NATIONAL CENTRAL UNIVERSITY

Ubiquitous Learning
Environments
Issues and Outlooks

Aubrey Neil Leveridge

1/24/2011
 Ubiquitous Learning Environments: Issues and Outlooks

Contents

Contents...........................................................................................................................................2

Introduction..................................................................................................................................3

Ubiquitous Computing.................................................................................................................3

Adaptive Learning.......................................................................................................................5

Ubiquitous Learning Environments.............................................................................................5

Recent Studies using Ubiquitous learning...................................................................................7

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................10

Works Cited...............................................................................................................................11

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 Ubiquitous Learning Environments: Issues and Outlooks

Introduction

In recent years education has undergone dramatic changes. There has been a major shift in

instruction from teacher-centered, rote learning to pedagogies, which are student-centered,

active, and social. Alongside these major changes, rapid developments in technology have

enabled the production of relatively inexpensive and small computing devices. These devices are

set to alter the direction of future education. Education will no longer be bound by the current

restrictions posed by the use of desktop computing or personal mobile devices as foreseen by

Weiser (1993). Moreover, instruction and learning will benefit from learning groups.

Developments in all areas of technology, such as the increased speed of information transfer,

online storage, human-computer interaction, and communication methods are posed to have a

significant effect on not only “how” and “where” learning takes place, but with “whom” learning

takes place. This paper argues that present technology, current advances in social networking, as

well as immanent developments in ubiquitous platforms, wireless technology and the

corresponding devices will revolutionize education in its existing form and from these

developments a new environment will be created which is: seamless, inclusive, highly adaptive,

interactive and social.

Ubiquitous Computing

According to Weiser, Gold and Brown (1999), in the late 1980s, a researcher at Xerox PARC,

Mark Weiser, formulated the term, “Ubiquitous Computing” to describe his view of the future of

computing devices. He foresaw a process in which computers were integrated seamlessly into the

physical world, eventually blending in to the environment and everyday life. Furthermore,

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 Ubiquitous Learning Environments: Issues and Outlooks

computing devices would no longer garner the user’s full attention, allowing the foci of activities

to be given elsewhere, all while allowing the device itself to fade into the background, no longer

the center of attention.

Technology for education is under constant transformation, perpetually developing with a

growing number of software applications and devices. This area of research will continually

offer up new and innovative technological supports for learning (Chen & Lai, 2001; Chen &

Nahrstedt, 2000; Johnson & Maltz, 1996; Lin & Liu, 1999). Coinciding pedagogical

developments supply new approaches to learning and instruction never before used. Together,

these advances in both education and technology will not only shape the classroom of tomorrow,

but will render the classroom environment essentially unnecessary. The ubiquitous computing

“…evolution has recently been accelerated by improved wireless telecommunications

capabilities, open networks, continuous increase in computing power, improved battery

technology, and the emergence of flexible software architectures” (Ogata and Yano, 2004), thus

students and instructors alike will soon be able to move seamlessly between locations thus

removing boundaries set by classroom walls. Weiser, (1991) stated that… “The most profound

technologies are those that disappear”. In his vision, small computing devices would be woven

into the fabric of everyday life (Weiser, 1991), thus replacing desktop computers allowing the

user to interact freely with the environment.

Weiser (1993) describes a “many to one” relationship between computers and humans. Current

research in this area also supports this notion. Each student interacts with many embedded

devices in a ubiquitous classroom and thus, students are free to move around within the

ubiquitous space and interact with the various devices.

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 Ubiquitous Learning Environments: Issues and Outlooks

Adaptive Learning

Adaptive learning may be defined as an educational method which deploys computers as

teaching devices interactively. Educational material is presented to the student according to a

student model which has been compiled on the student’s previous learning attempts or efforts.

Computers may adjust the teaching method according to students' weaknesses, adjusting to the

best or most suitable learning style, as indicated by student responses.

