18 research outputs found

    Mobile Learning Content Authoring Tools (MLCATs): A Systematic Review

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    Mobile learning is currently receiving a lot of attention within the education arena, particularly within electronic learning. This is attributed to the increasing mobile penetration rates and the subsequent increases in university student enrolments. Mobile Learning environments are supported by a number of crucial services such as content creation which require an authoring tool. The last decade or so has witnessed increased attention to tools for authoring mobile learning content for education. This can be seen from the vast number of conference and journal publications devoted to the topic. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to review works that were published, suggest a new classification framework and explore each of the classification features. This paper is based on a systematic review of mobile learning content authoring tools (MLCATs) from 2000 to 2009. The framework is developed based on a number of dimensions such as system type, development context, Tools and Technologies used, tool availability, ICTD relation, support for standards, learning style support, media supported and tool purpose. This paper provides a means for researchers to extract assertions and several important lessons for the choice and implementation of MLCATs

    A preliminary study of podcasting in developing higher edcuation institution: A South African case

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    Purpose - The goal of our work is to report on Podcasting experience by faculty and students in a South African Higher Education Institutions, identify issues, limitations and discuss implications for the design of future tools. Design/methodology/approach - This work consisted of two parts: semi-structured interviews with lecturers, content/curriculum developers and a student survey. Findings - Rogers‟ diffusion of innovations theory provided the framework for this research including determining how new innovations are disseminated, their rate of adoption, the five stage decision making process for adoption and the characteristics an innovation must possess to be attractive to adopters. The methodology used relied heavily on descriptive and qualitative data analyses in order to determine the current podcasting practices and experiences. Results reveal that by assuming some of the respondents are “Innovators” or “early adopters”, they are still in the early stages of the decision making process. Research limitations/implications - Some instructors who are identified as “early adopters” are experimenting with Podcasting as an add-on to existing lecture resources. However, innovations and their subsequent adoption require an understanding of lecturers‟ and students‟ perceptions, opportunities and challenges. Originality/value - Podcasting in developing HEIs and the tools therein to support the process has not been given much attention. The context of this study is the first kind of empirical research in this area. The findings from this exploratory research will be valuable for podcasting users

    Incident Management Process and Remedy Action Request System Analysis for Technical Support

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    Among many available frameworks and international standards for technical support service, Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is one of the earliest and most popular frameworks, being widely followed and implemented all over the world in both private and public sectors. Many supporting tools are designed and developed based on the processes recommended by ITIL. However if the processes are not followed by the actual business practice then such supporting tools might not fulfill the business demand as desired. This paper uses RemedyÂź Action Request System as an example tool to identify the possible gaps between the ITIL Incident Management process and actual business processes, and then uses the data extracted from RemedyÂź to evaluate an ITIL based sample SLA to demonstrate potential deficiencies caused by business deviation from ITIL processes. Countermeasures are also given based on business scenarios

    Educational Technology and Education Conferences, June to December 2012

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    The conference list contains events such as "Learning and Teaching","Innovation in e-Learning", "Online Teaching", "Distance Learning Administration", "The World Open Educational Resources Congress", "Mobile Health", and "Realizing Dreams"

    Educational Technology and Related Education Conferences for January to June 2011 - November 11, 2010

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    If you attend the same conferences each year, you don’t need to scan this list. This list is your opportunity to “push the envelope” by trying something new. There are hundreds of professional development events that may give you a different perspective or help you learn a new skill. Rather than attend the same event you always do, scan this list and investigate conferences, symposiums, or workshops you have never attended. The list below covers selected events focused primarily on the use of technology in educational settings and on teaching, learning, and educational administration. Only listings until June 2011 are complete as dates, locations, or URLs are not available for a number of events held after June 2011. A Word 2003 format is used to enable people who do not have access to Word 2007 or higher version and those with limited or high-cost Internet access to find a conference that is congruent with their interests or obtain conference proceedings. (If you are seeking a more interactive listing, refer to online conference sites.) Consider using the “Find” tool under Microsoft Word’s “Edit” tab or similar tab in OpenOffice to locate the name of a particular conference, association, city, or country. If you enter the country “United Kingdom” in the “Find” tool, all conferences that occur in the United Kingdom will be highlighted. Then, “cut and paste” a list of suitable events for yourself and your colleagues. Please note that events, dates, titles, and locations may change; thus, CHECK the specific conference website. Note also that some events will be cancelled at a later date. All Internet addresses were verified at the time of publication. No liability is assumed for any errors that may have been introduced inadvertently during the assembly of this conference list. If possible, please do not remove the contact information when you re-distribute the list as that is how I receive updates and corrections. If you publish the list on the web, please note its source

    Social networking sites as platforms to persuade behaviour change in domestic energy consumption

