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Technological aids are ubiquitous in today's educational environments. Whereas much of the dust has settled in the debate on how to validate traditional educational solutions, in the area of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) many questions still remain. Technologies often abstract away student behaviour by condensing actions into numbers, meaning teachers have to assess student data rather than observing students directly. With the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence in education, it is timely to obtain a clear image of the landscape of validity criteria relevant to TEL. In this paper, we conduct a systematic review of research on TEL interventions, where we combine active learning for title and abstract screening with a backward snowballing phase. We extract information on the validity criteria used to evaluate TEL solutions, along with the methods employed to measure these criteria. By combining data on the research methods (qualitative versus quantitative) and knowledge source (theory versus practice) used to inform validity criteria, we ground our results epistemologically. We find that validity criteria tend to be assessed more positively when quantitative methods are used and that validation framework usage is both rare and fragmented. Yet, we also find that the prevalence of different validity criteria and the research methods used to assess them are relatively stable over time, implying that a strong foundation exists to design holistic validation frameworks with the potential to become commonplace in TEL research. • The first technology-enhanced learning (TEL) review with a pre-published protocol. • Usage of validation frameworks in TEL is rare and fragmented. • Criteria tend to be assessed more positively when quantitative methods are used. • The TEL validity criteria landscape has remained remarkably stable over time. • A strong foundation exists to design holistic validation frameworks for TEL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In video lectures, instructors often use spontaneous emotional expressions (facial expressions, tone of voice) and visual cues (underlining, circling) to guide students' attention toward key instructional information. While previous research has confirmed the benefits of visual cues in guiding attention and processing specific information, there's a notable gap in understanding the role of emotional expression in this context. Moreover, there is a lack of comprehensive exploration regarding the specific design of both behaviors (whether they emphasize the same instructional information) and their effect on students. This study conducted two experiments. Experiment 1 first confirmed the guiding effect of an instructor's emotional expression on students, establishing the foundation for our research. Additionally, Experiment 1 explored the impact of the consistency/inconsistency of facial expressions and tone of voice, including student motivation, cognitive load, and learning performance. Results revealed the benefits of consistent positive emotional expressions on motivation and transfer performance, and the benefits of consistent negative emotional expressions on retention performance. Furthermore, we found that tone of voice was a key factor in guiding students, while facial expressions were associated with students' immediate memory. Building upon Experiment 1, Experiment 2 introduced visual cues to investigate the combined impact of these two guiding behaviors on students. Results regarding emotional expressions were replicated, confirming the positive effects of both. Moreover, we found that the irrelevance of visual cues weakened the guiding influence of emotional expression on students, leading to the loss of relevant information. Therefore, we suggest encouraging instructors to convey positive emotions to enhance the learning experience while emphasizing key information through negative emotional expressions accompanied by visual cues. Additionally, minimizing or concealing visual cues whenever possible is advisable when delivering content beyond visual representations. • In emotional expression, facial expressions primarily influence immediate attention. • In emotional expression, tone of voice is the primary factor in guiding students. • Compared to emotional expression, visual cues lead to stronger knowledge retention. • Irrelevant visual cues lead to students missing non-visual information. • The consistency of two guiding factors improves learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates that educators value certain benchmarks of educational quality when choosing educational apps from app stores (i.e., curriculum, feedback, scaffolding, learning theory, and development team). However, it is unclear how other users' ratings of the app, or the app's ranking on the app store's list of "top" educational apps, might impact educators' evaluations. The present study examines how educational benchmarks, ratings, and rankings influence educators' selection of educational apps. One-hundred and fifty elementary educators viewed 18 researcher-created educational app pages and indicated their willingness to download, pay for, and rate each app. Results from a repeated-measures MANOVA and non-parametric tests revealed that educators preferred benchmark apps to buzzword apps, with a medium sized effect. However, they also had a strong preference for apps with positive user ratings, with a large effect, and preferred apps with a bottom ranking, with a medium effect. To improve app selection, educators should rely on their own knowledge to choose apps rather than relying on user ratings or company rankings. Companies running app stores should improve their user ratings and rankings systems to facilitate selection of apps that include evidence-backed benchmarks of app quality. • Educators prefer educational apps that include research-based benchmarks. • Benchmarks: curriculum, learning theory, scaffolding, feedback and development team. • Educators have a strong preference for apps with positive user ratings and reviews. • Educators do not prefer apps that are top-ranked in the education category. • Educators may rely primarily on others' judgements to make download decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) is reported to be beneficial for improving English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' language learning skills. Although some studies have concentrated on utilising a MALL application's (app) affordances for improving EFL learners' overall speaking performance, there is as yet little empirical evidence of its effectiveness in terms of developing EFL learners' speaking skills and motivation-relevant factors. To tackle this knowledge gap, the current study adopted a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach to explore the utilisation of a MALL app's affordances for developing EFL learners' speaking skills (including fluency and coherence, lexicon, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation), foreign language enjoyment (FLE), and language-specific grit (LSG). With this aim in mind, we used blocked randomisation applying computer-generated random numbers to equally distribute 66 EFL learners across two groups. Corroborating the adequacy of the sample size via power analysis, the two groups were randomly assigned to a MALL group (33 EFL learners) and a face-to-face group (33 EFL learners). The MALL learners had interactive speaking activities inside the class and utilised the MALL app for their out-of-class interactive speaking activities. On the other hand, the face-to-face learners had interactive speaking activities both inside the class and in a language learning laboratory in addition to the class time serving as supplementary interactive speaking activities. An IELTS speaking test, an FLE scale, and an LSG scale were used to collect the required quantitative data, and an individual semi-structured interview was conducted to gather the qualitative data. Running one-way ANCOVA to analyse the quantitative data, the findings indicated that both MALL and face-to-face instruction developed the EFL learners' overall speaking performance, speaking skills, FLE, and LSG; however, the MALL learners outperformed their face-to-face counterparts on all measures. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis uncovered several themes and categories addressing the MALL learners' positive and negative attitudes towards and perceptions of the utilisation of the MALL app's affordances, which could explain the quantitative findings. The findings are useful for EFL learners and instructors interested in utilising MALL apps' affordances in their interactive speaking courses. • Mobile app affordances help develop EFL learners' speaking skills. • Mobile app affordances enhance EFL learners' foreign language enjoyment. • Mobile app affordances improve EFL learners' language-specific grit. • Learners hold positive perceptions towards the affordances of mobile apps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Virtual Reality with simulation and 360-video scenes has been recognized as an educational game for improving general English communication in daily life, scant attention has been paid to specific language needs in applying the game to English programs of post-secondary education. Even less emphasis has been devoted to the applicability of multi-touch mobile Virtual Reality to general English and English for Medical and Academic Purposes education to support students in addressing their language needs in academia and the medical fields. This quasi-experimental study, through a parallel design, employed different treatments to explore the applicability of mobile Virtual Reality to learning general English and English for Medical and Academic Purposes productive skills. In 16-week English courses in a Middle Eastern medical university, 235 five-member cadres of students were semi-randomly assigned to two control and experimental groups to learn medical English speaking and writing through online tasks or mobile Virtual Realities. The findings indicated that the