Ideally, the computer will assume the role and interactivity of an actual human teacher or tutor

without incurring the associated problems such as human resources, scheduling difficulties or

personal conflicts. Tailored learning, which cannot be achieved on a large scale, may be

achieved via the use of computers and adaptive learning systems. These systems attempt to

change the passive learner to an active collaborative partner in the educational process. Current

adaptive learning systems have been designed both for desktop computers and as web

applications.

Ubiquitous Learning Environments

A ubiquitous learning environment may be described as an environment that is supported by

embedded and invisible computers in everyday life, providing learning at anytime, anywhere. A

ubiquitous learning environment differs from environments using desktop computers, such as

Computer Assisted Learning, as the computers are not embedded in the real world, and are

usually difficult to move. Therefore, systems based on the use of personal computers (PCs) do to

their size and limitations, do not easily support learning at anytime, anywhere.

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 Ubiquitous Learning Environments: Issues and Outlooks

When compared to computer assisted learning, ubiquitous learning environments are

fundamentally focused on an environment, undisturbed by technology. This allows the student to

focus on, and increase learning potential, undistracted or restricted by devices. This may take

place in any given environment as well as between various environments.

Of late, ubiquitous learning has been implemented using personal, lightweight, mobile,

computing devices such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and cellular phones. These

mobile devices, connected to Internet via wireless communication technologies, enable the

student to learn regardless of time or location. In this circumstance, however, computing devices

are not embedded in the surrounding environment, and students cannot seamlessly move to

various locations nor can they flexibly obtain information related to their context of learning.

In Weiser’s (1999) view of ubiquitous learning, a person may obtain information within the

context of learning from the learning environment via small devices, such as sensors, pads, or

badges, which would be embedded and communicate interactively. Current models of ubiquitous

learning environments are limited by current technology and thus ubiquitous learning tends to be

limited and greatly localized (Nino, et al., 2007).

Finally, ubiquitous learning environments have the capability to be combined with high mobility

owing to recent developments in 3G and 4G wireless technology. This new technology allows

the learner to move freely between environments while the system dynamically and actively

supports learning using communication via embedded devices in the user’s surrounding

environment.

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 Ubiquitous Learning Environments: Issues and Outlooks

Recent Studies using Ubiquitous learning

Recent studies have shown progress in the areas of ubiquitous learning, such as in Hwang, Kuo,

Ying and Chuang’s (2010) research on context-aware ubiquitous learning, and Paneva-Marinova,

Pavlova-Draganova, Draganov, Pavlov, and Sendova’s (2009) work on creating a ubiquitous

learning/courseware system which supports learning on demand.

In Hwang, et al.’s (2010) study focused on the use of ubiquitous computing to allow students to

learn about objects in the real world. The participants, elementary school students, were able to

observe objects, in this case butterflies, in the real world. While the students received educational

support through the use of mobile devices, it appeared that the students’ main focus during the

experiment was on the computing device itself, not on the target environment. Consequently, this

study demonstrates the need for research into areas of human-computer interaction where the

focus on the ubiquitous device can be shifted to the learning topic at hand.

Paneva-Marinova, et al.’s (2009) research provided participants with the freedom to move about

within the learning space as well as the ability to focus on the learning task at hand: not the

learning device. In this study, participants were able to learn about great works of art, which

were not centrally located due to their size, placement (within a cathedral or synagogue), or

monetary value. Despite the fact that the students were able to move about freely, they were

confined to specific areas, using specific devices for each learning activity. After the students

had observed the works of art, they were able to review and study them using a personal

computer. Participants were not able to transfer seamlessly between learning environments, but

were forced to make overt changes in their use of technology. Furthermore, students could

interact with instructors through the system, but could not build their own knowledge base or

interact with other participants.

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 Ubiquitous Learning Environments: Issues and Outlooks

In research by Hwang, Tsai, & Yang’s (2008), a focus on inclusivity of students was explored

whereas students’ learning was given personalized support by the system. In this proposed

learning environment, mobile computing, wireless communication and sensor technologies were

employed, thus defining learning behaviors displayed by each student in the real world.

