Selected Topics for e-Learning Technologies

(Mobile Learning)

Timothy K. Shih

• Overview of Mobile Learning• Related Researches• Mobile Learning Researches in MINE.

Lab• Novel equipments and terminologies

– Hardware– Mobile Learning 2.0

• Discussion

What is mobile learning?Mobile learning originally referred to the use of laptop computers, which freed learners from the desktop

Mobile phones opened up the concept of wireless learning (via GPRS and GSM)

“Learning has movedfrom the classroomonto your desktop

and into your pocket”

Always onAlways on you

Independent of time and space

Pocket PCs and other devices used for learning purposes led to the term handheld learning

GSM/GPRS

WifFi

Who is the buyer? 2006~2011 US Market for Mobile Learning Products and Services

by Customer Segment

What are They Buying? Three Types of Mobile Learning Products and Services

Next-generation Learning Technology Trends: Mobile Learning Expands Reach of

Learning Technology

Judy Brown• Judy was the Founder and Director of the

Academic Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Co-Lab in partnership with the Department of Defense

• She was named one of the Top 100 women in computing by McGraw Hill's Open Computing magazine (December 1994)

http://www.judybrown.com

Challenges

• Cost and Compatibility– Cost

• Managing learning through intermittent connection• Dial-up access to a network, small screens, slow

processing and limited storage capabilities• The application must be able to link to a Learning

Management System• Learners need to access all materials and exchange

information that is independent of system preferences • If the Web connection is broken, any information will be

lost until connectivity is restored– Compatibility

• Platform-specific solution– SCORM– Be able to run any compliant content on any compliant

system

Challenges

• Device-independent delivery– M-Learning solution must work for a broad

range of devices, not only for one set – Broad range of devices precludes specific

solutions– One of the typical solutions:

• Broaden the capabilities and flexibility of web browsers that separate the content from the format

Related Research Issues

Related Research Issues

• Develop a mobile learning system applied to specific domain.– Tour guide in museum– Outdoor learning activities (bird watching)

• Ubiquitous Learning– Utilize the context awareness and adaptation

strategies to make mobile learning environments more available

• Game Learning with mobile devices• Related concepts and applications

– M-Learning 2.0

The MObile-Based Interactive Learning Environment (MOBILE) and A Case Study for

Assisting Elementary School English Learning

A Mobile Butterfly-Watching Learning System for Supporting Independent Learning

• The features of these systems– Contents had been stored at mobile devices in

advance• Museum Guide• Designed for specific areas and users.

– Good performance and acceptable results– Ignore the potential problems

• Network connection• Storage capability

Pocket SCORM

Pocket SCORM

• The system received the 2005 Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Awards.

• The customized version of pocket SCORM has been adopted by a domestic airways (TransAsia) to perform pilot training and aircraft security routines.

Our e-learning Web Services

Context Awareness and Adaptation Strategies Used in Mobile Learning Environment

• Context Awareness and Adaptation in Mobile Learning– Sense mobile environment and reacts to change

context during learning process– A definition of learning context

• Any information that can be used to characterize the situation of learning entities that are considered relevant to the interactions between a learner and an application.

– Six dimensions• Identity dimension• Spatio-temporal dimension• Facility dimension• Activity dimension• Learner dimension• Community dimension

Select

Request &

Response

Request &

Response

Request &

Response

Request &

Response

XML XSL

CC/PPFor Note

Book

CC/PPFor

Tablet

CC/PPFor PDA

CC/PPFor Mobile

Phone

Search

Generate

Personalized Metadata

Teacher’s personalized metadata

Basic metadata

Student’s personalized metadata

Mobile learning with a mobile game: design and motivational effects

• Design of the MobileGame prototype, exploring the opportunities to support learning through an orientation game in a university setting.

• Mobile learning Scenario– Used to support the orientation days at a university– Significant place tasks

• Library, laboratories

– Significant people tasks• Interview with important people

– Significant event tasks• Events can scheduled or come as surprise

Interface• Mobile game system

– Position information.• Indoor: Ekahau positioning engine• Outdoor: GPS (inaccurate)

• Major interface versions2004 spring (second version)

2004 summer (third version)

Conclusion

• Technical design issues for the MobileGame prototype– Accuracy of positioning– Play on the move– Offline areas and response time– Interface Design

• Conclusions and outlook– Serious limitations

• Mobile user interface• Accuracy of positioning systems• Accompanying content have not yet been carefully

designed– Users still liked the gaming features best.

