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The tobacco crisis confronting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) requires scale-up of effective tobacco control programs, such as Tobacco Free Teachers-Tobacco Free Society (TFT-TFS). We previously demonstrated the efficacy of TFT-TFS in increasing tobacco use cessation among teachers and schools' adoption of tobacco control policies in Bihar, India. To scale TFT-TFS, we are now pioneering a smartphone-based mobile learning strategy to train principals (or their designees) in Madhya Pradesh to implement and monitor TFT-TFS in schools. Research underscores the transformative potential of mobile learning: a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective alternative to in-person training methods. Our study is a unique opportunity to test a training approach that could have implications for wider and more efficient delivery of other public health programs. The strategic use of gamification and digital storytelling enhances the TFT-TFS mobile training app. Gamification mechanics--including points, leaderboards, and digital badging--foster a dynamic learning environment to enhance learning outcomes. This approach propels continuous participant engagement toward understanding and implementation of TFT-TFS's six monthly themes and four program components. The TFT-TFS smartphone training program weaves in elements of Indian culture, notably the symbolic use of colors and kites. The Indian kite festival celebrates communal harmony through healthy competition. Similarly, the app employs the idea of school kites, which are divided into six blank segments corresponding to the TFT-TFS monthly themes. Participants navigate each module, engaging with animated videos, digital assessments, and interactive activities. Upon a principal's successful completion of each monthly theme's program components, the school's kite receives a new color, unlocking the subsequent theme. The TFT-TFS smartphone training showcases a unique interactive mobile learning application that integrates gamification and tests how to scale up an effective tobacco control program in schools in India and other LMICs. The TFT-TFS smartphone-based training app may also have relevance to other public health-related training efforts in resource-constrained areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current advancements in natural language processing (NLP) have paved the way for the development of highly effective AI-powered language models. These models can produce human-like writing, making them valuable in various domains, including education. Given the importance of preparing pre-service teachers who can effectively facilitate student learning in the ever-evolving digital landscape, it becomes crucial to explore innovative approaches. This study focuses on investigating the potential integration of ChatGPT, an NLP model, in teacher training programs. The qualitative research involved 2nd and 3rd-year pre-service teachers enrolled in ICTs in the Education curriculum. Data collection was done through a questionnaire and class discussions to gain insights into the pre-service teachers' experiences with using ChatGPT. The findings shed light on the potential strategies for leveraging ChatGPT to enhance lesson planning and classroom activities, as it generates text that closely resembles human communication and exhibits independent learning capabilities. Implementing ChatGPT in teacher training programs holds promise for empowering pre-service instructors in creating engaging educational materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continual impact and deterioration of the pandemic disease of COVID-19 around the world, teaching classes in person that was a key part of learning style now was unavailable to be utilised by universities' lecturers and it seemed that such situation would remain unavailable for some time to come. Fortunately, the good news is that there has been a trend over the past decades that the increasing number of universities has established and moved partly to online courses and most of the students have learned how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can help them study effectively. Previous research on E-learning has proven that the challenges of studying online can be even more daunting for both lecturers and students who have to suddenly change their learning patterns from the classrooms to the virtual ones. This is mainly because the suddenness of this change makes it difficult for lecturers to fully prepare to lecture in the virtual learning environment. In light of the above-mentioned facts, this research proposes a novel model and integrates flow theory into the theory of technology acceptance model (TAM), based on stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory, the SOR model has been widely used in previous studies of online customer behaviour, and the model theory includes three components: stimulus, organism, and response. Assuming that stimuli contained in the external environment cause people to change, which in turn affects their behaviour. This research explores deeply what factors stimulate and affect learners mobile learning (M-learning) continuance (individual responses). Consequently, our research model provides a new lens for M-learning through the S-O-R theory and suggests that the TAM model affects students' flow experiences and satisfaction, which in turn, influences engagement and M-learning continuance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the noteworthy growth of digital tools for museums and art spaces enhances and redefines the museum experience. The creation of digital applications that provide meaningful experiences in the art space is a real challenge. Transformative learning theories focus on educational processes that aim for the development of critical thinking while some of them involve the aesthetic experience as a medium that can be exploited. ARtales is an augmented reality mobile application for the National Gallery of Athens visitors which utilizes transformative learning methods through aesthetic experience in an attempt to offer a more substantial