The presentation reflect on central components of ubiquitous learning support and gives examples and models for analysis and design of ubiquitous technologies for learning.

Today's learner arrives on our campuses with certain expectations, among them are technology innovation and availability, and the use of modern and efficient technology solutions to communicate and coexist. Meanwhile, institutions of higher learning across the country struggle with increased operating costs, decreasing legislative funding, and diminished returns on endowments. The need for innovative instructional delivery methods has become fodder for discussions in boardrooms everywhere as administrators struggle with identifying appropriate speed of adoption and allotment of resources.

Mobile Learning, also known as M-Learning, is an exciting and emergent curriculum delivery method that is growing increasingly popular in many learning environments. M-Learning is dynamic and allows both educators and students the opportunity to leverage a variety of technologies, such as podcasting, in the course of academic content delivery and consumption. One major challenge for M-Learning is the inability to consistently satisfy the overriding anytime-anywhere definition because of the lack of Internet connectivity as a constant in the time continuum. This is, perhaps, one reason that podcasting is both unique and popular as a channel of curriculum delivery in a mobile learning environment. Podcasting is an instructional technology successfully used in M-Learning initiatives because its ease of use, and because it satisfies the underlying dynamic Mobile Learning definition.

A study was conducted to examine the influence of podcasting as a mobile learning curriculum delivery channel on student learning outcomes. A cross-sectional non-experimental research design was used to collect data and to test the influence of a set of attitudes and perceptions related to podcasting on student mobile learning. The data were collected through an electronic survey to students enrolled in both traditional and nontraditional sections of an Information & Communication Technologies undergraduate course.

Research questions for this study: RQ 1 : What attitudinal and perceptual domains (dimensions) underline podcasting as a latent construct? RQ 2 : What impact do those dimensions have on student mobile learning? The sample was comprised of 1,345 students representing a population of 1,509 undergraduate students enrolled in an upper- division course. The course was delivered in multiple formats: traditional lecture, online, and a hybrid (50% traditional, 50% online). The majority of participants were between 20 and 25 years old (72.3%). More females (61%) participated in the study than did their male counterparts (39%).

The results of the factor analysis revealed a total of five statistically significant latent constructs underlying the items in the survey instrument. These constructs include Efficacy of Podcasting, Podcasting Preferences and Perceptions, Podcasting Attitudes and Behaviors, Podcasting Flexible Mobility, and Podcasting Frequency of Use.

Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the explanatory power of variables identified through factor analysis on student learning outcomes. Results of the multivariate analysis revealed no significant variance explained by any of the variables entered into the regression equations.

Given the strong interest and universal, innovative nature of podcasting use in today's traditional and non-traditional learning environments, understanding student preferences and perceptions surrounding the use of this ubiquitous medium can ultimately help educators create better learning materials and experiences for students. (Author's abstract)

The article focuses on the use of mobile devices to support printed books in learning. It suggests that compared to mobile technologies, traditional distance education technologies such as television and radio are limited in mobility and the lack of interaction opportunities between learners and teachers. It mentions that disadvantages of mobile learning devices include small screen size and keypads, along with reduced effectiveness and performance when scrolling through text-intensive information on a small screen. It talks about the use of 2D bar code technologies to allow easy use of multimedia content such as audio, video, and pictures to support learning from printed textbooks..

This paper describes the development processes for a cross-platform ubiquitous language learning service via interactive television (iTV) and mobile phone. Adapting a learner-centred design methodology, a number of requirements were gathered from multiple sources that were subsequently used in TAMALLE (television and mobile phone assisted language learning environment) development. A number of issues that arise in the context of cross-platform user interface design and architecture for ubiquitous language learning were tackled. Finally, we discuss a multi-method evaluation regime to gauge usability, perceived usefulness and desirability of TAMALLE system. The result broadly revealed an overall positive response from language learners. Although, there were some reported difficulties in reading text and on-screen display mainly on the iTV side of the interface, TAMALLE was perceived to be a usable, useful and desirable tool to support informal language learning and also for gaining new contextual and cultural knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].

Mobile devices are more powerful and portable nowadays with plenty of useful tools for assisting people handle daily life. With the advance of mobile technology, the issue of mobile learning has been widely investigated in e-learning research. Many researches consider it is important to integrate pedagogical and technical strengths of mobile technology into learning environments. This review study focuses on the investigation of add-on impact of mobile applications in learning strategies. We surveyed recent researches including context awareness, pedagogical strategy-enhanced learning scenarios, as well as collaborative and socially networked mobile learning. Through this review study, essential characteristics of mobile learning were identified and discussed. With the essential characteristics, we emphasized on the add-on impact of mobile learning and elaborated mobile learning model in learning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].