simulated three-dimensional environment of mobile Virtual Reality is a robust communication vehicle for learning English for Medical and Academic Purposes. However, non-concrete features of daily life related to general English productive skills were underrepresented in multi-touch stages of online tasks and mobile Virtual Realities. The future scope of the research in Virtual Reality-based language learning is elaborated. • Virtual Reality is applicable for learning Medical English skills. • Applied games match with learning medical English to communicate needs. • Virtual Reality does not read for medical general English. • Factual scenes of mobile Virtual Reality enhanced authentic communication. • Virtual Reality is a communication vehicle in academic and post-academic situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the influence of teacher and peer camera usage on the attention and learning performance of primary school students in video conferencing. The study further investigated the interplay between peer camera usage and various forms of social comparison, assessing their impact on the learning of primary school students in video conferencing. Consequently, the study designed two experiments, recruiting a total of 74 primary school students in Experiment 1 and 41 students in Experiment 2. Consistent with our hypothesis, Experiment 1 demonstrated that peers turning on their cameras in video conferencing enhanced student learning performance. Moreover, Experiment 2 revealed that when employing upward and parallel social comparison strategies, students showed similar learning performance regardless of peer camera usage; whereas when employing downward social comparison strategies, students showed better learning performance in the peers-cameras-on condition than in the peers-cameras-off condition. This suggests that the introduction of upward and parallel social comparison strategies can effectively counterbalance the negative impact on student learning resulting from peers turning off their cameras. The main results of the present study have significant implications for camera use in video conferencing. First, students are advised to turn on cameras during video conferencing. Second, teachers are encouraged to design an environment conducive to upward and parallel comparison in video conferencing when peers turn off their cameras. • A teacher turning on the camera in video conferencing promoted student learning. • Peers turning on their cameras in video conferencing enhanced learning outcomes. • When peers turned off camera, upward social comparison benefited learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the effects of out-of-class interactions with intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) versus human interlocutors on EFL learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) in English. A total of 92 first-year college students were recruited to participate in interactive out-of-class activities, which were held in 10-min sessions twice a week for 12 weeks. The participants were divided into three groups: an IPA group, who interacted with Alexa or Google Assistant through a smartphone; an EL1 group, who interacted with L1 English speakers; and an EL2 group, who interacted with L2 English speakers. WTC questionnaires and focus-group interviews were used to evaluate WTC. Significant differences in WTC were discovered between the three groups. The IPA group had greater WTC than did the EL1 or EL2 group. The intergroup differences were attributable to the interaction of contextual (interlocutor and time), individual (L2 self-confidence, anxiety, and proficiency), and sociopolitical (Taiwan's K-12 education) factors. The participants in the IPA group emphasized that the mobility, convenience, interactivity, multifunctionality, and familiarity of IPAs on smartphones enabled them to practice speaking English anywhere, anytime, and at their own pace. IPAs, as supportive and patient learning partners, enhanced the learners' engagement, confidence, and thus WTC. • Intelligent personal assistants significantly increase L2 willingness to communicate. • Intelligent personal assistants promote L2 speaking confidence and reduce anxiety. • IPAs' mobility, interactivity, and multifunctionality foster L2 speaking engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Game learning analytics (GLA) is an emerging technology that facilitates teachers' evidence-based pedagogical design and assessments. Despite its affordances and potential in K–12 classrooms, teachers' integration of GLA in teaching practices remains largely unexplored. This study implemented an educational game on collaborative problem solving (CPS) and a GLA system for assisting K–12 teachers in evaluating students' CPS skills and processes and quest performance and engagement. Based on the integrative model of behavioural prediction, this study aimed to examine 1) the extent to which personal, environmental, and technological factors affected teachers' usage intention and behaviour towards the GLA system, 2) the effects of moderators on the intention–behaviour relationship, and 3) how the structural model relationships differed across teachers with various individual characteristics. Survey data from 300 in-service teachers from Chinese primary and secondary schools were collected and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Results indicated that our model demonstrated strong in-sample and out-of-sample predictive power. In particular, teachers' attitudes, subjective norms, and self-efficacy influenced their behavioural intention, while technological pedagogical content knowledge, school support, and behavioural intention predicted their actual behaviour. In addition, technostress acted as a significant moderator of the intention–behaviour relationship. Moreover, teachers' gaming preferences, teaching subjects, and years of teaching explained the heterogeneity of their GLA usage. This study contributes to a theoretical understanding of and methodological advancements in studying teachers' usage intention and behaviour on GLA and yields practical implications for the design and implementation of GLA in K–12 classrooms. • We explored K–12 teachers' integration of game learning analytics in classrooms. • Attitudes, subjective norms, and self-efficacy predicted behavioural intention. • TPACK, school support, and behavioural intention predicted actual behaviour. • Technostress acted as a moderator of the intention–behaviour relationship. • The usage of game learning analytics differed across teachers' characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empirical evidence surrounding innovative technology-enhanced-learning practices in K-12 education is at best patchy. This study seeks to address this problem by investigating innovative mobile learning pedagogies for school-aged learners, including the extent to which these approaches may be disruptive to traditional school structures and practices. It adopts a rigorous Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology to interrogate this phenomenon, with fifty-seven high quality articles published between 2010 and 2017 meeting the stringent selection criteria. Content and thematic analysis showed low to medium degrees of innovation in most studies, with only 3 articles showing radically innovative, disruptive mobile learning practices. Illustrative examples are discussed across this 'innovation spectrum' and the notion of feasible innovation is proposed in the context of mobile learning in schools. The findings have implications for educators interested in designing and enacting effective innovative mobile learning practices, and researchers interested in the nature of innovation in mobile pedagogies. • Fifty-seven high quality articles show varying levels of innovation in mobile pedagogies for school-aged learners. • A continuum of innovation is presented in the context of mobile technology-mediated school-aged learning. • Examples are presented of innovative mobile pedagogies, for teachers designing effective mobile learning activities. • A set of four criteria for identifying innovative mobile pedagogies are presented, developed from the literature. • A scoring system is introduced for researchers/teachers interested in investigating innovative mobile learning practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the range of social media tools that have become available. Despite reports of successful adoption in the higher education classroom, there have been relatively few empirical studies that have explored whether the use of blogs in teaching and learning leads to an increase in perceived learning by students. This research study adopts a post positivist research approach and a quantitative research design that uses PLS-SEM. It was found that students do perceive higher degrees of learning from using blogs, but the recognised benefits of using blogs is influenced by the students' attitudes towards the use of technology in teaching and learning, their perceived usefulness of blogs, and the extent to which they have used blogs previously. The findings have implications for both teachers and students, as they can be used as a framework to help ensure the successful use of pedagogic blogs. Highlights • The research explores whether higher education students perceive that they learn through blogging. • The study involved 600 HE students in the UK and US who had previously participated in blogging for educational purposes. • It was found that students do perceive that they achieve higher degrees of learning through blogging. • Student views were influenced by attitudes to technology, expectations of blogging, and previous experiences of blogging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The practice of online learning can appreciably enhance administrative, communicative, and educational qualities, support learning using scarce resources and limited infrastructure, and encourage educational equity through flexible place and time usage. Although researchers have examined online learning usage within multiple situations, the roles of task-technology-fit (TTF) and compatibility as mediating