Moreover, environmental contexts were detected providing students with personalized support

assisting and guiding their learning in an authentic environment. Although this study explored

various models of u-learning activities, it expressed the need for systems which are able provide

more adaptive support.

Barbosa et al. (2007) state that the idea of ubiquitous learning is “…to create a network of

devices, people and situation that allows learning experiences to play out” following a more

social view of learning. Participants in this study gained social information on others through the

use of wireless devices and were provided with information about: People (name, e-mail,

commitments, role); Events (type, description, location); and Resources (name, type, description,

commitments), related to specific locations.

Granting the social nature of this research, only a limited amount of resources, both technical and

social, were available to the participants. Current developments in wireless technology may

allow a greater range, amount, and use of social information via ubiquitous learning technologies

or devices in turn benefiting students by allowing them to learn collaboratively. Providing

seamless interactions from student to student or student to instructor will provide alternative

methods for students to gain educational insight, relying less on teacher or administrative

support. “Many devices for each student” was a view previously suggested by proponents of

wireless technology, however limited by the technology of that time. Students would be better

served by a socially ubiquitous environment such as many-for-many-to-many. Not only would

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 Ubiquitous Learning Environments: Issues and Outlooks

each student be supported by many devices seamlessly connected to banks of knowledge, but

also connected to many other students, allowing interaction, cooperative knowledge building,

and collaboration.

An illustration of the current educational predicament may be as follows:

If the inventors of the first automobiles viewed the car as only a tool which would allow
the transportation of horse-feed and facilitation of the feeding of horses, people would
still be travelling about in horse-drawn carriages, all the while; automobiles would be
driving around delivering feed to horses. The opportunity and uses of the car would have
been missed.
Such is the case with current wireless technology. Handheld devices today are far more powerful

than the computing devices of only a couple of decades ago. If an educator in 1980 was told that

in the present day and age, people would have easy access to handheld devices more powerful

than the computers of that day, how then would they envision learning and instruction? With this

in mind, formal education has neglected the possibilities and their focus has remained on the

computer with all its limitations.

Currently, schools do not allow the use of personal devices for learning or social networking.

Schools focus on the need for money to supply students with computer labs and computer

classrooms that provide outdated forms of rote teaching. Formal education is attempting to force

technological innovations to fit their desires, instead of adapting to the new technologies

available as well as bringing into light the vast prospects new technology affords. Formal

education is missing opportunities while students are learning how use powerful handheld

devices to secretly adapt social networking practices within the school environment.

New wireless technologies supported by tools for cooperative and collaborative learning

contribute to students’ access to education and provide numerous benefits unexploited by

schools. Allowing students to use personal wireless devices will open new educational

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 Ubiquitous Learning Environments: Issues and Outlooks

possibilities, save school funds, and educators will advance by building on the skills of

networked learning first discovered by students.

Within this view, formal education need not focus on personal devices, but only exploit their use.

A primary focus on embedded devices and the incorporation of new wireless technology within

those devices is needed within the formal education system in order for learning to become

progressive, active, interactive and social, leaving behind previous didactic and rote learning.

Conclusion

In conclusion, great advances have been made towards ubiquitous learning in the past few years

due to improvements in mobile computing and wireless communication technologies. With these

advances come new challenges in education: namely, to provide students with learning that is

inclusive, highly adaptive, interactive and social. The related works reviewed in this study

suggest a particular need for future research to develop tools and software that is in line with

Weiser’s (1993) original view of ubiquitous computing: an environment which is seamless and

the computing device invisible. Once this objective has been reached, current and future

advancements in wireless technology will allow students to move seamlessly through different

learning opportunities without the need to change devices, thus permitting students to focus on

learning. Accompanied by this newfound mobility comes the prospect for students to build,

share, access, and retrieve knowledge socially. Students will learn cooperatively, collaboratively,

and be free to interact in a learning environment free of walls, boundaries and hindrances.

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 Ubiquitous Learning Environments: Issues and Outlooks

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