Proposal of a mobile learning preferences model

A model consisting of five dimensions of mobile learning preferences – location, level of distractions, time of day, level of motivation and available time – is proposed in this paper. The aim of the model is to potentially increase the learning effectiveness of individuals or groups by appropriately matching and allocating mobile learning materials/applications according to each learner’s type. Examples are given. Our current research investigations relating to this model are described

Rethinking distance education in China: Mobile-assisted language learning designs in a blended foreign language curriculum

In recent years, China’s distance education has largely adopted a blended learning approach. However the online aspects of learning are characterized by a lack of interactivity and individualization. This could change with the advent of mobile learning. Many web 2.0 tools that allow for collaborative interactions are compatible with mobile devices, and mobile learning can engage learners by offering a rich, informal, contextualized, situated and ubiquitous learning environment. Mobile learning can also be personalized as smartphones and other devices can be customized and learning resources can be tailor-made. This is very important for Chinese distance learners who have a wide age distribution and diverse learning experiences and therefore have individual learning needs and desires. It seems an opportune moment to integrate mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) into a blended foreign language curriculum. A collaborative project between The Open University UK and the Open University of China (Nanhai) enabled exploration of how MALL could be integrated in a blended foreign language curriculum for distance learners, from a learning/instructional design perspective. Based on a literature review, knowledge of the requirements and habits of Chinese distance learners gathered via a survey, and tutor feedback from a mobile learning pilot course, we present our findings and put forward a number of design principles that can guide mobile learning designs to support transformation of distance education in China

Survey of Personalized Learning Software Systems: A Taxonomy of Environments, Learning Content, and User Models

This paper presents a comprehensive systematic review of personalized learning software systems. All the systems under review are designed to aid educational stakeholders by personalizing one or more facets of the learning process. This is achieved by exploring and analyzing the common architectural attributes among personalized learning software systems. A literature-driven taxonomy is recognized and built to categorize and analyze the reviewed literature. Relevant papers are filtered to produce a final set of full systems to be reviewed and analyzed. In this meta-review, a set of 72 selected personalized learning software systems have been reviewed and categorized based on the proposed personalized learning taxonomy. The proposed taxonomy outlines the three main architectural components of any personalized learning software system: learning environment, learner model, and content. It further defines the different realizations and attributions of each component. Surveyed systems have been analyzed under the proposed taxonomy according to their architectural components, usage, strengths, and weaknesses. Then, the role of these systems in the development of the field of personalized learning systems is discussed. This review sheds light on the field’s current challenges that need to be resolved in the upcoming years

Language learning defined by time and place: A framework for next generation designs

Language learning is changing in a mobile technology-rich landscape and under the influence of new learner practices stemming from personal perspectives on the best places for learning and from evolving uses of available time. The key aim of this chapter is to conceptualize the relation between the focus of language learning and the dimensions of time and place. What if language learning were to be defined by time and place? What would change? The chapter aims to assess what effect this might have on language learning in terms of curriculum or the design of learning activities. It draws on a series of studies led by the author, investigating how university students and other learners use mobile technologies to support their learning, and particularly on interview data from the most recent project which has focused on learners’ experiences with the use of mobile devices to support language learning. Learning activities undertaken by the interviewees were wide-ranging, with evidence of the importance of both easy learning and challenge. Specific findings relating to time and place of learning are reported. As mobile technology developments and the availability of mobile services and applications accelerate, educators and researchers need conceptual frameworks to enable them to interpret emerging learner practices. New language learning activities and services can be designed on the basis of this understanding. By reviewing individual learner experiences in learner-determined contexts, researchers and the language teaching community can work together to build up a picture of emergent practices and formulate the implications for the design of language teaching and learning now and in the future

