English language content delivery

English Language Teaching (ELT) and content delivery have undergone vast shift in this era of modernization. With analogue content digitized as a common form of knowledge delivery, methodologies equipped with current technologies have produced new perspectives on English Language Learning. This paper reviews the status, context, teaching parameters, assessment parameters, teaching strategies and usability in the current research capacity of ELT, highlighting the current works with technologies in their content delivery methods. Emerging technologies in ELT has also inspires the other spectrum of study involving the usability of technological interfaces, which has evolved constantly with the progression of human and computer interactivity. The aim of this research is to rediscover usability evolution surrounding the technologies in ELT and to redefine the gap existed in between English learning and tools interactivity. Current technologies and usability measures used in ELT will be discussed, highlighting the current trends in gauging interface interaction. A summary of comparative results in the aforementioned works will also be highlighted in this review paper, together with the categorization of reviewed parameters, variables and metrics in ELT. The reviews conducted have shown that there are still many unexplored areas in ELT, ELT technologies and usability in ELT

Adoption and use of learning management systems in education: The role of playfulness and self-management

This article investigates the factors affecting primary and secondary education teachers' behavioral intention to adopt learning management systems (LMSs). Information technology (IT) innovations have the power to change the way we work, educate, learn, and basically the way we live. The effect of IT innovations on education makes it critical to understand the current usage situation of LMSs and the factors affecting their adoption by teachers. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was extended with factors from education and game-based learning literature. In order to see the effect of individual- and organizational-level characteristics, multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was conducted and discrepancies in relationships were reported. Evaluation of users and non-users and teachers of different fields were also compared to each other. The findings of this study not only contribute to theory through the development and testing of a thorough model relating technology features and individual characteristics to behavioral intention to use, but also offer strong implications for practitioners who would like to increase LMS usage and create a more effective learning environment.WOS:000615607100001Scopus - Affiliation ID: 60105072Scopus - Affiliation ID: 60105072Science Citation Index Expanded - Social Sciences Citation IndexQ2 - Q3ArticleUluslararası işbirliği ile yapılmayan - HAYIRFebruary2021YÖK - 2020-2

Usability framework for mobile augmented reality language learning

After several decades since its introduction, the existing ISO9241-11 usability framework is still vastly used in Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) language learning. The existing framework is generic and can be applied to diverse emerging technologies such as electronic and mobile learning. However, technologies like MAR have interaction properties that are significantly unique and require different usability processes. Hence, implementing the existing framework on MAR can lead to non-optimized, inefficient, and ineffective outcomes. Furthermore, state-of-the-art analysis models such as machine learning are not apparent in MAR usability studies, despite evidence of positive outcomes in other learning technologies. In recent MAR learning studies, machine learning benefits such as problem identification and prioritization were non-existent. These setbacks could slow down the advancement of MAR language learning, which mainly aims to improve language proficiency among MAR users, especially in English communication. Therefore, this research proposed the Usability Framework for MAR (UFMAR) that addressed the currently identified research problems and gaps in language learning. UFMAR introduced an improved data collection method called Individual Interaction Clustering-based Usability Measuring Instrument (IICUMI), followed by a machine learning-driven analysis model called Clustering-based Usability Prioritization Analysis (CUPA) and a prioritization quantifier called Usability Clustering Prioritization Model (UCPM). UFMAR showed empirical evidence of significantly improving usability in MAR, capitalizing on its unique interaction properties. UFMAR enhanced the existing framework with new abilities to systematically identify and prioritize MAR usability issues. Through the experimental results of UFMAR, it was found that the IICUMI method was 50% more effective, while CUPA and UCPM were 57% more effective than the existing framework. The outcome through UFMAR also produced 86% accuracy in analysis results and was 79% more efficient in framework implementation. UFMAR was validated through three cycles of the experimental processes, with triangulation through expert reviews, to be proven as a fitting framework for MAR language learning

Pre-implementation requirements for the design of a monitoring system for staff-student interactions at a university.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.University environments occasionally fail to provide adequate levels of security for student and staff interactions. Existing policies outlined by a university document the procedures to be followed in said interactions. However, there is a lack of enforcement of these policies and any artefact to aid this enforcement. This is apparent as incidents of misconduct are regularly published. This study aims to define the requirements for an artefact that monitors these interactions, and as a result, will provide different benefits to those involved. Subsequently, a design for the artefact will be generated based on the revealed requirements. In order to establish the major factors influencing this artefact's design, a qualitative approach with an exploratory design was chosen. The use of a modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology framework provided related measurables. Through a purposive sampling technique, a focus group was formed, and a discussion was held to allow for in-depth emergent and systematic analysis until saturation was reached. Results indicated that the artefact's functionality should be tailored toward providing safety during interactions through the use of accurate identification of all involved parties. The artefact should be portable, provide adequate levels of confidentiality, and be partly autonomous - to the extent that the integrity of the recording and its details cannot be disputed. Performance expectancy, identifiability and social influence were the primary constructs associated with the system's acceptance. A system designed to the uncovered requirements and activated during an interaction, will provide users with a higher level of perceived safety and usefulness, thus influencing their behavioural intentions and overall opinion of following through on engagements with other parties. Further investigation can be conducted through the expansion of the sample utilised. This expansion should account for the different socioeconomic backgrounds of the individuals enrolled at universities, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the said individuals and their ability to resume studies in the changing environment