Mad City Murder: Augmented Reality Scientific Role Play Environments

Key Findings

• Learners more enthusiastic about learning

• 80% felt mobile learning games could help reading or spelling; 78% felt could improve math

• An iterative approach to development is best, and developing learning materials specifically for mobile is better than re-using materials developed for delivery to a regular PC

Mobile Learning today and in the future

1. Mobile Learning is able to support new trends in workplace learning.

2. New, ubiquitous and more functional mobile devices are helping to make mobile learning more successful

3. Mobile Learning embraces the concepts of Web 2.0, which are already changing e-learning.

• Jane Knight – Proposed the concept of Mobile Learning 2.0– The founder of the e-Learning Centre – Head of Research Services, Organisational

Learning Technologies, at Learning Light

• Learning Light– Non-profit organisation that builds relationships

between learning technology researchers, suppliers, buyers and learners providing learner-centric information to encourage the growth of learning technologies

Mobile Learning 2.0

Mobile Learning is taking on board and complementing the concepts of Web 2.0 which have led to the emergence of E-Learning 2.0 and … Mobile Learning 2.0

Web 1.0 Web 2.0

content

content

content

sharing (content)collaborationsyndication

tagging

Mobile Learning 2.0

E-Learning 2.0 Mobile Learning 2.0

blogs

RSS

wikis

social applications

moblogs and vlogs

podcasts (audio blogs)

RSS

collaborative learning

Ubiquitous devices

• Most successful devices are those already being significantly used– Mobile phones

• moblogging and vlogging

– iPods/MP3 players • podcasting

Moblogging and Vblogging

• A Video blog, sometimes shortened to vblog, is a blog that comprises video

• Moblog is a blend of the words mobile and weblog– Consists of content posted to the Internet from a

mobile or portable device, such as a cellular phone or PDA

• Moblogs generally involve technology which allows publishing from a mobile device

Moblog and vblog

Podcast

• A podcast is a digital media file, or a series of such files, that is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers

• A specific type of webcast which, like 'radio‘• The term "podcast" is a portmanteau of the

name of Apple's portable music player, the iPod, and broadcast; a "pod" refers to a container of some sort, and "cast" to the idea of broadcasting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting

Podcast

• Podcast is a collection of files (usually audio and video) residing at a unique web feed address. People can "subscribe" to this feed by submitting the feed address to an aggregator (like itunes). When new "episodes" become available in the podcast they will be automatically downloaded to that users computer

• Podcasting is an automatic mechanism whereby multimedia computer files are transferred from a server to a client, which pulls down XML files containing the Internet addresses of the media files. In general, these files contain audio (MP3) or video, but also could be images, text, PDF, or any file type.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting

New podcasting terminology

• Podogogy = “pedagogical podcasting”• Learncasting• Coursecasting

– audio lectures– video lectures (audio + PowerPoint slides)

Various Devices

Readius

Phillips

Nintendo’s DS and Sony’s PSP

Add on Devices

Quick Response (QR) Code

Benefits to Business

• Effective for "just in time" education through a capability called "profiled notification.“– Information is pushed to the person who needs it, when they

need it, based on a user-created profile.• More than 50% of workers have jobs that take them

away from a physical office.• Training can benefit from a shift away from classroom

training to instruction provided at the job site– uses a handheld device that can act as a reference manual

and performance job aid & as a communication device, calculator, data recorder, and position locator.

• Throw in information tagged to object via RFID and it is easy to see how work performance can be enhanced.

Let’s Discuss

• How could learning change?– What if I had immediate access to

communicate or search?– What if I could speak to my device?– What if my location were known?– What if my device knew my interests and

expertise?

Operating Systems• Palm OS

– fits in devices with less memory– runs faster– most users say it is easier to use

• PocketPC (formerly called Windows CE, Microsoft)– easily supports colour displays, graphics – miniaturized Windows packages (Word, Excel), even

PowerPoint nowadays– takes up more memory and is slower – users say it is more complicated – The newest PocketPC version customized by Windows CE is

“Mobile 6”• The Symbian OS

– major system in European markets– offers better communications capabilities – mostly customized for phone-like platforms

Resources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/• http://www.judybrown.com/• http://mobileresources.html• http://www.mlearnopedia.com• http://mobilelearn.pbwiki.com• http://www.learninglight.com

• Mobile Learning Researches in MINE. lab

An Adaptive Caching Strategy for m-Learning Based on SCORM Sequencing and

Navigation

• Main problems– impermanent network environment – weak computing power and very limited

network bandwidth

Introduction

• Predict the required contents and download the contents in advance

• How to predict the incoming learning resources precisely– SCORM Sequencing and Navigation– Specific devices

