The next generation: design and the infrastructure for learning in a mobile and networked world

Focusing on intermediate and institutional levels of design for learning, this chapter explores how institutional decisions relate to design, using recent experience at The Open University as a case study. To illuminate the relationship between institutional decisions and learner-focused design, we review and bring together some of the research on learner practices in mobile and networked learning. We take a critical stance in relation to the concept of generation, which has been applied to understanding learners of different ages using terms such as net generation and digital natives. Following on from this, we propose an integrated pedagogical design approach that takes account of learner practices, spaces for learning, and technologies. The chapter also proposes future research directions focused on the changing context for learning, a distinction between place and space and an understanding of how the different levels of educational systems interact with mobile and networked technologies

Qualitative Research In Online Language Learning - What Can It Do?

In this article we explore the theoretical foundations of qualitative research in online language learning. We will look at the distinction between offline and online language learning and discuss whether different ways of knowledge generation are appropriate for those different learning environments. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies will be examined and their fit with various learning theories evaluated. Fundamental theoretical differences between epistemologies supporting a realist ontology and those favouring relativist ontologies will be presented and set in the context of online and technology enhanced language learning research. Finally, we argue that a sociocultural framework, which goes beyond quantitative research approaches, is necessary to adequately understand the experiences of language learners and teachers who share a common interest in the new digital environments

A citizen-centred approach to education in the smart city: incidental language learning for supporting the inclusion of recent migrants

Smart cities are often developed in a top-down approach and designers may see citizens as bits within data flows. A more human-centred perspective would be to consider what the smart city might afford its citizens. A high speed, pervasive network infrastructure offers the opportunity for ubiquitous mobile learning to become a reality. The MASELTOV project sees the smart city as enabling technology enhanced incidental learning: unplanned or unintentional learning that takes place in everyday life, in any place, at any time, with the city itself the context and the prompt for learning episodes. Migrants in particular will benefit: limited in their opportunity to attend formal education yet with a pressing need for language learning to support their integration. Incidental learning services, like smart city planning, need interdisciplinary communication for successful development. We describe the MASELTOV Incidental Learning Framework which will act as a boundary object to facilitate this process.

M-learning in the middle east: The case of Bahrain

The introduction of e-learning in higher education has brought radical changes in the way undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are designed and delivered. University students now have access to their courses anytime, anywhere, which makes e-learning and m-learning popular and fashionable among university students globally. Nevertheless, instructors are now challenged, as they have to adopt new pedagogies in learning and teaching. This chapter explores the adoption of m-learning at universities in the Kingdom of Bahrain, as well as the relevant current developments and challenges related to the major stakeholders (educators and students) in higher education. It mainly investigates the educators' views and perceptions of m-learning, as well as its future potential in higher education. Most of the educators use m-learning tools to some limited extent, and there is still opportunity to reach full integration with curriculum and the blended learning approach. Further, it is proposed that professional development should be provided to instructors to enable them to use the available new technologies in an appropriate and effective way