Mobile Learning

New technologies provide new conditions for learning in different contexts. The mobile learning field is advancing and offering various solutions to unsolved problems with the use of innovative tools. There are many stakeholders and reasons for conceptualizing mobile learning and its possible outcomes. Many researchers believe that mobile learn-ing is situated in the future of learnlearn-ing [Keegan 2005][Sharples et al. 2007], ubiquitous learning [Rogers et al. 2005:1] and seamless learning [Chan et al. 2006:5]. John Traxler believes in a transformation toward mobile learning and says [Traxler 2007:1]:

“Looking at mobile learning in a wider context, we have to recognize that mobile, personal, and wireless devices are now radically transforming societal notions of discourse and knowledge, and are responsible for new forms of art, employment, language, commerce, deprivation, and crime, as well as learning.

With increased popular access to information and knowledge anywhere, anytime, the role of education, perhaps especially formal education, is challenged and the relationships between education, society, and tech-nology are now more dynamic than ever.”

and Niall Winters pointed to [Winters et al. 2007:10]:

“Mobile learning applications are best viewed as mediating tools in the learning process.”

Mobile learning can influence both the individual and community at large. Therefore, these tools impact two-way learning between groups and individuals. Learners are no longer limited to one place. Moreover, mobile devices support collaborative learning.

They also let the learner interact with others face to face, instead of sitting at a personal computer. Mobile Learning Network [MoLeNET] uses a broader definition of mobile learning:

“The exploitation of ubiquitous handheld technologies, together with wireless and mobile phone networks, to facilitate, support, enhance and extend the reach of teaching and learning.”

Mobile learning is neither an extended version of e-learning nor a portable Computer-Based Training (CBT). It has its own characteristics and didactical methods as well as direct interaction between learners in context. The specific quality of this learning ity is that the learner is not fixed to a certain predetermined location. This mobile activ-ity is embedded in a didactical framework. One leading aspect of this framework is that mobile learning is adapting to a specific context. In this context the social interaction becomes meaningful to cognition. Not only social contexts but also relationships to ob-jects become an important part of the context.

Certainly, the Internet demonstrates the increase of learning tools away from traditional learning toward distance learning. An ideal online mobile learning application demands high bandwidth connectivity, high quality of user interface presentation, and a powerful content database. M-learning systems represent a variety of learning interactions in mo-bile environments, which can be used in a dynamic learning context. They also enable the combination, cooperation and exchange of advice with self-determined action in real-life situations. These interactions are important to the completion of tasks. With mobile learning, unproductive “waiting time” can easily become better-used learning

time. The challenge is in the transfer of knowledge from the classroom to the workplace or daily life, which may result in partial loss of content. To avoid this loss, mobile learn-ing can provide a good solution. With the capacity of mobile devices, abstract knowl-edge can be bridged to practical action which reduces this loss. In result, a new culture of knowledge transfer can be established. Pachler and colleagues [Pachler et al. 2009:1]

note that:

“Mobile learning is explored as an emergent field of educational enquiry at the interface between cultural transformation and changing cultural practices in everyday life and pedagogical approaches in formal educa-tional contexts.”

Significant Advantages and Highlights of Mobile Learning

• Can provide the learning process in real context.

• Can enhance the motivations for learners to be engaged more in learning proc-ess.

• Helps the learners to feel their autonomy and self-confidence in learning.

• Inherit the advantages of e-learning.

• Covers the restrictions of time and place of learning.

• Can support personalized learning.

• Can be used in two forms of individual or collaborative learning as well as social communications.

• Can be used as learner-centered content.

• Helps the situated learning on workplace (Just-in-time learning).

• Can be used as a tool for mobile assessment and surveys.

• Can provide new and different types of interactions.

• Can facilitate the communication during learning process.

• Can support easy learning material administration and updates.

[Ally 2009][Woodill et al. 2008:2][Keegan 2005]

Despite the many advantages of mobile learning, these potential “wins” do come with challenges.

Challenges of Mobile Learning:

• Small screens and limited amount of information on screen.

• Limited storage capacity.

• Lack of operating system (in many cases).

• Can make the sense of isolation from other colleagues or classmates.

• Can cause cheating in learning process.

• Can make problem in different learning platforms and devices.

• Limitation in publishing learning materials in different devices.

• Mobile devices can be out of date very quick (fast moving market).

• Wireless connectivity reception problem.

• Problem in multi-device capabilities.

[Ally 2009][Woodill et al. 2008:2][Keegan 2005]

Mobile learning can be used in the following situations based on the requirements and needs [Ally 2009][Keegan 2005]:

• Attending in virtual learning environments for training or teaching.

• Access to different digital libraries and archives.

• Access to different learning material pools (Quiz, test, interactions…).

• Live broadcasting and podcasts.

• Bringing the possibility of “Fun in Learning” as well as “Joy of Use”.

• Facilitate offline-learning content.

Marguerite Koole in the “Mobile Learning” book [Ally 2009:27] points to the following frame model of mobile learning context in Venn diagram. In a cooperative learning process, learners consume and in a way create the information. Figure 6 shows the inter-section between three aspects, learner and social aspects is mobile learning. The infor-mation becomes meaningful and useful depending on the complexity of the interaction and the type of interaction with the user.

Figure 6: The mobile learning frame model [Ally 2009:27].

The overlapped areas in Venn diagram figure 6 involve the attributes of two circles in the area. The focus of this project will be on two areas of mobile learning, the center area (DLS) and the interaction learning area (LS). This point joins the learner and social aspects. Mobile learning can support several functions that enable orientation in context and space of a certain field or task. “A new m-learning architecture will support crea-tion, brokerage, delivery and tracking of learning and information content using ambient intelligence, location-dependence, personalization, multi-media, instant messaging (text, video) and distributed databases” [MOBIlearn]. Jones suggests the following six rea-sons why mobile learning might be motivating and fruitful for learners [Jones et al.

2006:251-252]:

• Control (over goals)

• Ownership

• Fun

• Communication

• Learning-in-context

• Continuity between contexts

Learning that is considered self-paced allow learners to control their own content and pace of learning giving them easier ways to reach their goals. Constraints that enforce or limit user interface or design in specific cases present challenges within current mobile technology. Mobile learning systems offer a variety of learning interactions in mobile environments that can be used in a dynamic learning context [Ally 2009]. To perform real-life tasks, these systems enable user-determined collaboration, co-operation and exchange of advice within a given situation.