variables have not been investigated through Delone and Mclean's model of IS success. Survey data gathered from 448 students across nine public universities within Yemen was collectively analysed through structural equation modelling (SEM) using SmartPLS 3.0. The findings comprised six primary outcomes, wherein overall quality (service, system, and information qualities) appreciably influences compatibility; compatibility appreciably influences user satisfaction as well as practical use; compatibility mediates associations among overall quality and either satisfaction and practical usage; actual use and the satisfaction of users appreciably influences TTF; the role of TTF presents positive influences performances; and TTF mediates associations among satisfaction and practical usage in one case and performance in another. Highlights • Compatibility has significant mediation role between actual usage of online learning and performance impact. • Compatibility has significant mediation role between user satisfaction and performance impact. • Task-Technology-Fit has significant mediation role between overall quality and actual usage of online learning. • Task-Technology-Fit has significant mediation role between overall quality and user satisfaction. • Compatibility has a direct positive influence on actual usage of online learning and user satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract For decades now, as the issue of social progress has come to the fore, the drive to improve access to education has been behind the growth in research into e-learning. The current systematic literature review raised the question of the existence of studies addressing the specific needs of persons with cognitive impairments. Indeed, e-learning is expected to be one of the critical tools for improving access to education and ultimately aiding social inclusion. The systematic literature review was performed through a four-step process including an exhaustive search of scientific literature databases, the selection of studies through exclusion and inclusion criteria, and literature analysis and synthesis. The main results are: 1) a lack of e-learning studies addressing the issue of accessibility for people with cognitive impairments (N = 29) with a purpose dominated by design guidelines rather than effectiveness assessment; 2) a weak inclusion of accessibility standards (N = 5) and 3) a weak inclusion of special education findings (N = 3), with a focus on specific neuropsychological disorders or syndromes (dyslexia, ADHD, etc.) rather than on impairments of cognitive function (attention, memory, etc.) as promoted by the International Classification of Functioning (World Health Organization, 2001); 4) the identification of five families of accessibility function (adaptive systems, game elements, accessible content, virtual agents and accessible interfaces or environments) and their dependency with activity-domain of learning. Results are discussed in terms of both design and assessment recommendations, promoting a multi-disciplinary approach combining educational sciences, cognitive sciences and computer science to develop more accessible e-learning systems. Highlights • Accessible online e-learning is an urging need for people with cognitive disabilities. • Few e-learning studies addressed the cognitive accessibility. • Their underpinning in terms of accessibility standards and special education is weak. • Their focus is oriented on specific disorder/disease instead of cognitive function. • Accessibility functions are learning activity-specific and few assessed with learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Smart cities try to use technology and data to improve the efficiency of city services, to address societal challenges and to improve collaboration between citizens and government. Driving such social change requires a deep socio-ecological transition with both organisations and individual's lifestyles needing to change. This has led to an increasing recognition of the need for education to empower people to play a more active role within smart city initiatives. This paper examines our use of a MOOC as a tool to facilitate attitudinal learning around the topic of smart cities and to explore whether the learners engage in local smart city activities. A mixed methods research design was employed, collecting data via an online survey that was completed by 202 learners and through in-depth interviews with 8 of those learners. The results show that learners' perceived high levels of attitudinal learning on the topic of smart cities across four categories of learning outcomes (general, cognitive, affective and behavioural). Our findings also contribute to an understanding of the types of post-course activities learners participate in and their experiences of trying to apply what they learnt if they participated in local smart city activities. We conclude by providing new insights into how to design for learning to support social change in the context of a MOOC. Highlights • Examined a MOOC as a tool to facilitate attitudinal learning in smart cities. • Learners reported high attitudinal learning across all components of attitude. • Barriers faced when applying MOOC learning to local smart city activities. • Insights into how to design learning to support social change in context of a MOOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study, we systematically reviewed the experimental mobile learning studies published in 2010–2016. Moreover, the activity theory framework was adopted to investigate the insights and trends of mobile learning. That is, the dimensions of context, tools, control, communication, subjects and objectives were employed to analyze the studies. It was found that most experimental mobile learning studies engaged students in real-world contexts, and the activities were conducted based on the existing school curriculums. This means that researchers and school teachers noted the value of situating students in meaningful learning by helping them link what they had learned from the textbooks to real-world scenarios or daily life environments. In the meantime, the studies frequently involved the students in actively using mobile systems with communication facilities to acquire knowledge via interacting with peers, events, and specified real-world learning targets in the environment. On one hand, many researchers proposed to raise students' motivation; on the other hand, they expected to observe more of what the learners, particularly novices and low-achievement students, had done when observing their past interactions. Even so, it was found that mobile devices were considered a main way of allowing students to acquire self-learning materials rather than only mediation learning across contexts. As the current studies can be considered to contain blended rather than purely self-paced learning, there is still a large space for mobile learning progress and development. Highlights • A review on experimental m-learning was done based on the activity theory framework. • The studies published in 2010–2016 were investigated to find the trends of m-learning. • The context, tool, control, communication, subject and objective aspects were analyzed. • The phenomena of the m-learning activities conducted in the studies were reported. • Possible research issues of m-learning in the future were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Perceived novelty in mobile applications is an inevitable aspect of today's technologies. Studies suggest that this perceived novelty effect increases motivation but wanes once the user becomes accustomed to the product. Using a Self-Determination Theory approach, the present study investigates how different tools relate to students' motivation, basic psychological needs, and achievement, over and above the effect of perceived novelty. The results from a randomized controlled experiment show that a mobile-learning tool and a digital version of a textbook are perceived as more novel than a traditional textbook. However, only the mobile-learning tool enhances the students' basic psychological needs. Additionally, using path-analysis, we find that the mobile-learning tool, need-satisfaction within the mobile-learning tool, and autonomous motivation account for achievement and internalization, over and above the effect of novelty. We argue that this finding is due to the inherent need-supportive elements within the mobile-learning tool that satisfy the basic psychological needs. Highlights • Study investigating the novelty effect of different learning tools. • Mobile learning tool and digital textbook perceived as more novel relative to traditional textbook. • Mobile learning tool enhances achievement and need satisfaction relative to digital textbook and traditional textbook. • Path-analysis show that mobile learning tool uniquely enhances need satisfaction, autonomous motivation and internalization. • Results are in line with Self-Determination Theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Although Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) is a massive communication phenomenon and its educational use can be seen as a genuine form of mobile learning, it has been studied to a limited extent to date. The present study examined the use of MIM to engage young professionals in mobile learning communities during their school-to-work transition. This transition is one of the most central but also challenging developmental phases marked by the experience of knowledge gaps and a lack of belonging. To assess knowledge and socio-professional learning effects associated with the use of MIM, this study adopted a quasi-experimental, survey-based approach with an intervention and control condition (n = 114) in the setting of an international research project. In the intervention condition, newly graduated nurses from Nigeria participated in WhatsApp groups in which moderators shared knowledge and stimulated professional discussions over a period of 6 months. Data were collected via online surveys and knowledge tests. The findings show that participants in the moderated WhatsApp groups had significantly higher knowledge