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    This MSc project addresses the following research question – “Can online social networks such as Facebook facilitate the motivation and behaviour change to reduce energy consumption in the home?” An investigation into the role of social interaction in social networks provides evidence to support the research question. The project undertook an extensive literature review and identified a gap in current knowledge regarding energy monitoring systems that are socially enabled. A participatory design workshop was then held to generate initial concept ideas and prototype interfaces. A final system using the Facebook application platform was designed and implemented by the author called Wattsup. An experimental design was then developed to evaluate the system which involved recruiting eight households for an eighteen day trial. This was supplemented with a qualitative study of comments generated by users and also in semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that the users of the Wattsup energy application integrated in Facebook assisted the participants in reducing their energy consumption. Types of energy information displayed in the application were both live and historical measurements as well as Co2 emissions, publicly viewable to participants and others on their personal Facebook friends list. Public viewing was implemented for comparison purposes as well as introducing peer pressure and competition amongst like-minded friends. Further analysis of the participant’s social interaction activity with the energy application revealed higher awareness of their energy usage behaviour was present. Positive effects of the results were lower energy costs and fewer Co2 emissions released upon the environment from the participants by using the socially enabled energy application. To test the theory of a positive effect of social interaction on domestic energy consumption, two Facebook energy applications were developed by the author. One of the applications contained socially enabled features, while the other displayed only the participant’s personal energy usage with no social features or capability to view other participant’s energy information

    Enhancing the E-Commerce Experience through Haptic Feedback Interaction

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    The sense of touch is important in our everyday lives and its absence makes it difficult to explore and manipulate everyday objects. Existing online shopping practice lacks the opportunity for physical evaluation, that people often use and value when making product choices. However, with recent advances in haptic research and technology, it is possible to simulate various physical properties such as heaviness, softness, deformation, and temperature. The research described here investigates the use of haptic feedback interaction to enhance e-commerce product evaluation, particularly haptic weight and texture evaluation. While other properties are equally important, besides being fundamental to the shopping experience of many online products, weight and texture can be simulated using cost-effective devices. Two initial psychophysical experiments were conducted using free motion haptic exploration in order to more closely resemble conventional shopping. One experiment was to measure weight force thresholds and another to measure texture force thresholds. The measurements can provide better understanding of haptic device limitation for online shopping in terms of the availability of different stimuli to represent physical products. The outcomes of the initial psychophysical experimental studies were then used to produce various absolute stimuli that were used in a comparative experimental study to evaluate user experience of haptic product evaluation. Although free haptic exploration was exercised on both psychophysical experiments, results were relatively consistent with previous work on haptic discrimination. The threshold for weight force discrimination represented as downward forces was 10 percent. The threshold for texture force discrimination represented as friction forces was 14.1 percent, when using dynamic coefficient of friction at any level of static coefficient of friction. On the other hand, the comparative experimental study to evaluate user experience of haptic product information indicated that haptic product evaluation does not change user performance significantly. However, although there was an increase in the time taken to complete the task, the number of button click actions tended to decrease. The results showed that haptic product evaluation could significantly increase the confidence of shopping decision. Nevertheless, the availability of haptic product evaluation does not necessarily impose different product choices but it complements other selection criteria such as price and appearance. The research findings from this work are a first step towards exploring haptic-based environments in e-commerce environments. The findings not only lay the foundation for designing online haptic shopping but also provide empirical support to research in this direction

    A model for adaptive multimodal mobile notification

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    Information is useless unless it is used whilst still applicable. Having a system that notifies the user of important messages using the most appropriate medium and device will benefit users that rely on time critical information. There are several existing systems and models for mobile notification as well as for adaptive mobile notification using context awareness. Current models and systems are typically designed for a specific set of mobile devices, modes and services. Communication however, can take place in many different modes, across many different devices and may originate from many different sources. The aim of this research was to develop a model for adaptive mobile notification using context awareness. An extensive literature study was performed into existing models for adaptive mobile notification systems using context awareness. The literature study identified several potential models but no way to evaluate and compare the models. A set of requirements to evaluate these models was developed and the models were evaluated against these criteria. The model satisfying the most requirements was adapted so as to satisfy the remaining criteria. The proposed model is extensible in terms of the modes, devices and notification sources supported. The proposed model determines the importance of a message, the appropriate device and mode (or modes) of communication based on the user‘s context, and alerts the user of the message using these modes. A prototype was developed as a proof-of-concept of the proposed model and evaluated by conducting an extensive field study. The field study highlighted the fact that most users did not choose the most suitable mode for the context during their initial subscription to the service. The field study also showed that more research needs to be done on an appropriate filtering mechanism for notifications. Users found that the notifications became intrusive and less useful the longer they used them
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