and innovating experience in the gallery. More specifically, users asked to discover hidden symbols, uncover hidden objects and live AR experiences related to different subjects/scenarios in the outdoor spaces of the gallery or in their personal place, in order to develop their critical thinking and revisit the artworks in a playful and substantial way. The application also uses a points-based reward system in the direction of gamification. This study refers to the first use and evaluation of the ARtales application by a number of postgraduate students in order to draw conclusions related to the development of the critical thinking and the transformation of the views and perceptions of the participants, the assimilation of the offered information as well as the acquaintance with the artworks. For this purpose, questionnaire-based evaluation and free conversation with the participants was carried out as well. According to the results derived, the first use showed positive acceptance and response. Last but not least, the study gives suggestions for future work and exploitation as well as future pilot implementation which is of major importance in order for the ARtales app to become feasible for a widespread use in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern education is based on the development of key competencies. By developing key competencies, we should prepare pupils and students for real life, i.e. for their beneficial integration into society and their professional life. At the same time, digital devices are penetrating education, of which mobile technologies have a strong position in education. Much research has looked at the impact of mobile technology on the learning process, motivation and learning fixation, but does this technology have an impact on the development of key competencies? These thoughts led the authors to produce a review study that maps the role of mobile technology in the development of key competencies. The paper aims to analyse the available literature and determine the current state of the art on the issue described above. In the theoretical part of the paper, the authors describe the theoretical background that formed the basis for the development of the review study. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with the area of mobile technologies in education, where the authors define the term mobile technologies and briefly outline their position in education. Another area discussed is key competencies, where the authors define the term, describe their role in the context of European education, and focus in detail on key competencies for learning, problem solving, communicative competencies, and digital competencies. The last theoretical area described is the the research methodology, in which the authors focus exclusively on defining the concept of a review study. The research part contains the methodology of the conducted research, where the specific procedure of the review study is described. 50 publications were selected and analysed in detail, and the information found was recorded in a table. The results of the research do not only contain conclusions about which key competencies are developed by mobile technologies but also look at, among other things, what level of education uses this technology or how different countries perceive this issue. The results of the research can serve as a basis for further research that can look at the relationship between mobile technology and specific key competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of a mobile education application that uses Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and digital storytelling on student engagement and satisfaction while they learn how to read in the Arabic curriculum. For the purpose of this research, an interactive mobile learning application has been developed based on the idea of targeting learners' individual needs where students will progress from reading single words to sentences and creating their own stories and share them to a website which is developed for the purpose of this research. The participants of this study were second-year primary school children, their parents, and their Arabic language female teachers in the first semester from three different primary school classes in Saudi Arabia. Due to the closure of the schools in Saudi Arabia as a result of the novel pandemic (Covid-19), this study was conducted online. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches to measure the effectiveness of the interactive tool for enhancing student engagement and satisfaction while reading in Arabic and to obtain general knowledge about students' background of using technology. The qualitative approach is based on online semi-structured interviews for the teachers and online observations of students while they interact with the novel mobile application. The quantitative approach is based on online questionnaires for both the students and their parents. The student survey obtains opinions about the system, while the parent survey examines the students' prior knowledge of using technology and home literacy environment. The aim of this research is to prove that such a proposed novel mobile learning application will increase and enhance student engagement. The results indicate that students show increased engagement and expressed satisfaction with the system. Therefore, a system based on UDL and digital storytelling can increase and improve students' engagement and satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Once upon a time, researchers believed that the effective use of an online social media network to support a virtual community is dependent on the participants' interest in the context within which the community exists and the willingness of the participants to be part of mobile instant messaging groups. But I thought that interacting via WhatsApp groups will enable them to accept differing views and opinions as part of the group activities. This could ensure effective group engagement and co-creation of learning. I taught a 45 to 60 minute lesson every week to first-year students. The group was divided into smaller sub-groups and