and exhibited fewer feelings of professional isolation compared with the control group, which was not subject of any treatment. The effects were even more pronounced when controlling for active contributions (writing vs reading messages), which also amounted to significantly higher levels of professional identification. In addition, across intervention and control groups, the self-reported general active use of WhatsApp (outside of the intervention) was positively associated with the measures of professional social capital maintained with school connections, professional identity, (lower) professional isolation, job satisfaction, and the perceived transfer of school knowledge to work practice. Whereas knowledge and socio-professional effects can be triggered through moderated WhatsApp interventions yet the general (and thus informal) use of WhatsApp is associated with socio-professional connectedness. The findings are of particular relevance in the developing context under investigation, which is marked by a lack of alternative support structures. Highlights • Mobile Instant Messaging can support learners in the school-to-work transition. • Moderated WhatsApp groups can enhance knowledge and professional connectedness. • Informal WhatsApp use is associated with higher levels of professional immersion. • Key influencing factor is active (writing) vs passive (reading) engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile technologies offer new opportunities for encouraging self-regulated learning (SRL) in children. In this pre-registered study, we tested what kind of mobile intervention helps children maintain a regular study routine for vocabulary learning. Study behavior was measured objectively and with high ecological validity using logfiles of a vocabulary app that the children used. The mobile intervention was delivered via a separate study app and combined two critical components: planning and prompting. Children (N = 130, mean age = 10.75 years) first received a digital instruction on the benefits of distributed practice. Children in the full intervention group also formulated a plan for when and where to study vocabulary. On about half of the next 36 days (within-subject manipulation), they received prompts reminding them of the instruction and the plan. The comparison groups lacked either the prompting or planning intervention component (between-person manipulation). The results revealed that the reminder prompts increased the likelihood of studying on the day they were given. Planning, in contrast, had a more long-term impact in that it helped children maintain a high frequency of learning over time. Overall, our findings show that mobile interventions can be highly effective in supporting SRL in children. We found no evidence for children becoming overly reliant on prompts, nor for any time-varying effects of prompts. These findings contribute to our understanding of how mobile SRL interventions need to be designed to be effective for children. • We developed an app to encourage self-regulated learning in children's daily lives. • We tested two main intervention components: planning and prompting. • Creating a plan in the app helped children maintain a regular study routine. • Frequent prompts to internalize the plan had additional short-term effects. • Mobile interventions have high potential for supporting self-regulated learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This article advances knowledge on the factors that lead to successful e-learning in universities, through a comparative study of the perspectives of academic staff and students. In particular, it contributes to the limited knowledge bases on the effectiveness of e-learning in Saudi Arabia, and on the differences in perspectives of different groups of stakeholders in e-learning. Based on previous research, a questionnaire was designed and distributed to convenience samples of academic staff and students at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Respondents were invited to express their opinion regarding the importance of a number of factors to the success of e-learning. Principal Component Analysis was conducted on each dataset, in turn, to assess the loading of items onto factors, and the variance explained. The most important finding from this study is that the perspectives of students and academic staff differ, with there being nine factors for academic staff and seven for students. Categories that are common to both groups are: student characteristics, instructor characteristics, ease of access, and support and training. The order for academics is: student characteristics, ease of access, instructor characteristics, and support and training; and, the order foe students is: instructor characteristics, student characteristics, support and training, and ease of access. Highlights • Academic staff and students disagree on e-learning critical success factors (CSF's). • Key are student and instructor characteristics, ease of access, support & training. • The relative ranking of factors varies between the two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to explore the impact of three reward strategies on adult e-learners’ learning performance in a gamified teaching process. One hundred and eighty participants who were recruited for the experiment were evenly assigned to three groups, with Group A adopting the forfeit-or-prize reward strategy, Group B employing the prize-only reward strategy, and Group C applying the no-prize-no-forfeit strategy. A pretest, an immediate posttest, a delayed posttest and two questionnaires were adopted as instruments for the study. The results showed that the forfeit-or-prize pattern and the prize-only pattern could exert a significantly better impact on the e-learners’ learning than the no-prize-no-forfeit pattern. Additionally, the forfeit-or-prize pattern elicited better knowledge retention than the prize-only pattern. The two questionnaires revealed that the forfeit-or-prize pattern and the prize-only pattern could stimulate students' motivation in learning, although a high-level anxiety was perceived by the subjects assigned to the forfeit-or-prize pattern. Possible explanations and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an empirical study conducted on three different types of gamified learning activities—namely competitive, collaborative, and adaptive—in lower primary mathematics classes. The participants were students from two second-grade and one third-grade classes who used tablet computers and digital learning lessons for learning mathematics. The study included a non-gamified and competitive, adaptive, and collaborative gamified conditions, which were integrated into lesson plans. The collected log data were used to calculate the changes in performance levels through the dimensions of task completion and time under each condition, and the data were further analyzed and compared across conditions. The quantitative analysis results were triangulated with interview data from the students. Overall, the results show that gamified activities contributed to increased student performance levels in math learning. Significantly higher performance levels appeared in a gamified condition combining competition, a narrative, and adaptivity with individual performance game elements. Although the highest performance levels appeared in conjunction with the most incorrect attempts by the students, the total number of correct attempts was unaffected. Our findings suggest that whether gamification works or not is not the result of individual game elements but rather the consequence of their balanced combination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various review studies were conducted to provide valuable insights into the current research trend of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Nevertheless, this issue still needs to be investigated from further directions. It has been noticed that research overlooks the investigation of TAM with regard to Mobile learning (M-learning) studies from the standpoint of different perspectives. The present study systematically reviews and synthesizes the TAM studies related to M-learning aiming to provide a comprehensive analysis of 87 research articles from 2006 to 2018. The main findings include that most of the TAM studies involving M-learning focused on extending the TAM with external variables, followed by the studies that extended the model by factors from other theories/models. In addition, the main research problem that was frequently tackled among all the analyzed studies was to examine the acceptance of M-learning among students. Moreover, questionnaire surveys were the primarily relied research methods for data collection. Additionally, most of the analyzed studies were undertaken in Taiwan, this is followed by Spain, China, and Malaysia, respectively among the other countries. Besides, most of the analyzed studies were frequently conducted in humanities and educational context, followed by IT and computer science context, respectively among the other contexts. Most of the analyzed studies were carried out in the higher educational settings. To that end, the findings of this review study provide an insight into the current trend of TAM research involving M-learning studies and form an essential reference for scholars in the M-learning context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile devices not only provide a medium for delivering personalized and context-aware learning but also facilitate the delivery of assessment activities anytime and anywhere. With the growing adoption of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) practices in education, Mobile-Based Assessment (MBA) is an emerging field in the context of mobile learning research. Although a considerable number of literature reviews exists about mobile learning, there is no such review study to provide insight into mobile-based assessment. The current study is a review of forty-three (43) articles about mobile-based assessment published in seven major educational technology research journals from January 2009 to February 2018. Major findings include that most mobile-based