Preface

The development from traditional learning to electronic and mobile learning is to

achieve better understanding, comprehension and acquisition. Tutors use different

conventional methods in the traditional learning as boards, maps and graphs and also

different developed methods in the electronic learning such as multimedia and internet to

make student gets better knowledge and experience. But do these methods guarantee the

achievement of the learning goal? In order to check students learning and performance

tutors always test them by different ways; quizzes midterm exams or questions during the

class.

Tutors like to discuss students’ results after the exam or the quiz. They may need

to solve students’ problems or give them advices. The bad results in the exam may reveal

the use of wrong methods by the tutor. So tutors need a way to test students and to

analyze the result to find the main cause of student’s weakness and to adapt the learning

material to fit student’s needs. Many researches and projects proposed electronic

solutions such as web-based environments to support the learning systems in many

disciplines and at all levels of education system [2], [4]. Others suggested mobile-based

solutions which use different technologies such as SMS or WAP [6]. The following

paragraphs discuss the development of the electronic learning and mobile learning

systems.

E-learning is an electronic delivery method. Early forms included CD-ROMs and

knowledge pools on the Internet, where users could access information and work through

it at their own pace. The term E-learning refers nowadays to online courses and Learning

Management Systems (LMS). Many systems have proved a success in this field to

manage and deliver information. Learning Management System helps tutors to manage

course material and distribute assignments [30]. But these systems are still a single user

and support little interactivity and stimulation for the student [10]. New E-learning

researches have focused on developing the interaction among students. Another style of

Web based learning was designed to support brain storming and generate creative

thinking [29].

A new term has been emerged which is called Mobile learning (M-learning).

M-learning is to enhance the E-learning by providing new ways for information delivery,

supporting mobility and developing students’ interaction and collaboration. The

development of mobile devices such as mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants

(PDAs) has emerged a variety of services are now available for PDAs, tablet PCs and

mobile phones including mobile tourist guides and navigation systems [1] . Mobile

devices can use different communication technologies to deliver the information. Internet,

WAP, MMS and SMS can be used to carry different types of information and offer

several services. Brendan Riordan showed that students prefer to use SMS functions to

help them in their education as library recalls, revision tips and assessments marks [24]

[28]. Many researches showed different uses of mobile phones especially SMS in

Education [26] [27]. Some business companies have already started to produce

M-Learning kits as SMS-Quiz author and Pocket PC author [25]. Mobile phones can be

used also for class management and LMS [32] [33] and it is preferred over other mobile

devices [34].

New researches have highlighted the importance of collaboration and interaction

within e-learning. Researchers as Preece (2000); Hamburg, Lindecke, and ten Thij (2003);

Salmon (2002) and Thurmond and Wambach (2004) amongst others have done

researches on LMSs, and as a result online forums and discussion boards have become an

invaluable resource in LMSs [10]. The collaborative systems allow students to

communicate with their peers and tutors thus empowering them to socialize and learn

together online. Mobile phones are also used to support student’s collaboration and

interaction [35] [36].

Teresa Monahan (2006) [10] showed another approach to enhance students’

interaction. Through the use of technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and instant

communication, students can be more visually aware of their classmates and can

converse in real-time with them. They can also receive immediate feedback from their

tutors and gain a sense of being present in the same place as their peers despite their

remote physical locations. These shared virtual environments also facilitate simultaneous

viewing of learning materials by the whole class and allow them to actively partake in

group discussions about the learning content at the same time. VR has been very popular

and successful in other areas including entertainment and urban planning. It has also been

extensively used within manufacturing industries and military bodies [11]. In addition,

the benefits of 3D graphics for education have been explored. Many 3D resources have

already been developed in this area. 3D models are very useful to familiarize students

with features of different shapes and objects, and can be particularly useful in teaching

younger students. Many games have been developed using 3D images that the user must

interact with in order to learn a certain lesson. Interactive models increase a user’s

interest and make learning more fun. 3D animations can be used to teach students

different procedures and mechanisms for carrying out specific tasks.

Our research discusses an integrated web based learning system with mobile phone

based system using SMS. The system was designed to provide an administrative tool,

develop students’ interaction, comprehension and understanding. The following sections

will show our motivations and the methodologies used to solve some learning problems.

The next chapters will discuss the system’s analysis, requirements, architecture, design,

Evolution and experimental results.