assigned individual and group tasks. I analysed the messages that they sent in the form of answers, responses and feedbacks. Four questions aligned to the community of inquiry framework, form part of this study: (1) Social presence - How has WhatsApp contributed to student's learning? (2) Teaching presence - Has the selected mode of engagement attracted students? (3) Cognitive presence - What kind of messages were conveyed? (4) Academic performance - Has it been beneficial towards their learning and in achieving learning outcomes? Data were collected during weekly lectures to first-year students using WhatsApp as a mobile instant messaging (MIM) platform and were analysed through WhatsAnalyzer. Finally, a matrix was proposed for the analysis of various aspects of communities of practice. I discovered that WhatsApp facilitated high levels of interactivity within the groups during the COVID19 lockdown, which will change the future of remote or online teaching. However, more research needs to be carried out to understand the reasons why some students learn better than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is focused on modernizing and increasing efficiency of teaching process within environmental education in upper secondary education. It deals with application of several pedagogical approaches (interdisciplinary learning, cooperative education, outdoor education, mobile learning, location-based learning, e-learning) and necessary phases in the creation of an interactive educational trail by students themselves. The aim of the paper is to present the possibility of implementing environmental education for secondary schools, taking into account the above-described pedagogical approaches in order to make environmental issues more attractive. The described proposal was verified in practice through the project E.T. in Nitra (Edu trail in Nitra). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the playful activities used in education is the treasure hunt, a serious game that allows students to work cooperatively. This activity stimulates different cognitive processes connected to accurately reading the clues and understanding them, and extremely effective to elaborate a collaborative strategy necessary to find the hidden objects. Augmented Reality is an innovative technology with a growing potential in promoting new scenarios to support teaching and learning processes. In this paper we present a learning activity based on a treasure hunt serious game developed with ARLectio®. ARLectio® is an augmented reality authoring tool aimed at supporting the creation of educational resources that leverage the AR technologies to improve students' engagement. ARLectio® is characterized by an intuitive user interface that supports educational content creation based on different media types, such as: text, images, video, and 3D model, that will be accessed through mobile AR applications. From the architectural perspective, ARLectio® consists of a web-based AR authoring tool addressed to teachers for the creation of educational contents, and a mobile App in which the content is consumed by students within AR based educational activities. In the scenario described in this paper, ARLectio® is used by teachers to design an educational treasure hunt activity that will be accessed by students through their mobile devices. The topic of the treasure hunt is "Climate change and environmental sustainability". In a pilot study presented in this paper, students were divided into small groups, and they collaboratively interacted to solve some treasure hunt enigmas. The clues and enigmas are related to the school curriculum. For example, clues include the solution of simple mathematic and linguistic problems as well as historical references and notions of geography. The results of the pilot demonstrated a positive effect of the use of AR technologies in the level of engagement of students in the learning activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational computer games are increasingly being used in higher education and offer the potential of greater engagement, improved results and simpler, centralised updating of teaching material. However the evidence for the usefulness of such technologies is not yet conclusive. Consequently there is a need for improved design and evaluation of educational games. The aim of this study is to identify a successful game design for a multiplayer serious game to be used in learning. The design is being developed and evaluated through the creation of a game called ‘Pharmacy Challenge’ to allow small groups of pharmacy students at Kingston University (KU) to simultaneously revise certain aspects of the pharmacy curriculum in timed quiz‐based challenges. The game is a web application with both single and multiplayer modes that can be run from a web browser on phones, tablet devices and PCs. All activities performed by players including time of access, time to answer and questions answered can be stored in data logs for future analysis. A pre‐intervention survey conducted on students’ perceptions on educational gaming informed the design of the game, which indicated that most students tend to play games on mobile devices. The game was then trialled on a group of around 60 mostly female students on a module running on years 3 and 4 of the pharmacy course over a week long period which could be played at any time of the day. Following the trial a post‐intervention survey was used to assess the students’ perception of the game. Students found the game interesting, stimulating and helpful and they identified its potential to motivate them and to facilitate their learning Positive responses indicate that games can be a valuable addition to pharmacy curriculum. The successful introduction of the game into the pharmacy curriculum demonstrates the value of education games in learning and student engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, the widespread use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry has had a substantial impact on consumer and managerial practices. As a driving force for innovation, ICT has not only changed the way stakeholders and consumers interact, but