assessment studies focused on formative assessments with elementary students and in STEM subjects. Most of the reviewed articles reported a significant positive impact on student learning performance, motivation and attitudes. Moreover, the study identified several gaps in the mobile assessment literature. More research is needed to investigate issues and concerns related to negative perceptions against mobile assessment, especially form the teachers’ point of view. Also, a stronger alignment needs to be developed between student motivation and different mobile-based assessment practices. The study can be a valuable reference for educators and researchers working in the field of mobile-based assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contextualised Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) has been known for its potential in language learning pedagogies. However, investigation of relations between variables and MALL components, are seemingly missing. This research aims to explore variables that influence contextualised MALL – target country (Taiwan/Israel) and language learning orientation (generic/dedicated). Accordingly, device mobility and real world and real life context level variables were quantitatively compared between Taiwan – target language environment and Israel – non-target language environment, and between generic and dedicated activities. Empirical data was collected using a structured interview from 53 Chinese L2 students in Taiwan and Israel, encompassing 296 types of students’ MALL activities. Findings show that contextualised MALL was significantly higher in the target country but only in generic activities. Furthermore, the findings support the existence of similarities and differences between real world and real life context definitions. The findings contribute to missing data about definitions and relations among MALL constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1986, Barry Zimmerman and Manuel Martinez-Pons presented a taxonomy containing 14 categories on Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) strategies performed by high school students when studying. Since this study, researchers have used the taxonomy as a framework for their research on students' SRL strategies and behaviours. When the taxonomy was constructed in the mid-1980s, these categories did not consider students’ SRL behaviours while using digital technologies to study. The goals of this systematic literature review are to understand if the original SRL strategies are addressed in modern Computer Science e-learning tools and to determine if tools have emerged that support SRL strategies not captured by the original taxonomy. This review organises the e-learning tools within the SRL categories. It shows that a preponderance of research has been done on certain SRL skills, with limited focus on other categories. The systematic literature review concludes with suggestions for future research opportunities pertaining to tools that support the original categories, as well as tools that support SRL strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile device ownership has exploded with the majority of adults owning more than one mobile device. The largest demographic of mobile device users are 18–29 years old which is also the typical age of college attendees. This systematic review provides the scholarly community with a current synthesis of mobile learning research across 2010–2016 in higher education settings regarding the purposes, outcomes, methodologies, subject matter domains, educational level, educational context, device types and geographical distribution of studies. Major findings include that the majority of the studies focused on the impact of mobile learning on student achievement. Language instruction was the most often researched subject matter domain. The findings reveal that 74% involved undergraduate students and 54% took place in a formal educational context. Higher education faculty are encouraged to consider the opportunity to expand their learning possibilities beyond the classroom with mobile learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion regulation (ER) is key for children's development and it has recently been considered in many serious games and e-learning technologies. However, these tools have focused on children's efforts to change their own emotions (intrapersonal ER), overlooking how children may engage in modifying the emotions of others (interpersonal ER). To address this gap, we have developed a multiplatform online serious game, Emodiscovery, which evaluates whether children (8-11 year-olds) tend to use different adaptive and maladaptive regulation strategies to change others' negative emotions with the use of 3D animated characters. The game is organized into levels, each representing a different scenario, where the child is asked to interact with the character three times choosing an appropriate regulation strategy to cheer him or her up from four possible options, being two adaptive and two maladaptive strategies. To test the effectiveness of the game, a sample of English children played three scenarios depicting a character feeling sadness, anger, and fear, respectively. Results showed that most children chose adaptive strategies to improve the character's emotion across the different emotion scenarios. Furthermore, emotion recognition was not positively related to children's choices of regulation strategies. The implications and applications of the games are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-learning is a web-based learning ecosystem for the dissemination of information, communication, and knowledge for education and training. Understanding the impact of e-learning on society, as well as its benefits, is important to link e-learning systems to their success drivers. The aim of this study is to find the determinants of user perceived satisfaction, use, and individual impact of e-learning. This study proposes a theoretical model integrating theories of information systems' satisfaction and success in the e-learning systems. The model was empirically validated in higher education institutions and university centers in Brazil through a quantitative method of structural equation modeling. Collaboration quality, information quality, and user perceived satisfaction explain e-learning use. The drivers of user perceived satisfaction are information quality, system quality, instructor attitude toward e-learning, diversity in assessment, and learner perceived interaction with others. System quality, use, and user perceived satisfaction explain individual impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-learning becomes an alternative learning mode since the prevalence of the Internet. Especially, the advance of MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) technology enables a course to enroll tens of thousands of online learners. How to improve learners' online learning experiences on MOOC platforms becomes a crucial task for platform providers. In this research, based on Cognitive Load Theory, we built a system to capture and tag a user's mental states while s/he is watching online videos with a commercial EEG device, and used different normalization schemes and time window lengths to process EEG signals recorded from the EEG device. Finally, we adopted different supervised learning algorithms to train and test the classifiers, and then evaluated their classification performance. The results show that the proposed approach can effectively process EEG data to train classifiers, which achieve high accuracy, precision and recall rates compared with those of previous studies. This system can effectively facilitate users' self-awareness of mental efforts in online learning contexts to enable the automatic feedback in synchronous and asynchronous learning contexts, especially taking MOOCs as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated the use of gamification to facilitate a student-centered learning environment within an undergraduate Year 2 Personal and Professional Development (PPD) course. In addition to face-to-face classroom practices, an information technology-based gamified system with a range of online learning activities was presented to students as support material. The implementation of the gamified course lasted two academic terms. The subsequent evaluation from a cohort of 136 students indicated that student performance was significantly higher among those who participated in the gamified system than in those who engaged with the nongamified, traditional delivery, while behavioral engagement in online learning activities was positively related to course performance, after controlling for gender, attendance, and Year 1 PPD performance. Two interesting phenomena appeared when we examined the influence of student background: female students participated significantly more in online learning activities than male students, and students with jobs engaged significantly more in online learning activities than students without jobs. The gamified course design advocated in this work may have significant implications for educators who wish to develop engaging technology-mediated learning environments that enhance students’ learning, or for a broader base of professionals who wish to engage a population of potential users, such as managers engaging employees or marketers engaging customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ubiquity, flexibility, ease of access and diverse capabilities of mobile technologies make them valuable and a necessity in current times. However, they are under-utilized assets in mathematics and science school education. This article analyses the high quality empirical evidence on mobile learning in secondary school science and mathematics education. Our study employed a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) using well-accepted and robust guidelines. The SLR resulted in the detailed analysis of 49 studies (60 papers) published during 2003–2016. Content and thematic analyses were used to ascertain pedagogical approaches, methodological designs, foci, and intended and achieved outcomes of the