Simon K. S. Cheung

A review of mobile learning in the mobile age

With the advent of mobile communication technologies, mobile learning (m-learning) is a new type of learning which allows people to learn across context and without restriction of location. This paper attempts to review the evolution of m-learning and to find out the learning trends and readiness of using mobile technologies within the community so that some practices could be encouraged to enhance learning experience. It is found that the latest mobile technologies are mature to support m-learning. As proven in many successful cases, m-learning has the advantages on boosting interaction and collaboration among students and teachers. M-learning is now perceived as the extension of e-learning that really makes learning available anywhere and anytime. When developing m-learning as a new learning option for student, it is necessary to balance between the organisational or student needs and the rapid technological changes. Security and copyright issues should also be carefully considered.

Hybrid Learning and Continuing Education

Hybrid learning and online courses have attracted a great deal of interest and considerable post-secondary hype, with critics describing the new technologies as representing the death of traditional universities and supporters promoting them as the most significant innovation in hundreds of years. This paper argues that the likely impact on technologically mediated learning has been significant exaggerated, in large measure because of the over-promotion of post-secondary education in North America and the declining level of curiousity, educational motivation and work ethic necessary for the kind of independent work necessary for success with digital learning. The current models are unlikely to be the category-killers suggested by contemporary alarmists but the new technologies hold the potential to bring about revolutionary change over time.

An Overview of Open Education Resources for Higher Education

Since adopted in early 2000’s, open education resources (OER) have evolved as a major source of learning materials for higher education. In general, there are four categories of OER, namely, open textbooks, open courseware, open online courses, and open-source software and tools to support teaching and learning. This paper attempts to characterize these four categories of OER with representative examples, and elaborates various commonly adopted open licensing options for OER.

Designing Open Textbooks for Effective Teaching and Learning

Printed textbooks are often criticized for only ‘transmitting’ knowledge to readers in a linear fashion whereas in e-textbooks, interactivity can be built in; so learners are ‘connected’ with other resources. There are e-tools for learners to communicate with the teacher and their peers, and they can also support individualization in the learning process. Here we will need appropriate design elements in language usage, conceptual organization, spatial arrangement and levels of interactions. Electronic textbook content in various file formats (e.g. web, PDF, e-Pub, audio) can be used in different devices to suit learners’ reading preferences. Open textbooks on the other hand, allow teachers to reuse, revise and remix the content. Linking to a repository of learning assessment items, an open textbook can also provide effective assessment of learning outcomes, an important requirement in Hong Kong schools. The paper first describes how an open textbook system for Hong Kong comes to fruition. It will then discuss in detail the pedagogical, quality assurance and technological considerations in the development of the open textbooks.

Overcoming Copyright Hurdles in the Development of Learning Materials in the Digital Era

Developing teaching or course materials poses many challenges, and copyright is one of them. This paper provides teachers and developers of learning materials with an overview of what they should know about copyright, and provides suggestions on ways to overcome copyright hurdles. Of importance is an understanding of the clauses on fair use and fair dealing under copyright law, as these legally permit reproduction of copyrighted material for certain purposes and circumstances without the need to apply for permission.

A Case Study on the Students' Attitude and Acceptance of Mobile Learning

Transcending the time and geographical constraints of traditional classroom-based learning, mobile learning allows students to study anywhere and at any time. Learning is facilitated, and students generally welcome this flexible mode of learning. According to a study recently conducted by the Open University of Hong Kong, mobile learning is effective for enhancing language proficiency. This paper reports the results of this case study. In brief, it is found that students generally show a positive attitude towards mobile learning and its effectiveness in learning languages. There is a significant acceptance among students towards mobile learning, especially on the usefulness, efficiency, interactivity and convenience. The results further affirm that mobile learning can be an effective means to delivering language proficiency courses, not only for its accessibility from virtually anywhere and allowing the students to learn at any time, but also for enriching learning experience and arousing learning interest by making good use of multimedia components and features.

A survey on the use of mobile devices for learning purposes

This paper reports a survey on the use of mobile devices for learning purposes. It is revealed that mobile devices are widely used by students, and the usage depends on the technical features and limitations of the mobile devices and the nature of learning activities. The conventional notebook devices are generally used for all learning activities, whereas smart-phones are principally used for social networking. Tablet devices are mainly used for reading e-books. It is also revealed that there are commonalities on the usage and preference between distance-learning and full-time students, except that tablet devices are more preferred by distance-learning students.

Open Educational Resources in Hong Kong

This paper attempts to review the status and development challenges of open educational resources (OER) in Hong Kong. It highlights that Hong Kong is provisioned with pervasive information technology facilities and broadband connectivity. Its education sector is advanced and well equipped with a robust technology infrastructure. Together with the population’s ICT skills and educational institutions investments to promote the adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning, these make Hong Kong an excellent breeding ground for OER. However, through examples of major types of online resources, this paper argues that the development of OER has been sluggish in the vibrant city. Also by reporting results of a survey conducted with people from a cross-section of the major tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, it highlights that educators’ attitudes towards reuse and sharing of open content and material tend to be conservative. Based on these observations, this paper highlights a number of major challenges in the development and adaptation of OER in the city.

Open Access Textbooks: Opportunities and Challenges

Different from traditional textbooks, open access textbooks are by nature open education resources that are free to use and can be delivered in electronic or printed form. Not only that the development of open access textbooks is cost-effective, the continuous revisions and updates can be made efficiently. Open access textbooks also allow easy adaptation to cater for the students’ learning differences. However, for the successful adoption of open access textbooks, a number of challenges need to be overcome, such as on soliciting contributors of textbook contents, assuring the quality of textbooks, and establishing a culture of sharing education resources. This paper investigates these opportunities and challenges, and proposes a solution for the implementation and sustainable development of open access textbooks in Hong Kong. Some overseas successful projects are referenced and discussed. It is believed that open access textbooks would effectively resolve the pressing issues of high price and frequent revisions of textbooks, while offering many pedagogical advantages.

Distance-Learning Students’ Perception on the Usefulness of Open Educational Resources

Open educational resources or OER have been widely used for teaching and learning in higher education. This paper investigates the distance-learning students’ perception on the usefulness of OER for learning purposes. Through a survey conducted to the distance-learning undergraduate students at the Open University of Hong Kong, it is revealed that OER are often used and generally considered useful as supplementary learning materials for acquiring relevant knowledge and doing assignments and projects. Among other types of OER, open access textbooks and reference books, and openly shared lecture notes and video clips are considered in particular useful. Massive open online courses and tutorials are considered to be more useful than small-scale mobile learning modules. For online learning tools, online dictionaries and encyclopedia are considered to be very useful. It is also revealed that the reliability, quality and comprehensiveness of OER are key concerns for distance-learning students to use OER for learning purposes.