Design of a company aimed at implementing a virtual education model for business english learning

El siguiente documento presenta el plan de negocios de una nueva empresa orientada a la implementación de un modelo de educación virtual para el aprendizaje de inglés de negocios. El plan incluye los objetivos empresariales a corto, mediano y largo plazo; el análisis de los mercados potenciales; la estrategia de introducción al segmento de mercado seleccionado; los procesos productivos, la estrategia organizacional y legal; la estrategia financiera y el enfoque hacia la sostenibilidad. Cada apartado ha sido elaborado con un enfoque estratégico, el cual se distingue por un diagnóstico de la realidad actual del entorno y el análisis de los recursos y capacidades disponibles. Gracias a dicho enfoque, ha sido posible examinar con detalle los distintos escenarios futuros y escoger aquel que resulte más efectivo y eficiente para alcanzar los logros empresariales propuestos.The following paper presents the business plan of a new company aimed at implementing a virtual education model for business English learning. The business plan consists of short, medium and long-term business goals; the analysis of potential markets; the product-launch strategy; productive processes, the organizational and legal strategy; the financial strategy; and the approach towards sustainability. Each section includes a strategic perspective on business and features a diagnosis of the current firm environment and the analysis of available firm resources and capabilities. Thanks to this approach, it is possible to examine in detail the different future scenarios and choose the one that is most effective and efficient to achieve the proposed business goals.Magíster en Gestión de la Educación Virtua

Exploring the use of MALL with a scaffolded multi-sensory, structured language approach to support development of literacy skills among second-chance EFL learners at a technological-vocational secondary school in Israel

This thesis describes a qualitative mixed-methods study carried out in a vocational-technical secondary school with second-chance adolescent learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in a peripheral area of Israel. The learner population was characterized by complex, socio-economically disadvantaged family backgrounds and a high rate of learning disabilities. The study investigated the effects of a Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) intervention to support the development of basic EFL literacy skills by students who lacked solid foundational English skills. The intervention provided an interactive educational software application, The English Club™, on iPod Touch devices to scaffold learning and review of letter sounds and rules of English, integrate them into words and texts, and practice reading, writing and comprehension. Learners developed literacy skills depending on the level they reached in the application. The English Club follows a scaffolded Multi-Sensory Structured Language (MSL) approach, adapting for struggling EFL learners the Hickey Multi-Sensory Method (Combley, 2001), developed by Kathleen Hickey of the British Dyslexia Institute. Printed books containing the material complemented the use of the MALL. The English teachers at the school chose the learners who participated and determined how to integrate the intervention into their English classrooms. An investigation of the teachers’ roles was included in the study. The methodology was primarily action research with case studies of individual learners and teachers. Pre-intervention and post-intervention data on learners’ English knowledge, skills, attitudes and opinions and on teachers’ attitudes and opinions about use of this MALL intervention was generated via skills assessments and semi-structured interviews. As a participant-teacher-observer, I observed the intervention’s use in classes and in sessions with individual students. Changes in skills, attitudes and opinions were analyzed in the framework of Vygotsky’s theories of language acquisition and the Zone of Proximal Development as elaborated in Scaffolding Theory. Theories of motivation, literacy and second language acquisition, and how struggling learners experience these, have provided additional lenses for analysis. My goals in performing this study were to understand in depth the whole picture of the intervention, both its effects on students’ English skills and attitudes, and the factors that shaped these outcomes. The study’s findings contribute to an understanding of the ways in which delivering a scaffolded MSL approach to literacy education via MALL can contribute to addressing the world crisis in literacy acquisition, and issues that must be addressed for this type of intervention to be effective. Findings showed that learners who actively engaged in the intervention made significant progress in their English literacy skills, increased their confidence in their ability to learn English and thus their willingness to engage in learning, and demonstrated increased awareness of the connection between their own investment of effort and learning. This success was shaped by many factors, including variation among individual learner profiles, the degree of teachers’ support for the intervention, increasing students’ motivation to invest effort, minimizing disruptions to the students’ learning routine, and maximizing access to charged, working devices and to books. The individual MALL delivery platform enabled an untrained, inexperienced but committed teacher to provide the benefits of this scaffolded method, appropriate to her learners’ needs, in multi-level English classrooms and to provide a solution for students returning from extended absences to catch up with missed classwork. Recommendations for policy and practice include use of such scaffolded MSL MALL applications with struggling language learners in conjunction with printed materials and closely accompanied by committed teachers, who do not have to be highly trained in specialized methods to support learning by struggling students. Schools engaging in such interventions need to ensure that the devices will be fully available for use during learning hours, minimize disruptions to the class schedule, and maximize students’ use of the MALL app and books in class, during free time at school, and at home. If necessary, extrinsic rewards should be offered to overcome students’ learned helplessness