studies. The apps and technologies used in these studies were further classified for domain, type and context of use. The review has highlighted gaps in existing literature on the topic and has provided insights that have implications for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents AugmentedWorld, an open and adaptive location-based platform, designed to facilitate the creation of multimedia-rich questions while connecting scientific topics to relevant locations, real-world applications, and learners' daily life. Prior to its implementation in schools, we conducted a study among 98 prospective science teachers to examine the quality of location-based questions and participants' epistemic views. Data were collected through encoding of questions' quality, participants' grades, and semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated medium results for the quality of location-based questions, with multimedia design as the weakest feature. The participants' early experience in exam-writing and gender were found as significant predictors of the quality of questions. In addition, the data indicated a significant relationship between the questions' quality and participants' technological and pedagogical knowledge. Four competencies were identified with reference to the educational importance of location-based questions: contextualization, creativity, critical thinking, and information and communication technology (ICT) literacy. The current study underlines the importance of location-based questions as a form of learning and alternative assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistence in any of the growing variety of e-learning formats is a longstanding and pernicious problem. The widely acknowledged nature of this issue makes the considerable gap in our understanding of students' motivation to e-learn a serious concern. Building on initial studies, the current research examines important predictors and outcomes of students' motivation for weekly review and extension e-learning experiences within a blended course. The present study aimed to simultaneously provide variable and person-centred longitudinal perspectives on students' motivations to e-learn, thereby illustrating the potential outcomes of these experiences and indicating how they might be better structured and supported. Japanese students ( n  = 642) studying in a blended course of foreign language study (two classes a week, with weekly online review and extension activities) completed surveys at three time points across an academic semester of study. Prior language competency and final e-learning completion were also included in modelling. Variable-centred results highlighted the essential role of teachers in supporting students' ability, value and effort related motivations for studying online. All three motivations played an important role in predicting e-learning completion. Person-centred results, tracking student movement between latent subgroups, confirmed the importance of teachers, but also indicated a prior competence threshold below which teacher efforts alone might be insufficient to support substantive motivation for e-learning, and thereby, e-learning completion. The theoretical and practical implications of the present study's findings regarding teacher-support and initial content competence are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning with smart mobile devices and mobile social networks is an emerging and current trend that deserves attention. Nonetheless, the post-adoption continuance behaviours of learners are still a neglected research focus. Moreover, not much study has examined this research area from a mobile and social perspective. In view of these, this study aims to investigate the continued use of mobile social networks as a platform for learning through a mobile and social perspective. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling technique was engaged to analyse a sample that consists of 229 university students, who involve themselves in using mobile social learning platforms for learning purposes. Mobile usefulness, mobile ease of use, and sense of belonging were found to have significant direct influence over satisfaction, which directly influences learners’ site attachment and continued use. Other than satisfaction, site attachment is another direct and significant predictor of continued use. From the mediation analysis, although perceived mobility and social presence have no direct impact over satisfaction, they affect satisfaction indirectly through mobile usefulness and sense of belonging respectively. Serving as a forerunner in examining the continued use of mobile social learning platforms for learning from a mobile and social perspective, this study has closed several crucial literature gaps and provided useful insights to learning institutions and mobile social networking service providers on developing a better mobile social environmental for learning purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of online information is highly variable because anyone can post data on the internet, and not all online sources are equally reliable, valuable, or accurate. Previous studies reveal problems with online information evaluation skills and a lack of ability in using evaluation criteria, including currency, relevance, authority, accuracy and purpose. The primary purpose of this study is to develop a framework for cooperative and interactive mobile learning to improve students' online information evaluation skills. A mobile learning application is subsequently developed based on the proposed framework. To assess the effectiveness of the developed application, an experiment is conducted on diploma students in a university. A usability questionnaire is conducted on an experimental group to identify students' perceptions regarding the usability of the developed mobile application. The experimental results indicate that the application is significantly more effective with an effect size of 1.91 in improving students’ online information evaluation skills than traditional learning. The results contribute to the extant literature in the context of mobile learning by identifying usability evaluation features and providing a framework for developing cooperative and interactive mobile learning. The implications of the present findings for research and instructional practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are already evidences of Serious Games (SG) effectiveness in teaching-learning processes for some areas of knowledge. Some studies analyzed the influence of different interaction modes, with focus on competitive and collaborative SG modes separately. New research studies however, suggest that SG with collaboration and competition altogether, could also provide benefits. A review on Collaborative-Competitive SG (CCSG) was performed, but no methodology was found to design such games. Instead, different research studies claim that specific design features should require attention in the design phase since they may compromise the success of a CCSG in terms of usage and learning. Once the outcome is said to be sensitive to those features, we hypothesized that a CCSG with such concerns altogether still promote learning. Thus, a new CCSG was designed considering all of these features, implemented, put to use and tested. Learning evaluations on a pre-experimental research design showed an increase in knowledge acquisition and level of confidence on students that played the resulting game. Data show that joining all design concerns regarding a CCSG did not compromise game capability to promote learning. Based on the feedback of game use, more features arose and we advocate that they should be considered as design concerns as well. Game design features identified in this work have been proved effective and can be used as guidelines for future educational CCSG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Success of e-learning systems depends on their capability to automatically retrieve and recommend relevant learning content according to the preferences of a specific learner. Learning experience and dynamic choice of educational material that is presented to learners can be enhanced using different recommendation techniques. As popularity of collaborative tagging systems grows, users’ tags could provide useful information to improve recommender system algorithms in e-learning environments. In this paper, we present an approach for implementation of collaborative tagging techniques into online tutoring system. The implemented approach combines social tagging and sequential patterns mining for generating recommendations of learning resources to learners. Several experiments were carried out in order to verify usability of the proposed hybrid method within e-learning environment and analyze selected social tagging techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While textbooks are crucial to learning in the traditional classroom-based setting, their role in e-learning environment might be different. Through a categorical analysis, this study investigates if the currently available learning resources provided by textbooks are suitable for e-learning purpose. An e-learning framework incorporating different stages of learning and usage of learning resources was first developed as a guide. Then, a sample of learning resources that came with 100 commonly used textbooks in the disciplines of logistics/supply chain management and information systems were classified using the framework. To corroborate the classification, cluster analysis was also conducted to identify major clusters of learning resources along two dimensions - complexity of content and ease of use. The findings show that most of the sampled textbook learning resources are only suitable for low-order to mid-order learning according to the revised Bloom's taxonomy. The majority of the resources investigated lack the sophistication and complexity to support high-order learning that involves a great deal of interaction and collaboration among learners and facilitators on e-learning platforms. In other words, existing textbook learning resources might