• COD (caching on dish) mode• VMM (virtual memory management) mode

– Learning record

Caching System Architecture

• Two Components of Caching Strategy– Download Management Model

• On the Server Side

• Predict Data for Downloading

– Replacement Management Model• On the Client Side

• Predict Data for Dropping

Download Algorithm

Replacement Algorithm

Replacement Management Model

Launch Caching Strategy

Predict Learning Order

Create Drop Order

Get Response

Drop Cluster(s)

Factors for Predicting

Download Order

Request Download

Remove Unnecessary Order

Download Cluster(s) Cluster(s)

Download Management Model

Photoshop_None

Total Waiting Time (seconds) Internet Reconnection Frequency (times)

Photoshop_KnowledgePaced

Total Waiting Time (seconds) Internet Reconnection Frequency (times)

A Custom Course

Total Waiting Time (seconds) Internet Reconnection Frequency (times)

An authoring tool for mobile learning content using Web 2.0　 technology

Hsuan Pu Chang

Motivation• There are a lot of learning contents have been designed for

regular PCs.• The restriction of small screen of mobile learning platforms has

always influenced the user’s learning will and learning effect• The researches of overcoming the insufficient browsing and

Interactions on handheld devices have been studied for years– Simplify the content presentation style

• Transform the content according to the predefined and specific rules

• Utilize the spatial and temporal features to reorganized the content presentation

– Modify the interactive operations• Add the number of hyperlinks to reduce the complexity of

content’s presentation but increase the depth of content’s structure

– Most of studies focus on content adaptation for usual Internet web pages such as Yahoo rather than learning or educational relevant contents

Goal

• The Main Goals– Develop an authoring tool which can

• Easily adapt the existent learning contents for user’s specific handheld devices

– Abundant and exceptional learning contents have been designed and published for regular PCs.

• Assist authors to produce a new mobile learning material

– Quizzes– Knowledge Tips– Information Announcement

Related Studies• Two automatic techniques of adaptation

policy– Rule-based adaptation– Constraint-based adaptation

Select

Request &

Response

Request &

Response

Request &

Response

Request &

Response

XML XSL

CC/PPFor Note

Book

CC/PPFor

Tablet

CC/PPFor PDA

CC/PPFor Mobile

Phone

Search

Generate

Context-Aware Interactive Content Adaptation

• User takes the control of the adaptation process

• Make changes until the content is suitably adapted for user’s purposes.

• Leverage user interaction (to correct the adaptation) to learning how to adapt the content based on the user’s usage semantics

• Allow users to adjust the present object until the requirements are satisfied

LMS

Regular Contents

Regular Contents

Repository

Instructor

SCORM Compliant Course

Authoring Tool

Learner Learner Learner

Adapt Contents

Regular Contents

Corresponding Content Version

Corresponding Content Version

Adapt Contents

Adapt Contents

Pocket SCORM

• Questions– If the adaptation is not proper?– Is it possible to find a method to adapt all kinds

of learning subjects or learning contents?– How to preserve the educational essence of

the original learning contents after the modification by an individual user or adaptation implemented according to a specific algorithm.

LMS

Regular Contents

Repository

Instructor

Regular Contents

Authoring Tool

Learner

Learner

Learner

Adapt Contents by authors themselves

Adaptation Information

Regular Contents

Adaptation Information

Distribute Corresponding

Contents

Distribute Corresponding

Contents

Regular Contents

Adaptation Information

Corresponding Content Version

Corresponding Content Version

Benefits

• Offer the better performance during the learning process

• Authors can preview the content adaptation result and decide whether the adapted contents could be published or not

• Allow professional educators ensure the quality of the adapted contents instead of totally adapting all kinds of contents according to the same algorithm proposed by a computer engineer.

The new authoring tool• Web-based authoring tool

– Accomplish the editing process only with Internet browser

– No more installation requirements– With Web 2.0 technology

• How to reduce the overload of reproducing the required contents for mobile learning version

• Provide the semi-automatic transforming function

• Template of presentation style– Multi-version adaptation

• Pocket PC present template• Smartphone present template

– With one click to create the prior adaptation result– Manually modify parameters of the template– System can learn the author’s editing preference

according to the user’s adjustment of template parameters and provide the more appropriate templates for other teachers.

Pocket PC presentation style button

Image Resolution

Simplified Presentation Style

Unsupported file type Sudden Information Density

Pocket PC Smartphone

Text Text/Audio Text/Audio

Image Image (resolution) Image (resolution)

Video Video, Image, Audio (resolution/frame rate)

Video, Image, Audio (resolution/frame rate)

Flash Flash, Video, Image, Audio

Video, Image, Audio

Summary