Abstract
Today, technological trends in informatics and telecommunications are behind a new change in educational service provision—from e-learning to mobile learning (m-learning). Mobile devices provide users with opportunities to communicate and access information, learning content and services everywhere, at any time. However, many challenges to the rapid uptake of m-learning are identified by scholars—some of them related to the choice of devices suitable for m-learning and others—focused on the design of the courses and lecture modules so as to be accessible at various mobile devices. This chapter’s main goal is to present the approach proposed for m-learning at Sofia University. It provides initially a brief overview of recent technology background and the trends in distance education leading to the m-learning concept. Some approaches proposed by scholars for m-learning systems are presented as well. The usage of tablets in the educational process gains particular attention and the need for using different types of content in learning—text, audio, and video. This chapter presents an idea how to organize m-learning and, in particular, which learning styles are appropriate with a tablet. Finally, it considers a platform providing opportunities to students to diversify learning according to their own needs using text, audio, and video educational materials.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alvarez, C., Brown, C., & Nussbaum, M. (2011). Comparative study of netbooks and tablet PCs for fostering face-to-face collaborative learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 27, 834–844.
Asenova, A. (2011, June 8–10). The challenges and benefits of organizing a tablet-based mobile training for future biology teachers. In Proceedings of international conference – New Horizons in Education, Portugal.
Cavus, N. (2011). Investigating mobile devices and LMS integration in higher education: Student perspectives. Procedia Computer Science, 3, 1469–1474.
Cmuk, D. (2007). Optimization of m-learning and e-learning methods in metrology education. http://www.ieee.hr. Accessed 29 Feb 2012.
Dearnley, C., Haigh, J., & Fairhall, J. (2008). Using mobile technologies for assessment and learning in practice settings: A case study. Nurse Education in Practice, 8, 197–204.
Dulev, P. (2011, June 8–10). The use of tablets as mobile aids in E-learning. In Proceedings of international conference – New Horizons in Education, Portugal.
Dulev, P., Bogomilov, I., Petrov, G., & Asenova, A. (2010, October 14–15). Model for creating video lectures for e-learning. Presented at Telecom 2010, Sofia (in Bulgarian).
Ebner, M., Stickel, C., Scerbakov, N., & Holzinger, A. (2009). A study on the compatibility of ubiquitous learning (u-learning) systems at university level. In HCII Conference San Diego, Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp. S. 34–43.
Ferrer, F., Belvís, E., & Pàmies, J. (2011). Tablet PCs, academic results and educational inequalities. Computers & Education, 56, 280–288.
Georgiev, T., Georgieva, E., & Smrikarov, A. (2004). M-Learning – A new stage of е-learning. In International conference on computer systems and technologies – CompSysTech’2004, Rousse, pp. IV.28, 1–5.
Georgieva, E., Smrikarov, A., & Georgiev, T. (2005). A general classification of mobile learning systems. In: International conference on computer systems and technologies (CompSysTech’ 2005).
Georgieva, E., Smrikarov, A., & Georgiev, T. (2011). Evaluation of mobile learning system. Procedia Computer Science, 3, 632–637.
Gourov, V. (2011). Hybrid positioning schemes for heterogeneous wireless network. BSc Thesis, Lancaster University, Lancaster.
Gourova, E., A. Asenova, P.Dulev (2011). Mobile learning using Tablets: the Sofia university case, IADIS International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age (CELDA 2011), 6-8 November 2011, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, pp. 219–226.
Gourova, E., Todorova, Y., & Gourov, N. (2009). Skills for future engineers: Challenges for universities in Bulgaria. WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics, 6(7), 385–399.
Korucu, A.T., A. Alkan (2011). Differences between m-learning (mobile learning) and e-learning, basic terminology and usage of m-learning in education. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 15, 1925–1930.
Karadeniz, S. (2009). Flexible design for the future of distance learning. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 1, 358–363.
Martin, S., Diaz, G., Plaza, I., Ruiz, E., Castro, M., & Peire, J. (2011). State of the art of frameworks and middleware for facilitating mobile and ubiquitous learning development. The Journal of Systems and Software. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2011.06.042.
MOVE-ON (2011). Deliverable D2.1: Technical require.
Niazi, R., & Mahmoud, Q. H. (2008, September). Design and development of a device-independent system for mobile learning. IEEE Multidisciplinary Engineering Education Magazine 3(3), 63–68.
Nikolov, R. (2009). The global campus. Sofia: Avangard Prima (in Bulgarian).
Parsons, D., & Ryu, H. (2006). A study of design requirements for mobile learning environments. In Proceedings of the 6th IEEE international conference on advanced learning technologies (ICALT 2006), Kerkrade, pp. 96–100.
Patrichi, M. (2010). Mobile learning detractors. Economy Informatics, 10(1/2010), 53–62.
Saenz, M., Sanchez, J., Ramirez, G., & Munos, M. (2009). Analisis y caracterizcion tecnologica de un entorno avanzado de M-Learning, Solite, Accion de coordinacion 508AC341. http://remo.det.uvigo.es. Accessed 29 Feb 2012.
Trifonova, A., & Ronchetti, M. (2004). A general architecture to support mobility in learning. In Proceedings of the 4th IEEE international conference on advanced learning technologies (ICALT 2004), Joensuu, pp. 26–30.
Vinu, P. V., Sherimon, P. C., & Krishnan, R. (2011). Towards pervasive mobile learning – The vision of 21st century. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 3067–3073.
Zanela, A., Kich, M., & Schlemmer, E. (2009, January 5–8). A framework for the design of ubiquitous learning applications. In Proceedings of the 42nd Hawaii International Conference on system sciences, Waikoloa, Big Island, HI.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the partner contributions and the support provided for this research under the European Commission project “Professional learning for adults on the move” (MOVE-ON)—grant 510288-LLP-1-2010-1-GR-LEONARDO-LMP, and project “Development of the research potential of University of Sofia in the field of e-learning,” project number № BG051PO001-3.3.04/52 Operational program—Human Resource Development, 2009–2011.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gourova, E., Asenova, A., Dulev, P. (2013). Integrated Platform for Mobile Learning. In: Sampson, D., Isaias, P., Ifenthaler, D., Spector, J. (eds) Ubiquitous and Mobile Learning in the Digital Age. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3329-3_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3329-3_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-3328-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-3329-3
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)