contribute well to self-regulated low-order and mid-order e-learning involving basic to intermediate cognitive processes, such as remembering, understanding, applying and analysing. They are generally ill-designed to facilitate high-order e-learning involving advanced cognitive processes, such as evaluating and creating, which require extensive interaction and collaboration among learners and facilitators in an e-learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes use of an experiment to test the relationship between the actual average time students spend using their smartphones per day and academic performance. Differently from previous studies that rely on self-reporting mobile phone usage data, which tends to significantly underestimate the time spent by students at their phones, we employed Apps (namely ‘Moment’ and ‘App Usage Tracker’) to effectively measure actual usage. Collecting data from 43 students at Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), a business school from São Paulo, Brazil, our analysis yielded a significant negative relationship between total time spent using smartphones and academic performance, after controlling for known predictors of performance such as self-efficacy and past academic results. Each 100 min spent using the device on average per day corresponded to a reduction in a student's position at the school's ranking of 6.3 points, in a range from 0 to nearly 100. Moreover, if we consider usage during class time only (as opposed to during free time and weekends), the effect was almost twice as high. The magnitude of the effect found is alarming. Thus, this study brings new evidence of the potential harm of excessive smartphone use and should be useful for educators and other academic stakeholders interested in the subject of the impact of technology on students' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decades, the issues related to mobile learning have been widely discussed around the globe; however, the development and trends of applying mobile technologies in nursing education still lack systematic analysis. In this study, a meta review of the studies published in academic journals from 1971 to 2016 was conducted to analyze the application domains, subjects, adopted learning strategies, investigated research issues and findings of mobile technology-supported nursing education. From the review results, it was found that the use of mobile technologies in nursing education and training have made great progress in the past decades. In addition to the changes in mobile technologies and the increasing number of mobile learning studies in nursing education, the subjects and research issues have also become more diverse in recent years. It was also found that mobile learning has mainly been applied to the training of basic nursing concepts and skills as well as to long-term care and obstetrics and gynecology, while few or even no studies are related to other nursing education domains. In addition, several widely adopted mobile learning strategies, such as inquiry-based learning, contextual mobile learning, snychronous sharing, Mindtools, project-based learning and peer assessment, have seldom been adopted in mobile nursing education. This also reflects the fact that most of these studies focused on skills training and basic knowledge comprehension, while few were conducted in the domains aimed at fostering learners' higher order thinking competences, such as problem solving or critical thinking. On the other hand, it was found that the number of studies using an experimental design has increased in recent years; moreover, most studies reported the learners’ cognitive performance and perceptions, while their learning behaviors were seldom analyzed. Accordingly, the research trends and potential research issues of mobile nursing education are proposed as a reference for researchers, instructors and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile games can foster the early mathematics skills of children in poverty at home. This randomized controlled trial examines the efficacy of Escribo Play, an evidence-based, game-enhanced early mathematics program with an initial pool of 2980 first-grade students from 267 classrooms in 132 schools located in Brazil. The intervention reached 47% of the children who installed and used the application. Students from 56 classrooms (20%) did not use the application. The intervention retained 51% of those who installed the application. Children of the experimental group who played Escribo Play advanced 2.27 times more than the increase of the control group for number identification, 2.78 times more in count-sequence, 1.73 times more in geometric shape, and 1.41 times more in spatial sense. The overall reduction in disparities between participants from pretest to posttest of the experimental group was 9.1 times higher than the control group, indicating that the intervention reduced learning inequality for those that played the games. The higher gains observed among those children who used Escribo Play may be attributed to its interactive nature, employing evidence-based instructional strategies with engaging and interactive content (i.e., animation and games). The cost per pupil is much lower than reported in 90% of other educational interventions. The application is easy to scale and provides learning gains for first-grade students. • The intervention retained 51% of the children. • Students who played advanced 2.27 times more in number identification. • They advanced 2.78x more in count-sequence and 1.73x more in geometric shape. • On average the children that played advanced twice more than the others. • Learning disparities were reduced 9.1 times more among the children that played. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study describes the results of a phenomenographic analysis of teachers' conceptions of mobile learning. Fifteen senior high school (Grades 10–12) teachers from five schools in northern Taiwan involved in a national mobile learning program participated in this study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Through data analysis, six qualitatively different conceptions of mobile learning were obtained: 1) meeting students' preferences, 2) conducting classes with efficiency, 3) invigorating and enhancing learning, 4) parting from traditional teaching, 5) focusing on student ownership, and 6) extending learning beyond school. The conception categories form a hierarchy and show a trajectory moving from teacher-/content-oriented to learner-/learning-oriented conceptions. In addition, technology was almost invisible in the more sophisticated conceptions. Finally, juxtaposing the conception categories with the replacement, amplification, and transformation framework revealed that teachers’ central ideas regarding mobile learning fell within the amplification category, suggesting the use of technology mainly to increase efficiency and productivity. It is concluded that for mobile devices to exert transformative power on learning, it might be necessary to cultivate the more sophisticated conceptions of mobile learning among teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the factors affecting university students' resistance and intention to use of mobile learning by developing an integrated research model that combines innovation diffusion theory (IDT) and model of innovation resistance (MIR). We added the concepts of inertia and innovativeness to shed light on the personal aspects of students' adoption of mobile learning. Data were collected from a self–administered online survey of South Korean university students ( N = 493). Structural equation results revealed that relative advantage, complexity, and inertia had significant effects on students' mobile learning resistance, with inertia being the most significant. Relative advantage, innovativeness, and mobile learning resistance had significant effects on students’ intention to use mobile learning, with relative advantage being the most significant. Furthermore, mobile learning resistance was found to mediate the effects of relative advantage and complexity on intention to use mobile learning. The results provide valuable implications for researchers and educational practitioners to develop and implement appropriate strategies for mobile learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile technology offers educators new potential for course and learning material construction. Empirical best practices research is scarce, particularly in secondary and higher education settings. This article provides a field experiment using a 2 (individual vs. group) x 2 (text vs. video) design in a secondary school context with students engaged in learning activities related to either text or video content on mobile devices. We structured material to benefit either individual or collaborative learning practices and examined gender as a critical factor to understand ways to improve teaching approaches. The study used an ANOVA with repeated measures to understand impacts of various attributes on outcomes such as material experience duration, perceived peer influenced learning, satisfaction, perceived understanding, and performance. This study provides empirical evidence in a mobile learning environment that suggests female students engaged in group learning modes, supported with video material, had different engagement patterns than male students. Females spent more time in the application consistent with earlier research suggesting females are more likely to use strategies such as active listening, asking questions, and soliciting input. In addition, female students engaged in group learning mode, supported with video material, had higher peer-influenced learning scores than male students. Holistically, this evidence supports the view that females use learning strategies that benefit from group learning and features provided by mobile technologies. The results help direct future research regarding design and implementation of learning in secondary school settings and may help remove gender disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of Mobile Pedestrian Navigation and Augmented Reality