exponential spreading of information has drastically compressed the amount of time it takes to gain new intelligence and earn new skills. According to the Institute-wide Task Force on the Future of MIT Education: Preliminary Report (2013), these “advances in online education enable learning to take place anywhere at any time, forcing us to question the meaning of the strict physical and temporal boundaries of the campus” (p. 9). Such transformations will impact traditional education systems in ways that are hard for many to imagine, moreover.
Even the “typical time period of an academic degree becomes blurred,” shifting “the focus from institutions to a learning ecosystem.” As a consequence, “resources, relationships, and roles may need to be recast” (p. 9).
2. Online Learning vs. Ubiquitous Learning 2.1 Online Learning
A major pedagogical branch of internet-based learning is Online Learning. Online Learning involves one or more learners, an instructor and a technological device (i.e. laptops, tablets or smart phones) that uses bandwidth to connect students and the teacher. Not entirely confined by time and space, Online Learning is internet-based learning as opposed to face-to-face learning. The instruction can be either synchronic or asynchronic. It is interactive and tailored to suit the individual needs of the learners.
According to Linda Harasim (2012), Online Learning comprises three subcategories:
Online Collaborative Learning (OCL), Online Distance Education (ODE) and Online Courseware (OC). OCL strives for a group learning dynamic that is usually mediated by the instructor. In an OCL classroom, for instance, the teacher aims to establish discourse and collaboration among learners. By contrast, ODE employs “a correspondence model of course delivery, self-study and individual communication with a tutor” (p. 87). In this context, the
instructor acts as both a one-on-one correspondent and the learning guide to the learner.
While both OCL and ODE take account of the communication with other learners and the instructor in students’ learning process, OC applies “an individualized self-paced pedagogy.”
The learner accesses materials online and embarks on the learning journey entirely on his/her own. The subcategory of Online Distance Education (ODE) corresponds most closely with the properties of Ubiquitous Learning proposed by Jung (2014), namely “omnipresence, context customization, interactivity, self-directed learning, and perceived enjoyment.”
2.2 Ubiquitous Learning
Accompanying the revolution of the information age, Ubiquitous Learning emerged as one of the principal pedagogies that characterizes the new learning paradigm. Mark Weiser (1991) was the first to propose the concept of ubiquitous computing, providing in turn a theoretical foundation for the emergence of this new form of pedagogy. Strictly speaking, ubiquitous computing is when computing technology is so embodied in our reality that it becomes nearly “invisible” to human beings. Weiser identified, moreover, two aspects of ubiquitous computing: first, the computer being capable of identifying its own locale and, second, ubiquitous computing coming in different sizes and types, such as thin and light as well as portable digital tabs and pads. These two features of computing are certainly available in all present technologies, such as location services on smartphones, tablet computers and laptops. We have become so accustomed to ubiquitous computing that we take it for granted.
Where Bertram Bruce (1999) first identified the key characteristic of Ubiquitous Learning as an “anywhere/anytime” experience, and a decade later, Nicholas C. Burbules (2009) classified this learning paradigm in a systematic manner. He identifies “six
interrelated dimensions” of Ubiquitous Learning: first, the “spatial” sense of Ubiquitous
Learning is boundless and unlimited. Learners can study anywhere as long as there is a connection to the Internet. In order to be able to study at any place one wishes, the second element, “portability” of technological devices becomes essential so that learners can have their mobile phones, tablets or laptops with them. Accordingly, Burbules continues his classification with the element of “interconnectedness,” which provides an “extensible
intelligence” for learners because people have constant access to “networked intelligence.” In other words, the informativeness of the Internet age nurtures more knowledgeable and
informative individuals. The fourth element of ubiquity is the ways in which typical social and cultural divisions have been changed. Societies before the Internet age used to be oriented by conventions and fixed categories. By contrast, users today are networking via Internet connection and therefore traditional activity such as teaching, learning and working can take place at any given time. Ubiquitous Learning can accommodate different individual needs and, in this sense, it serves a “practical” purpose. This aspect also leads to the
“temporal” quality of ubiquity in which learning can take place at any time at any age.
Burbules concludes his description with Ubiquitous Learning’s final element as providing a
“globalized, transnational network and ‘flow’.” The social and learning network is seamless in the sense that people, information and ideas are interconnected throughout the globe.
Hee-Jung Jung (2014) further systematizes Ubiquitous Learning theory, proposing five key characteristics: “omnipresence, context customization, interactivity, self-directed learning, and perceived enjoyment” (p. 97). Omnipresence highlights the
“anytime/anywhere” aspect of Ubiquitous Learning where learners are able to seamlessly
“acquire and connect to learning materials and instruction” (p.102). Context customization indicates that learning content is generated and designed based on the learner’s environment.
Jung defines the third characteristic “interactivity” as the interaction between learners and
their technological or mobile devices. She also reinforces the learner’s engagement in a “directed learning” process during Ubiquitous Learning. This feature includes a learner’s self-assessment, self-generated initiatives and motivation for his or her learning objectives. Jung concludes with the last characteristic, “perceived enjoyment,” that is the sense of pleasure a learner receives from technology-enhanced lessons.
Indeed, the notion of Ubiquitous Learning has not stopped evolving, for the rapid development of technology leads to the improvement of learning experience. Laru, Naykki and Jarvela (2015) predict that due to the democratization of technological devices, a mixture of digital tools, such as smartphones and tablet computers, will complement the future
learning environment of the ubiquitous era for “everyone, anytime, and anywhere” (p. 78).
Another popular trend of Ubiquitous Learning is the integration between the learner and his or her surrounding. While learning can take place whenever and wherever, the application itself on the device is aware and thus responds to the changing environment, known as
“adaptive application,” improving the physical interactions and enriching learning experience (Gilman, Milara, Cortes & Riekki, 2015, p.55). In this thesis, I adapt Jung’s characterization of Ubiquitous Learning, namely “omnipresence, context customization, interactivity, self-directed learning, and perceived enjoyment,” to examine the existing features of Ubiquitous Learning of PeggyTeachesChinese.