A Trend Analysis of Mobile Learning

The aim of this study is to determine current tendencies regarding mobile learning in published research between 2010 and 2015. In this study, 221 articles collected from the Web of Science Core Collection database with SSCI index were examined by using the content analysis technique. In the analyses, eight criteria were used, namely; research technique, sampling size, sampling level, learning domain, topical domain, data collecting tool, data analysis method and mobile application development approach. The results suggest that the main tendencies under these categories were experimental method; sample sizes of 31-100 people; higher education students; humanities and social sciences domain; learner outcomes topical domain; mixed data collecting tools; mixed analysis methods; and native mobile application development approach.

Blended Learning

Higher Education in developing countries like Oman offers several unique circumstances that suggest curriculum delivery using Blended Learning is a rational choice. Research has been conducted to identify the factors affecting blended learning adoption and to determine whether the teaching and learning process is amenable to its adoption at HEIs in Oman. Based on the findings a model, Blended Learning Acceptance Model (BLAM), has been developed. It was inferred from the findings that there is a positive relationship among the demographic factors and behavioral Intention i.e. blended-learning adoption. In addition, the teaching and learning styles also had significant influence on adoption of blended learning. BLAM was primarily intended to be used at HEIs in Oman, but may also be used in other developing countries as a reference for the adoption of blended learning.

Evaluating Learning Experience through Educational Social Network Support in Blended Learning

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model has been used for exploring various aspects of blended learning courses using technology such as Course Management Systems (CMSs). However, there is a lack of research literature evaluating CoI in environments where students use an educational social network in addition to a CMS and face to face teaching and learning. This study investigates a learning experience in blended learning that combines the usage of a CMS, Edmodo, which is an educational Social Network Site (SNS) and face to face teaching and learning. The results have shown a significant relationship and prediction of overall learning experience in relation to teaching, cognitive and social presence in blended learning. Moreover, social presence is the most significant factor to predict the overall learning experience of students.

Taking Advantage of MOOCs in K-12 Education

Technological opportunities are opening new ways for educators to enhance K-12 instruction. While many educators are incorporating digital technologies into their teaching, there is evidence to show that K-12 educators have a lack of training, time, and resources to implement learner-centered digital instruction. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) have gained a reputation for providing online learning in higher education and are now extending to K-12. The unique digital advantages as well as the rising number of students enrolled in schools has led to discussions about the potential of MOOCS for students in K-12 (ages 4-19 years) education. This chapter provides a review of the literature of early pioneering work of MOOCs in K-12 within North America. Early MOOC classes are explicated and positives and challenges discussed. It appears from the review that there is a place for MOOCs to be embedded into a blended K-12 environment to extend and enhance existing curricula.

A Remote Mobile Experiment in Brazilian Public Basic Education

The STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) are very important for education, but the lack of experimental laboratories for these subjects in a school might decrease the interest of its students in STEM fields. This chapter explores these issues in the Brazilian context where, in order to address this issue, remote experiments are used to share real experiments manipulated through the Internet. Teachers and students can use remote laboratories, equipped with real experiments, to put in practice theoretical concepts learned in class. This chapter presents a report on a pilot project that aims to explore the use of Mobile Remote Experimentation (MRE) by teachers and students of public high schools in Brazil. It involves the use of mobile devices to access remote experiments in STEM subjects through the Internet. The report demonstrates the effectiveness of using such educational resources to improve pedagogical results by applying the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) model to measure the impact of MRE by STEM teachers.

Mobile Application Development by Students to Support Student Learning

The ubiquity of mobile devices, their portability and their unique gesture recognition features make them an apt educational tool, especially in the STEM fields. The traditional pen and paper practice method can be transferred to a digital format and the content can be made available to students anywhere and at any time. In this chapter the authors discuss how mobile application development projects can be used to benefit students in multiple STEM disciplines at the same time by creating a symbiotic, business-like relationship between students enrolled in a software development course and students in other STEM courses (end-users). The authors will discuss the learning needs of students and the details of thoughtful mobile application design incorporating various learning theories. This chapter will also discuss various examples of educational mobile apps created, their usability testing results and their effect on student learning.

Mobile Learning in Science and Mathematics Teaching

This chapter, the authors analyze mobile learning literature addressing formal teaching situations in the field of science/mathematics education. The chapter describes a systematic review of relevant literature, investigating work published between 2005 and 2014. Based on the findings of this review, the results reveal that since 2009 interest in the academic community for research involving m-learning in science and mathematics teaching has intensified. An emphasis on the growing need for research involving m-learning at undergraduate levels is evident. The study notes positive reported results on the impact of m-learning in science and mathematics teaching, notably in assisting ease of learning, promoting student interest and collaborating with positive, motivating attitudes, encouraging meaningful commitment among students in learning activities.

Journalism and Law 2.0

This chapter extends the authors' 2013 IJMBL article that covered the establishment of a lecturer Community Of Practice (COP) leading to two journalism 2.0 project iterations in 2011 and 2012. Since 2012 the project has had an increasingly wide impact across the journalism degree curriculum, including the establishment of a specific third year mobile journalism course in 2013, and the integration of mobile social media into over six journalism courses within the degree. In 2014 the journalism COP was also broadened to include two law lecturers from the business faculty of the university to support the integration of new pedagogies within the law degree curriculum. This led to the exploration of new pedagogies within two law degree courses in 2014, including international environment law, and law and media studies. This illustrates the potential of a COP model for supporting the brokering of pedagogical transformation across the boundaries of different (but associated) learning contexts.

Create, Transform, and Share

This chapter explores the potential of mobile learning for creativity in formal and informal contexts of learning with a focus on media production and self-expression. In doing so it attempts to move beyond binary views around the nature of creativity and the role of technologies for creative learning. It presents the literature on how creativity and its relationship with technologies have been conceptualized, especially in education, and provides the theoretical underpinnings that supported the study. In particular, it refers to the Vygotskyan perspective of creativity as a transformative (social) process of culture and the self, and looks at digital technologies' affordances to reflect on their potential for learning. It describes three projects addressing young people and entailing the creation of digital artefacts through mobile devices. It highlights learners' and teachers' perspectives and shows how mobile devices can serve as cultural resources that young people may use for meaning making and transforming themselves.

Investigating the Daily Use of Mobile Phones as Tools to Enhance mLearning for Local Cultural Subjects in the Context of Malaysian Universities

With the advent of mobile technology, students and academics are using mobile devices, such as mobile phones, for personal daily activities. Due to the heavy overseas ‘Mat Salleh' content from English speaking countries, such as the U.S.A. and the United Kingdom this contributes to the lack of content. In fact, there is a lack of local content for local cultural subjects. Furthermore, there are limited qualitative studies that take into consideration the potential of students in the Malaysian universities to make use of mobile phones as tools to enhance mobile learning or mLearning, particularly for studying local cultural subjects. Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted for this largely qualitative study. Thematic analysis was then conducted on the data collected. The main themes that emerged from this study comprise multimedia usage and software for daily use. Thus, this study contributes to understanding by revealing future potential, including suggestions for the use of the multimedia functions of the mobile phones for better learning outcomes.