Scope and method of study. The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of mobile learning acceptance in higher education. Mobile learning is a rapidly growing method of learning that utilizes mobile devices to deliver content. Acceptance of mobile learning theory was derived from technology acceptance theories. The study developed a new model Mobile Learning Acceptance Model (MLAM) that extended the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The model explains the important factors that influence acceptance of mobile learning among university students. The population of the survey was limited to freshman students; this population was chosen because the literature indicated a presence of large technology literacy gap (techno-literacy gap) between universities and the new generation of students. Response rate was high at approximately 95%. The survey was administered to different freshman leadership classes as well as a freshman orientation camp. The survey instrument was developed based on the literature and past research. The constructs developed and investigated are: student readiness (self efficacy and commitment), ease of access (convenience), quality of service (content quality, reliability and response, personalization, and privacy and security), extrinsic influence (superior influence and peer influence), university commitment (university support), and the TAM constructs of usefulness, ease of use, attitude, and behavioral intention.

Findings and conclusions. The research study concluded that all hypothesized relations in the MLAM model were supported and influence student's acceptance of mobile learning indirectly through usefulness and ease of use. Ease of access was excluded for its mediation effects on ease of use. Quality of service influenced ease of use directly and usefulness indirectly. Usefulness was the stronger predictor of acceptance through its direct and indirect influence on behavioral intention to use (primary predictor of acceptance and use). Extrinsic influence and student readiness were found to be the most influential factors in the model. Tests conducted along the group levels revealed that prior experience has significant affect on acceptance of mobile learning by students. Students who used their device for learning in the past had stronger perceptions of usefulness of mobile learning additionally their behavioral intention to use was stronger. (Author's abstract)

Purpose - This paper seeks to build a theory of mobile media learning by studying indigenous use of these media and theorizing what impact they might have on learning and education. Design/methodology/approach - Using a critical approach, the paper reviews contemporary developments in mobile media learning particularly those happening outside of schools. It includes reviews of games and/or media, literature (particularly firsthand accounts published by designers and/or users), and analyses of online communities. Findings - Although mobile media learning has mostly been framed as "anytime, anywhere" their more profound impact may be in the experience of place. Mobile media enables a multiplicity and hybridity of place that causes opportunities and challenges to learning and education. Research limitations/implications - To date, there has been relatively little close study of how youth use such media in educational and learning contexts, and more case studies are needed to understand the impact of mobile media on learning. Practical implications - Those designing learning environments for a mobile media-enabled world will need to rethink some basic assumptions about classroom configurations and learning. Rather than designing for large groups, educators might design for students to be in multiple places in time and place. Originality/value - As handheld computing initiatives continue to proliferate, educators might benefit from taking a step back and reconsidering how mobile media is understood, and this paper argues that looking at mobile media as media with unique affordances makes new kinds of interactions come to light. (Author's abstract)

The article seeks to clarify the meaning of mobile learning by applying its key concepts to learning experiences in post-school education. In other words, it seeks not to discuss one fixed meaning of mobile learning but to disassemble the basic components and provide an interpretation of the model in the context of higher education. The article argues that in order to comprehensively understand and define mobile learning, we should from the outset separate its key components and arrange them under three different concepts. The first concept relates to the mobility of the technology. The second concept hinges on increased learner mobility. The third concept examines the mobility and dynamism of the learning processes and the flow of information. The article concludes that knowledge in the modern world is transformed by the development of revolutionary technologies in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].

Despite improvements in educational indicators, such as enrolment, significant challenges remain with regard to the delivery of quality education in developing countries, particularly in rural and remote regions. In the attempt to find viable solutions to these challenges, much hope has been placed in new information and communication technologies (ICTs), mobile phones being one example. This article reviews the evidence of the role of mobile phone-facilitated mLearning in contributing to improved educational outcomes in the developing countries of Asia by exploring the results of six mLearning pilot projects that took place in the Philippines, Mongolia, Thailand, India, and Bangladesh. In particular, this article examines the extent to which the use of mobile phones helped to improve educational outcomes in two specific ways: 1) in improving access to education, and 2) in promoting "new learning." Analysis of the projects indicates that while there is important evidence of mobile phones facilitating increased access, much less evidence exists as to how mobiles promote new learning.

This article opens with a discussion of how and why mobile learning (m-learning) is purported to be the next step in the evolution of distance education, before looking at various perspectives on what m-learning constitutes. It critically examines the degree to which 'true' m-learning has been achieved, by offering pedagogical value beyond the mere use of mobile devices to deliver e-learning content. The authors argue that podcasting, in combination with a variety of portable MPEG Layer 3 (MP3)-capable devices that are increasingly ubiquitous, can be used to deliver a form of m-learning that offers a higher degree of lifestyle integration than many current 'state of the art' m-learning applications, despite not being as technically complex. They present an example of a study in which podcasting was used to deliver supplementary listening material to distance learners undertaking an information technology subject. An end-of-semester survey yielded extremely positive feedback about uptake levels and the perceived effectiveness of the podcasts in aiding the students' learning of the subject matter. However, it also produced interesting results on the ways the students made use of the podcasts, which deviated from the researchers' original intentions for 'anytime, anywhere, any device' learning. The results are discussed in the light of possible influencing factors, supported by follow-up interview data. The study may have broader implications for the still nascent field of m-learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].