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Subject: search.filters.subject.Mobile communication systems in education

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    Assessing the benefits of Ajax in mobile learning systems design : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Information Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2007) Xie, Feng
    Today, mobile technology is rapidly changing our life with increasing numbers of services supported by mobile phones, including mobile Internet access and Web-based mobile learning. The growth of the wireless Internet technology opens new path for people to study in anytime and any location. Using Web-based mobile application to present learning resources for mobile learners is a challenge for developers, because the mobile Internet access performance over GPRS networks is often unacceptably slow. A new Web development model, Ajax, may help to address this problem. Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), is a new desktop approach to Web application development that uses client-side scripting to provide a seamless user application experience and reduce traffic between client and server. In this paper, we address the question of whether mobile Ajax provides measurable performance advantages over non-Ajax mobile learning applications. A real-life Web-based mobile learning application performance over a GPRS network study was done based on comparing an Ajax application and an Active Server Pages (ASP) application with identical functionality. Our results suggest that mobile Ajax can reduce the bandwidth requirement by 71%, and cut the server's response time in half. In addition, these performance improvements were noticed by users in our small group usability test.
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    Students' and teachers' perceptions of the use of mobile technology in university preparation classes : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Applied Linguistics at Massey University, Manawatu Campus, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Aldrich, Susanne Thelma
    As in many aspects of society today, mobile technology has a presence in educational arenas. This study investigates and compares the views and perceptions of teachers and students about the appropriate use of mobile technology in university preparation classes, how the presence of mobile technology influences the classroom environment, and about what students and teachers believe to be their respective roles in the regulation of the use of mobile technology. To investigate this the following instruments were used: a student survey to gather quantitative data about their beliefs about mobile technology in class, their behaviour around devices, and their expectations of teaching practices and regulation of devices; student focus groups using four teacher scenarios (describing different teacher behaviour and attitudes) as a basis for the discussion; and teacher focus groups posing questions gleaned from the results of the student survey and focus groups. The overall objective was to determine if any gaps in perceptions, attitudes and expectations existed between students and teachers. Both parties agreed that devices were useful educational tools to use in class. However, there were opposing viewpoints about personal use of devices. Students expected teachers to take responsibility for regulating student behaviour around the use of devices, while teachers sought to prepare students to take personal responsibility and become autonomous learners. A need for establishing etiquette in the classroom was recognised. Teachers acknowledged that although students were skilled users of mobile technology, they lacked vital computer skills. Overall, there was a discrepancy between student and teacher beliefs about philosophical responsibility, the scope of technical ability, and logistical possibilities in the classroom. To conclude, the study confirmed that the nature of the classroom had changed and that all stakeholders need to be cognisant about everchanging technology.
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    Mobile learning ontologies : supporting abductive inquiry-based learning in the sciences : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Technology at Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Ahmed, Sohaib
    The use of ontologies has become increasingly widespread in many application areas, particularly in technology-enhanced learning. They appear promising in supporting the generation and adaptive presentation of learning content for specific domains. This thesis examines how ontologies can be applied in abductive mobile science inquiry-based learning, an example of a learning activity that can allow students to learn science by doing science. Traditionally, school science education has been dominated by deductive and inductive forms of inquiry investigations, while the abductive form of inquiry investigation has previously been sparsely explored in the literature, which emphasizes the development of scientific hypotheses from observed phenomena. Thus, this provides us with an opportunity to explore some new approaches to technology-assisted learning in the sciences. The main purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate to science educators how an abductive mobile application may be applied in a science inquiry activity, and how ontology-based scaffolding can support technology-enhanced learning environments. This thesis uses a Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM), supported by Activity-Oriented Design Methods (AODM) tools to create an ontology-driven application ‘ThinknLearn’ for a science inquiry domain, which has been evaluated using the M3 evaluation framework with high school science students. The results were promising and showed improvements in the students’ understanding of the learning domain as well as developing their positive attitudes towards mobile learning.