Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1. Preface

Technology based teaching and learning activities have grown by as much as 35.6% in recent times and are replacing traditional classroom teaching methods in many situations.

Commonly known as E-learning, it has rapidly become a valuable teaching and learning method as part of many formal education environments [37,65,73]. Because E-learning technologies can make it easy to access content, it is also seen as an enabler of what is known pedagogically as Lifelong learning (LLL). LLL is considered to be a largely informal process of on-going, self-paced and voluntary style of learning at one’s own convenience and desire [10]. It is also characterized as being social and collaborative in that it involves others around the learner to be part of the learning process, either directly or indirectly. As its name suggests, it is said to occur throughout one’s life. The LLL process is characterized by putting the learner in control of the learning content. It allows the learner the flexibility to learn when they want, how they want and from where ever they want.

One common and well-known form of E-learning systems is called Learning Management Systems (LMS). While LMSs work well in formal environments, they don’t necessarily work well for informal learning like LLL because informal learning requires the learner to have complete control of the learning process. As discussed in [11,50], LMSs tend to be administration centric, restrictive and were designed to provide content to the learner and not necessarily to enable the users to engage with the content, i.e. create it, share it, modify it, adjust it, contribute to it etc. LMSs tend to follow an outdated model of simply allowing one way access to content. New collaborative and social learning models and paradigms require and seek to engage the learner more than ever in the learning process [33], especially by way of interaction with others. As such, E-learning platforms that support social and collaborative features also tend to support LLL better.

To achieve social collaboration, learners need to be able to connect with each other freely and easily. In everyday life, people use their own mobility and mobility of objects to coordinate their collaboration with each other [39]. In E-learning, content has been traditionally accessed and generated using stationary desktop PCs and as such, has confined learners to their desks and hence excluded the mobile aspect of collaboration. Mobile

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technologies, on the other hand, provide a mobile, on-the-go type of E-learning as opposed to stationary E-learning and allow for more interactive collaboration, thus allowing the learners to connect better. Such mobile-anytime-anywhere type of E-learning is referred to as mobile learning or M-learning [51,54,55,62] and is basically a subset of E-learning as depicted in figure 1-1 below.

Figure 1-1: M-learning - a subset of E-learning

Over the last two decades, we have seen an increase in ubiquity and expanding functionality of mobile technologies. Rapid improvements in the area of information and communication technologies have resulted in mobile devices with advanced capabilities such as powerful processing, high-resolution touchscreen-displays and multiple sensors. Add the use of high speed broadband mobile networks into the list of capabilities and what we have is a platform that enables anytime-anywhere access to rich multimedia content stored in the cloud. The mobile platform is thus very suitable for learning activities and accessing rich learning content on the go and outdoors. Furthermore, mobile technologies like smart mobile devices, are now well-equipped with powerful CPUs, GPUs and sensors that can now provide innovative, interactive and rich user experiences for accessing learning content [38]. Studies conducted over the last decade prove the viability and efficacy of using mobile devices for LLL. For example, in 2000, Sharples et al. discussed that learning can take place at anywhere and anytime and not just in the classroom [62]. It is to be noted that since then, they realized the need for a highly portable mobile computing platform that supports LLL.

Social software may be broadly defined as “software that supports user interaction”

[63]. An area that has also seen tremendous growth in the last decade is a type of social software called social networking services (SNS). There are now over 1.5 billion SNS users [21,23]. An SNS site may allow users to build and maintain social connections or relations

E-learning

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among people based on real-life connections, jobs, interests, hobbies, activities or all of the above. Since SNS sites inherently support user interaction, they implicitly enable collaboration based activities such as knowledge exchange, networking and community building. Such activities can also be part of what is called social and collaborative learning platforms[33] and are considered to enable LLL. LMSs tend to have limited SNS features as they support administrative functions more effectively than teaching and learning activities [47]. However, as a result of the rapid impact and growth of SNS, more and more SNS features are finding their way into LMSs as the focus is moved from administrative functions to enabling features that support LLL.

This work combines mobile technologies with SNS to create an open-location-based scalable and collaborative learning application that promotes LLL. It is designed using open and/or easily available platforms so it is easily extendable and can be adapted to any other learning system. We create a system with an explore-and-discovery-based learning application that allows the user to locate content based on preferences and location to learn accordingly. Another part of the system also empowers the learner to upload learning content to share with other learners. Our system allows the learner to be not just a content consumer but also a content producer. We enable social learning and collaboration using SNS features so the learner may engage more in the learning process.

Figure 1-2 on the following page is a model of learning that depicts LLL through use of technology. Adapted from [64,68], the model depicts learner centric learning. Technology supports the LLL process by providing engaging environments and tools for learning. The figure then also includes and shows CrowdSMILE’s corresponding features that match the model. As may be inferred from the model and the figure, CrowdSMILE was designed to be about allowing the users to engage in social and location-based activities to support their LLL.

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Figure 1-2: Features of E-learning and how CrowdSMILE enables those features

In figure 1-2 above, you can see some features of the CrowdSMILE highlighted in

Cro wdS M IL E

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orange that directly address aspects of the model. Based on that model, we have inferred the ideal requirements of a system that enables true LLL and shown it in figure 1-3 below.

Figure 1-3: Ideal requirements of system that supports LLL