also redesigned tourist experiences as whole. This on-going digital revolution has also affected the training sector, particularly Higher Education Institutions (HEI), which are now being challenged to adopt more flexible training methods and tools. This growing flexibility mirrors the industry’s own growth, as there has been an escalating demand for human resources who are well-equipped with transversal skills and able to adapt to the apace-evolving market demands. Based on a literature review focusing on recent peer-reviewed, opensource research published within the last 5 years, this paper focuses on the use of mobile learning in tourism education in European HEI. After establishing a theoretical framework and clearly defining the key concepts and methodology, the author describes the current state of the art regarding mobile learning and tourism and outlines the different ways European HEI are incorporating mobile learning into their tourism programs and courses. The different initiatives are divided into categories, which are then analysed considering their impact, perceived limitations and improvement potential. Overall, it is possible to find examples of how tourism courses are incorporating mobile learning into their programs, namely by using mobile devices to support communication and learning activities. Even though this is still an emerging research topic, there are several projects highlighting the affordances of mobile learning within tourism education and training, pairing it with other trending research areas such as gamification and e-tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper details a research project concerned with the design, implementation, and assessment of the educational impact of a digital mobile learning game on learning and pedagogy in Japanese higher education. It describes “KSU Treasure Hunter”, an instructor-developed educational smartphone application that utilizes Augmented Reality technology and learning game design principles to expedite the contextual learning of campus facilities. Grounded in a Design-Based Research approach, the paper describes multiple sources of evidence including end-user survey data and anecdotal evidence generated from researcher and stakeholder testing, and is grounded in references to underlying theoretical assumptions and design principles. These include the ability of Augmented Reality materials to enable engagement with higher-level problems, gamified narratives, and the discovery of ‘hidden’ content. Brief discussion of the use of Augmented Reality in educational contexts, and Augmented Reality-enabled campus knowledge systems, suggests that Unity 3D software can be used to reduce the technical complexity of location-based applications, through the negation of the need for location-tracking technology. Description of the application is achieved through explanations of the identification of application requirements, which are shown to consist of technical, experiential, and narrative components, as well as, the design of the application system architecture, which allows the user to be immersed into the learning of campus services. A focus on the design of the learning game reveals how instructional goals, instructional content, and game mechanics are integrated with the first three levels of Bloom’s taxonomy - remember, understand, and apply – so that a 3- level, multiple-choice format structure requires application users to engage progressively higher-level thinking skills. It is shown how an end-user survey was used to select instructional content, and how scoring and feedback were integrated to encourage both the learning of content and game progression. Testing-based refinement of the learning game is discussed before the paper concludes with plans for the testing of the application by instructors and students upon publication in the Autumn of 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Game development-based learning and creative coding activities are seen as an opportunity for young people to acquire programming skills and overall, Computational Thinking (CT) skills in an entertaining way. The goal of such activities is to create playable gaming artefacts. While learning to code is becoming more and more important, young game designers miss a clear map to know how game and design elements can be organized and in which situations, specific elements or structures are appropriate. The aim of this paper is to present a valid assessment for structuring games created with visual coding languages. In different workshop settings (out-off school workshops, school workshops) 84 participants between 10 and 15 years old have individually created gaming applications with our Catrobat environment. Games created during these workshops (2017-2019) were analysed and structured in game elements, design elements, and game complexity. This method is based on various existing frameworks, for example, the Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics (MDA) framework, which provide a consistent structure to define game elements, goals, and rules, thereby delivering a common framework and vocabulary for games. The transfer of game concepts in a consistent structure should support the overall clarity of the game and should help to focus students on the relevant elements of games. We argue that students need guidelines to be able to implement more complex games even with visual programming languages. The result, the Playing, Engagement, Creativity, and Creating (PECC) Assessment Template should support the process of evaluating gaming apps in visual coding languages, can be used by researchers as a valid method for structuring games, helps all students to adhere to good game design principles, and teachers can use the analysis to evaluate games created with visual programming languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safety-critical industries, such as air traffic control, are highly regulated, with rigorous processes and procedures to ensure that safety remains of paramount importance despite the business environment. Training personnel in safetycritical industries is therefore typically a lengthy and