Helping students leverage and manage their learning through mobile experiences

Workshop Title: Helping students leverage and manage their learning through mobile experiences Workshop Length: Our workshop will be approximately 60 minutes long. The structure of the presentation will allow for 40 minutes worth of knowledge sharing and 20 minutes for a hands-on design activity. Any remaining time will be used to continue the conversation on mobile learning and anticipated next steps from the unique perspectives of different educational stakeholders. Workshop Description: Main Goal/Objectives: We can see a strong trend that the emerging generation is increasingly reliant on mobile devices (Pomerantz & Brooks, 2017). Mobile learning has been identified as a promising market for the education industry, as technology improves standards have emerged and the increase of mobile use/devices continues to extend the reach of the education industry (Habboush, Nassuora, & Hussein, 2011). At the same time, self-management skills play an essential role in their life-long learning. Self-management refers to the extent an individual feels he or she is self-disciplined and can engage in autonomous learning (Smith, Murphy, & Mahoney, 2003). Students who have good self-management skills are more likely to achieve better academic (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005) and occupational (Daly, Delaney, Egan, & Baumeister, 2015; Roberts, Kuncel, Shiner, Caspi, & Goldberg, 2007) success. Research suggests that in order to help learners achieve better mobile learning performance more attention should be given to mobile learning designs that address learners with different levels of self-management (Huang 2014). This workshop will look to understand, how can we take advantage of the mobile trend and technology to foster learners’ self-management skills? The participants who attend this session can look forward to the following: An overview of the latest student mobile device usage for learning Methods to foster students’ self-management skills Design-based research framework Guidance for mobile application design: benefits and challenges A self-developed mobile solution designed with core learning research and design principles. Workshop skill-set/ Intended audience: This workshop will be of interest and beneficial to faculty members, instructional and learning designers, educational researchers, and anyone else interested in mobile learning, research, design, and product development in the educational context. In an effort to accommodate for participants with all levels of expertise, our session will include a foundational review of learning design and research in producing effective and meaningful learning experiences. Workshop Structure & Outline: The workshop will be moderated through a presentation to share fundamental information regarding mobile learning and learning design research. Following the presentation, participants will be asked to participate in an object-based activity. The tentative outline is described below: Introduction of Self-Management Skills and its importance to students’ future success Current State Conversation on Mobile Learning & Student Trends associated with Mobile Use Explanation of the role of research and design in designing effective learning experiences Conversation on the Dos & Don’ts of designing Mobile Learning Experiences Activity to facilitate participants in creating their own mobile learning experience that will support students’ self-management skills Concluded by a candid conversation on what’s next for mobile learning Workshop Activity/Engagement Plan During the session, participants will be asked to participate in a design activity to create their own mobile learning experience based on a series of learning design principles and research. The activity will take participants through a series of steps, aiding them to think through key questions to facilitate their mobile design (Gipple & Lord, 2013): Who is the target audience? What is your budget? What is the intended purpose of the application? What are the learning use cases and problem statement? What skills are you focusing on? What are the required features aligned to these use cases and problem statements? How will your mobile learning experience help position your target audience for future success? What challenges might you face? How do you plan to address those challenges? Workshop Materials & Supplies For this workshop, we will require a projector to display our presentation slides. Additionally, we will also supply participants with handouts, markers, and pens to help them in the design activity portion of the session. References Daly, M., Delaney, L., Egan, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2015). Childhood self-control and unemployment throughout the life span: Evidence from two British cohort studies. Psychological science, 26(6), 709-723. Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. (2005). Self-discipline outdoes IQ in predicting academic performance of adolescents. Psychological science, 16(12), 939-944. Gipple, J., & Lord, E. (2013). Understanding Mobile Learning and Best Practices. ICS Learning Group. Habboush, A., Nassuora, A., & Hussein, A. R. (2011). Acceptance of mobile learning by university students. American Journal of Scientific Research, 22, 119-122. Huang, R. T. (2014). Exploring the moderating role of self-management of learning in mobile English learning. Pomerantz, J., and Brooks, D. C. (2017). ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2017. Research report. Louisville, CO: ECAR, October 2017. Roberts, B. W., Kuncel, N. R., Shiner, R., Caspi, A., & Goldberg, L. R. (2007). The power of personality: The comparative validity of personality traits, socioeconomic status, and cognitive ability for predicting important life outcomes. Perspectives on Psychological science, 2(4), 313-345. Smith, P. J., Murphy, K. L., & Mahoney, S. E. (2003). Towards identifying factors underlying readiness for online learning: An exploratory study. Distance education, 24(1), 57-67