Mobile technologies have created enormous opportunities for improving information delivery and dissemination processes among individuals. While studies of the mobile-based technologies in health and businesses have been proliferated, research on mobile applications for education are still at its emergent stage, however, for developing user-centric support to enhance individual’s involvements in learning and teaching purposes. Moreover, formal methods of learning management systems (LMS) for supporting students and academics to achieve industry demands are still yet to be developed for higher education institutes. This study develops and evaluates an innovative mobile-based technology for enhancing current approaches of LMS by linking relevant industry into learning and teaching procedure in a case context of an Australian University. The solution artefact as a model can be viewed as an industry-enabled LMS that captures and processes data from students’ teaching materials, exercises and participation contents in order to develop assistive information which is directly related to the employers’ requirements. Design science method is adopted for designing and evaluating the solution artefact that meets the key requirements of the stakeholders. It is anticipated that the developed artefact would be applicable across Australian higher education sectors for enhancing industry uptake into improving pedagogy of learning.

Design of a mobile-based learning management system for incorporating employment demands: Case context of an Australian University

The purpose of this paper is to develop a blended mobile game-based learning service called CoboChild Mobile Exploration Service (hereinafter CoboChild) to support children’s learning in an environment blending virtual game worlds and a museum’s physical space. The contextual model of learning (CML) was applied to consider the related influential factors affecting museum learning and to promote children’s continuous learning and revisit motivations.,CoboChild provides a thematic game-based learning environment to facilitate children’s interactions with exhibits and other visitors. A practical system has been implemented in the National Museum of Natural Science (NMNS), Taiwan. A questionnaire was used to examine whether CoboChild can effectively fulfill the CML and to evaluate the impacts on museum learning.,CoboChild effectively fulfilled the CML to facilitate children’s interactive experiences and re-visit motivations in the blended mobile game-based learning environment. Most children described the system as providing fruitful playfulness while improving their interpretations of exhibitions and learning experiences.,CoboChild considers the related contextual influences on the effective support of children’s learning in a museum, and builds a child-centered museum learning environment with highly integrated blended learning resources for children. CoboChild has been successfully operating in the NMNS since 2011.,This study developed a blended mobile game-based learning service to effectively support children’s learning in museum contexts. The related issues are shown to improve the design of blended museum learning services. This innovative approach can be applied to the design of other child-centered services for engaging children’s interactive experiences in museums.

CoboChild: a blended mobile game-based learning service for children in museum contexts

Aim/Purpose This study investigated the potential use of Second Life (SL) to facilitate nursing students’ confidence and motivation, as well as its impact on their selfregulated learning development. Background The current emphasis on nursing education in general has resulted in more consideration of different virtual learning environments as a means for assessing individuals’ learning in a healthcare context. Methodology A quantitative research approach employing the survey method was used in this study. A model fit for Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique on 218 participants was produced to estimate the direct effect of environmental elements in terms of environment content design, environment interactivity, and environment functionality on student nurses’ behaviour in terms of motivation and confidence. In addition, the direct effect of student nurses’ behaviour on the development of their self-regulated learning was also examined and discussed. Two SL medical scenarios were designed to facilitate nurse students’ mastery of the learning task. Second Life in Nurse Education 286 Contribution This study shows the potential of using SL for empowering nurses’ selfregulated learning and collaborative learning. It extends the current understanding on how SL can assess nurses to learn about clinical related matters through the control of teleported characters (avatars), thus enhancing self-regulation. Findings This study found that SL content design, functionality, and interactivity can positively affect nursing students’ learning by providing them with the necessary elements to stimulate their confidence and motivation. We also found that nursing students’ confidence and motivation when using SL have significantly contributed to their self-regulated learning. Recommendations for Practitioners Findings from this study can help educational decision makers to consider the use of seamless learning environments, like the SL, to help students solve problems and generate alternative responses to their issues.

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Fostering Student Nurses' Self-Regulated Learning with the Second Life Environment: An Empirical Study.

PurposeThis study develops a universal game-based blended museum learning service (UGBMLS) to engage museum visitors of different ages and promote their return visits. This study aims to provide a single service with flexible learning content matching the diverse needs and preferences for different ages. The contextual influences are considered to promote participatory experiences and meaningful social interactions. An experiment is conducted herein to understand how visitors of different ages experience the museum's services as well as to address the design issues in aiming to satisfy the different age groups' needs.Design/methodology/approachA UGBMLS, which includes a real-world adventure game system with flexible learning content and various types of learning support, was provided for different age groups. To investigate how the visitors of different ages evaluate their experiences with the UGBMLS, a mixed-method study was conducted. In total, two questionnaires were employed to examine the visitors' museum experiences and subjective measurements of cognitive load. In addition, observation and group interviews were used to explain the quantitative results.FindingsThe results show that the UGBMLS can engage diverse visitors of different ages in museum visits and promote their revisit motivations. However, there are significant differences among different age groups. The design issues in seeking to satisfy the diverse needs of different age groups are noted.Practical implicationsThis study provides a feasible and cost-effective approach to support diverse visitors of different ages learning in museums.Originality/valueThis study provides an effective solution for engaging diverse visitors of different ages with a unified service. The results can be used to better understand the needs of different age groups and to effectively improve their museum experiences, thereby boosting their motivation regarding return visits. This study provides a feasible and cost-effective approach to support diverse visitors' learning in museums.

Museum engagement visits with a universal game-based blended museum learning service for different age groups

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the trends and potential research issues involved with library-supported mobile learning.,Publications in the Scopus database from 2007 to 2016 are analyzed on various aspects, such as the adopted research methods, technologies, participants, application domains and research issues.,In addition to the awareness of the increasing number of digital library-associated mobile learning in the past decade, there are several interesting findings in this paper, such as most research mainly focused on investigating the affective domain of participants and assessing the effects of mobile learning. Most of the library-supported mobile learning research was conducted at special libraries, followed by academic libraries.,Potential applications and research directions of library-supported mobile learning are suggested based on the findings of the present paper.,This paper provides insight in relation to library-associated mobile learning. The findings and suggestions can serve as a good reference for researchers and school teachers when conducting mobile learning studies and to develop quality learning activities with access to library facilities using mobile and wireless communication technologies.

Trends of library-associated mobile learning based on a review of academic studies published from 2007 to 2016

Purpose




This paper aims to develop a curriculum-based virtual and physical mobile (CVPM) learning model, which integrates related physical and e-learning resources associated with elementary school curricula and supports elementary education.




Design/methodology/approach




This model provides a highly participative and well-monitored environment with fruitful interactions among students, teachers and museum staff. A practical system was implemented in the National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan.




Findings




The results show that the proposed model can effectively extend related learning resources to satisfy the requirements of elementary education. In addition, this model can engage students’ self-directed explorations through problem-solving learning content during the learning process.




Research limitations/implications




This learning model was implemented in a one-day theme-based learning activity. Generic learning outcomes and qualitative analysis were used to examine the students’ perceptions and the teachers’ feedback of this learning model, respectively.




Practical implications




The results show that both students and teachers highly appreciated this learning model. The model not only strengthens the connection between museum and elementary curricula but also enhances students’ perceptions and positive attitudes toward natural science courses. Finally, this study offers suggestions for future research.




Originality/value




This study develops a CVPM learning model which integrates elementary school courses to satisfy the requirements of elementary education and meet museums’ educational strategies for schools. The practical learning system and services have been successfully implemented and are widely available to elementary schools in Taiwan.

Min-Feng Lee

Papers

A curriculum-based virtual and physical mobile learning model for elementary schools in museums