expensive process. Gamification and the emphasis on fun, entertainment, progression and retention of concepts has been shown to deliver strong engagement amongst learners but remains at odds with training for safety-critical industries. This paper explores the impact of gamified digital applications versus more traditional training methods for the training of air traffic controllers (ATCs) and other roles relating to air traffic services. We explore the impact of the user experience on engagement and learning retention through the testing of two digital mobile applications, Location Indicators (LI) and The Aircraft Control Positions Operator (ACPO) Starter Pack. These prototypes examine how air traffic control training could be improved by digital applications. In an industry where the rate at which trainees can be trained is projected to fall short of the demand for staff to work in the air traffic industry (BBC, 2018) this project examines potential opportunities for changing established training methods. Each application presented key learning areas for trainees in the air traffic control industry and offers an alternative to the equivalent training currently used. The prototypes were designed to provide a succinct user experience that sat alongside gamified elements to improve engagement. These were then evaluated to determine whether they were effective in potential trainee learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for self-directed learning for professional development drives an increase in the delivery of easy to use ‘just-in-time’ resources that respond to the often-dynamic workplace and work culture. Micro-learning has gained traction in online training, which focuses on delivering brevity through bite-sized learning units or short-term learning activities. Learning content in this case can take many forms, from text to interactive multimedia. These contents are often created on demand, which can sometimes be less contextualised and pedagogically informed. Based on a case study of the need for training on cultural risks in multi-cultural organizations, this paper focuses on the design of mini-games as playful learning resources for supporting an online learning platform that has been developed as a response to this training need. Fifteen mini-games have been developed to complement eight main topics related to cultural risks and to promote reflection, practice and the self-assessment of knowledge acquired through the platform. The main eight topics represent the risk areas identified that include cultural awareness, communication, learning styles, hierarchy, team-working, and stereotypes through a survey carried out with personnel (n=154) from large multi-cultural organisations across five countries - Cyprus, Italy, Latvia, Poland, and the UK. The discussions include unpacking the mapping of pedagogical and gameful design considerations based on Arnab et al ‘s (2015) Learning Mechanics-Game Mechanics Mapping (LMGM) model. The paper also discusses the findings from the testing of the platform with 71 students. The insights provided will be valuable to researchers, practitioners, designers and developers of micro-learning resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to design a mobile learning application using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and digital storytelling for reading in Arabic for primary school children. This research aims to provide an effective and interactive tool for enhancing student engagement while they learn how to read in the Arabic curriculum in the classroom. For this research, a mobile application has been developed to target the individual needs of learners where students will encounter a gradual progression from single words to sentences to simple stories and then more complex storytelling at their own pace, with students able to create their own stories and share them among peers. The study has experiments organized in three different second year primary schools in Saudi Arabia and embraced both qualitative and quantitative approaches to test the usability of the app and its effectiveness in engaging students and obtained general knowledge regarding students background of using technology. The qualitative approach is based on semi-structured interviews (teachers and students) and observations (of students when they interact with the system). The quantitative approach is based on questionnaires (students and their parents) to examine the students' prior knowledge of using technology and home literacy environment. The pilot study indicated a positive effect of the proposed system on student engagement, indicated that the children have a good level of experience with mobile devices, that the teachers found the system a very helpful tool for their students in their learning compared to the formal book, and that the majority of the parents are happy for their children to use the mobile devices in the classroom for learning. This paper illustrates the pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of the system developed for this experiment on students engagement, and to evaluate the research methodology and potential decisions for a future full study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In companies and educational institutions, trends in learning are moving towards modern forms of learning such as blended learning, micro learning and mobile learning. These allow learners to be mobile and to learn independently of time and place. This contribution summarizes the efforts of a long-term student project of various modules of the masters course of study 'Media Informatics and Interactive Entertainment' while developing a mobile learning platform. This platform allows teachers and lecturers to create and offer teaching content, which can be divided into small sections, to students in addition to classroom teaching. In order to utilize such learning nuggets appropriately, the platform greatly connects to the infrastructure of the university. Main requirements are the extensibility of content, interactivity, and internationalization as well as continuous monitoring of learning progress and learning success in different