Smart Learning Services Based on Smart Cloud Computing

Context-aware technologies can make e-learning services smarter and more efficient since context-aware services are based on the user’s behavior. To add those technologies into existing e-learning services, a service architecture model is needed to transform the existing e-learning environment, which is situation-aware, into the environment that understands context as well. The context-awareness in e-learning may include the awareness of user profile and terminal context. In this paper, we propose a new notion of service that provides context-awareness to smart learning content in a cloud computing environment. We suggest the elastic four smarts (E4S)—smart pull, smart prospect, smart content, and smart push—concept to the cloud services so smart learning services are possible. The E4S focuses on meeting the users’ needs by collecting and analyzing users’ behavior, prospecting future services, building corresponding contents, and delivering the contents through cloud computing environment. Users’ behavior can be collected through mobile devices such as smart phones that have built-in sensors. As results, the proposed smart e-learning model in cloud computing environment provides personalized and customized learning services to its users

Mobile-facilitated Time and Place among Iranian EFL Learners

Language learning is changing in a mobile technology-rich landscape and under the influence of new learner practices stemming from personal perspectives on the best places for learning and from evolving uses of available time. The key aim of this study is to conceptualize the relation between the focus of language learning and the dimensions of time and place among Iranian EFL learners. The study aims to assess what effect this might have on language learning in terms of curriculum or the design of learning activities. It draws on a survey study led by the authors, investigating how Iranian EFL learners use mobile technologies to support their learning, and particularly on interview data from the most recent project, which has focused on learners’ experiences with the use of mobile devices to support language learning. Learning activities undertaken by the interviewees were wide-ranging, with evidence of the importance of both easy learning and challenge. Specific findings relating to time and place of learning are reported. As mobile technology developments and the availability of mobile services and applications accelerate, educators and researchers need conceptual frameworks to enable them to interpret emerging learner practices. New language learning activities and services can be designed on the basis of this understanding. By reviewing individual learner experiences in learner-determined contexts, researchers and the language teaching community can work together to build up a picture of emergent practices and formulate the implications for the design of language teaching and learning now and in the future

Mobile-facilitated Time and Place among Iranian EFL Learners

Language learning is changing in a mobile technology-rich landscape and under the influence of new learner practices stemming from personal perspectives on the best places for learning and from evolving uses of available time. The key aim of this study is to conceptualize the relation between the focus of language learning and the dimensions of time and place among Iranian EFL learners. The study aims to assess what effect this might have on language learning in terms of curriculum or the design of learning activities. It draws on a survey study led by the authors, investigating how Iranian EFL learners use mobile technologies to support their learning, and particularly on interview data from the most recent project, which has focused on learners’ experiences with the use of mobile devices to support language learning. Learning activities undertaken by the interviewees were wide-ranging, with evidence of the importance of both easy learning and challenge. Specific findings relating to time and place of learning are reported. As mobile technology developments and the availability of mobile services and applications accelerate, educators and researchers need conceptual frameworks to enable them to interpret emerging learner practices. New language learning activities and services can be designed on the basis of this understanding. By reviewing individual learner experiences in learner-determined contexts, researchers and the language teaching community can work together to build up a picture of emergent practices and formulate the implications for the design of language teaching and learning now and in the future

Mobile-facilitated Time and Place among Iranian EFL Learners

Language learning is changing in a mobile technology-rich landscape and under the influence of new learner practices stemming from personal perspectives on the best places for learning and from evolving uses of available time. The key aim of this study is to conceptualize the relation between the focus of language learning and the dimensions of time and place among Iranian EFL learners. The study aims to assess what effect this might have on language learning in terms of curriculum or the design of learning activities. It draws on a survey study led by the authors, investigating how Iranian EFL learners use mobile technologies to support their learning, and particularly on interview data from the most recent project, which has focused on learners’ experiences with the use of mobile devices to support language learning. Learning activities undertaken by the interviewees were wide-ranging, with evidence of the importance of both easy learning and challenge. Specific findings relating to time and place of learning are reported. As mobile technology developments and the availability of mobile services and applications accelerate, educators and researchers need conceptual frameworks to enable them to interpret emerging learner practices. New language learning activities and services can be designed on the basis of this understanding. By reviewing individual learner experiences in learner-determined contexts, researchers and the language teaching community can work together to build up a picture of emergent practices and formulate the implications for the design of language teaching and learning now and in the future