in mobile learning contexts shows new forms of interaction when students are taught by means of learning activities in formal settings. This research presents the educational, quantitative, and qualitative evaluation of an Augmented Reality and Mobile Pedestrian Navigation app. The software was designed for mobile learning in an educational context, to evaluate its effectiveness when applied as a teaching tool, in comparison to similar tools such as those present in e-learning. A mixed-method analysis was used, with primary school students from Chile as subjects (n = 143). They were split into one control group and one experimental group. The control group worked in an e-learning environment, while the experimental group performed the activity as field work, making use of the app (m-learning). Students were evaluated pretest and posttest using an objective test to measure their level of learning. In parallel, a satisfaction survey was carried out concerning the use of these technologies, in addition to interviews with several students and teachers of the experimental group. Pretest-posttest results indicate that the experimental group outperformed the control group in their learning levels. The results of the interviews and the satisfaction survey show that these technologies, combined with fieldwork, increase the effectiveness of the teaching-learning processes. Further, they promote the interaction of students with contents for learning, and they improve students’ performance in the educational process. The main goal is to provide a methodology for the analysis of an ad-hoc designed app. The app is intended to provide an m-learning process for subjects being taught about cultural heritage. The quantitative and qualitative results obtained show that it can be more effective than using similar technologies in e-learning contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in mobile device affordances, there has been a concomitant rise in the level of interest in investigating the breadth, purpose and extent of mobile learning in education. This systematic review provides a current synthesis of mobile learning research across 2010–2015 in PK-12 education. This includes a aggregated quantitative and qualitative analysis of the specific mobile learning activities as they connect to learning theories, specifically behaviorist, constructivist, situated, and collaborative learning. Major findings include that the majority of the studies focused on student learning followed by designing systems. Science was the most common subject researched and elementary schools was the most often studies setting. The findings reveal that 40% of the time researchers designed mobile learning activities aligning with the behaviorist approach to learning. This has the students consuming knowledge and not using the full potential of the mobile devices to have students become producers, collaborators, and creators of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acceptance and intention to use mobile learning is a topic of growing interest in the field of education. Although there is a considerable amount of studies investigating mobile learning acceptance, little research exists that investigates the driving factors that influence students' intention to use mobile technologies for assessment purposes. The aim of this study is to provide empirical evidence on the acceptance of Mobile-Based Assessment (MBA), the assessment delivered through mobile devices and technologies. The proposed model, Mobile-Based Assessment Acceptance Model (MBAAM) is based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). MBAAM extends TAM in the context of MBA by adding to the Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness, the constructs of Facilitating Conditions, Social Influence, Mobile Device Anxiety, Personal Innovativeness, Mobile-Self-Efficacy, Perceived Trust, Content, Cognitive Feedback, User Interface and Perceived Ubiquity Value and investigates their impact on the Behavioral Intention to Use MBA. 145 students from a European senior-level secondary school experienced a series of mobile-based assessments for a three-week period. Structured equation modeling was used to analyze quantitative survey data. According to the results, MBAAM explains and predicts approximately 47% of the variance of Behavioral Intention to Use Mobile-Based Assessment. The study provides a better understanding towards developing mobile-based assessments that support learners, enhance learning experience and promote learning, taking advantage of the distinguished features that mobile devices may offer. Implications are discussed within the wider context of mobile learning acceptance research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines the differential impact of studying in a Flipped Classroom (FC) setting, as compared to a Blended Learning (BL), a Traditional Learning (TL), and an E-Learning (EL) setting on learning performance, self-efficacy beliefs, intrinsic motivation, and perceived flexibility. Participants were second year undergraduate students ( N = 90), enrolled in the “Invertebrates” course in Can Tho University (Vietnam). Participants were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions (TL n = 22, BL n = 22, FC n = 23, EL n = 23). Two instructional elements - (1) lectures and (2) guiding questions - were presented through two different modes (online and face-to-face). In the blended conditions (BL and FC) the mode of these elements were altered. The results show that learning performance was superior in the FC setting as compared to other learning settings TL ( Cohens' d = 1.58), EL ( Cohens' d = 1.01) and BL ( Cohens' d = 0.71). Students in the BL setting had a higher learning performance as compared to the EL setting. In addition, we observed that studying in a FC setting had a positive effect on self-efficacy beliefs and intrinsic motivation, but not on perceived flexibility. These findings suggest that the FC setting could be a promising way of enhancing students’ learning performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biology students traditionally use a textbook in the field and on courses to identify species, but now a new mobile-application tool has been developed as an alternative. Guided by Self-Determination Theory (SDT) we conducted an experimental study to test the effect of the mobile-application, relative to the traditional textbook, on students' intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, and achievement. Seventy-one students were randomly assigned to either an experimental condition (mobile application - ArtsApp) or control condition (textbook - Lids flora). As hypothesised, the students using ArtsApp had higher intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, and achievement, compared to the textbook control group, with medium to large effect sizes. Furthermore, using the mobile application, relative to the textbook, predicted intrinsic motivation, which in turn, predicted higher achievement scores in a path analysis. Lastly in a hierarchical regression analysis, intrinsic motivation and autonomous motivation accounted over and above in students' interest for species identification, and importance of knowing species. These results are in line with SDT's theorising: emphasising that when students act out of interest, choice, and have an internal locus of causality, they achieve better outcomes, presumably because these satisfy students' psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Factors facilitating this are interest, choice, and feedback, which we argue are in-built functions in the mobile application as opposed to the textbook, and which might account for the positive results. Further studies with several student-groups and complex designs are needed before inferring causality across educational levels. Based on the present study, we recommend that biology teachers in higher education employ mobile application tools in species identification due to increases in motivation and a higher degree of accurate identification of sedges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile devices and collaborative learning environments are common tools in education but not all collaborative learning is structured the same. This study evaluated student learning in three different collaborative learning environments, both with and without mobile technology, to assess students' engagement, critical thinking, and attitudes toward collaborative learning. The results indicate that mobile technology is associated with positive student perceptions of collaborative learning but with increased disengagement by students during class. In addition, the level of students' critical thinking was more closely associated with the tools used to construct written responses than with the collaborative learning environment style. Students constructing paragraph responses on a mobile device demonstrated significantly less critical thinking than those who used a computer keyboard or wrote responses by hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics education in contemporary elementary schools is mainly conducted in a conventional way by giving lectures. A teacher would pass on knowledge to students by giving lectures, and this type of one-way teaching method is prone to cause poor learning achievement. Many researchers have suggested the use of a collaborative problem solving to improve the situation. This research proposed the use of a digital pen learning system (DPLS) with collaborative problem solving to improve learning achievement and learning motivation in a conventional mathematics courses. A quasi-experimental design was adopted to set up all of the teaching activities, which involved 64 fourth-grade students for four weeks. The results of the research show that the learning achievement of the two experimental groups was significantly better than control group. There was no significant difference between the two experimental groups and control group in terms of learning motivation. There was no significant difference between the three groups in terms of learning attitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]