subject areas. Therefore, we developed and designed several applications and prototypes consisting of three light-weighted main components by using the open source framework of Laravel. The first two components comprise a (i) web-based authoring interface, where lecturers can enter content that students can finally work on within (ii) an interactive and mobile application. The third component consists of an (iii) administration toolbox which provides opportunities to display aspects of topics of heterogeneous learning content in customizable ways while being applicable to different end user specific use cases. The usefulness and applicability of the platform has been evaluated as a part of several learning modules. Therefore, the application was exemplary filled with contents from the domains of 'Customer Relationship Management', 'Entrepreneurship' and 'Innovation Management'. A standardized AttrakDiff (DIN EN ISO 9241-11) questionnaire was used to retrieve and assess the user experience of different groups of students (bachelor as well as master students). Our results showed that the involved processes of content creation as well as content consumption and interaction seems promising and could lead to higher learning success at the same time. Furthermore, all three components can be seamlessly integrated into domain specific courses of interdisciplinary blended and game-based learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the use of mobile learning technologies for the professional development of academics. Professional development of academics using mobile technologies is always overlooked and never explored in higher learning institutions. Twenty-first century workers work flexible hours with access to staff development anytime, anywhere. Mobile learning is a modern type of learning across multiple contexts through social and content interaction using personal electronic devices. Academic staff development is conducted mainly via workshops; however, this is not suitable for this group of workers as they work flexible hours. Using mobile technologies for staff development might be advantageous as academics will have the flexibility to learn wherever they are. The aim of this study was to explore mobile learning technologies for the professional development of academics. This was a qualitative study using the design-based research model. A theoretical perspective of the ADDIE model was applied as the generic process traditionally used by instructional designers and training developers. The five phases--analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation--represent a dynamic, flexible guideline for building effective professional development and performance support tools. Qualitative data was collected through individual interviews and via WhatsApp Group Chat (WGC) trail messages with academics and instructional designers. Data collected from all interviews was audio recorded and the WGC was exported and saved for analysis. The audio data was transcribed and typed into a word processing document before analysis. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and report patterns (themes) within the data. The participants used the mobile learning design evaluation checklist to give their input about the learning intervention. The findings of the study reveal that WGC as a social media platform is effective for staff development as it is flexible and inclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the design of a research and educational innovation project named GameLet (Gamified, media-based training of reading fluency), funded by Erasmus+ (2018-2021) is presented. The project aim is to develop a multilingual training program for reading fluency (RF) which aims at fostering learners’ reading skills by improving their fluency through a gamified, media-based approach. More specifically, GameLet applies “meaningful” digital media-based gamification mechanisms to the development of learning scenarios and learning materials in order to increase pupils’ motivation in self-directed, individual and cooperative learning phases for RF training. The centrepiece of the developed concept is the story of a fictional radio play production, designed to encourage pupils to improve their reading and successfully record their role. The development of GameLet follows a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach. In close cooperation researchers and practitioners across three countries (Cyprus, Portugal, Germany), aim to generate methodological and pedagogical innovation through systematic design, testing and redesign while working within the school context. In addition to the design, the results of the first formative evaluation cycles carried out in one of the schools in spring 2019 are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work presented in this paper is related to the use of mobile learning to improve students’ engagement and performance. It is part of the Student Success Project at the University of Kent. The project aims to reduce the attainment gap of various cohorts of students and enhance their academic performance. Initially, mobile learning was designed to target less well performing students in specific modules. Later on, it was noted that all students could benefit from incorporating in-class mobile learning during the delivery of a module. This paper presents the analysis and results obtained by applying mobile learning techniques in a stage-2 (second year undergraduate) computer science module entitled Software Engineering Process. Mobile learning has been used in various contexts in higher education and it has been suggested that effective learning can take place when students work collaboratively in class using mobile applications. This paper presents the experience of incorporating one particular mobile application named “Kahoot!” to engage students in a non-traditional question-and-answer learning mode. As we will see, students feel that this format is more dynamic and interactive than traditional lecturing methods. In fact, students effectively reflect on what they have learned during lecturers and classes while answering well-constructed Kahoot! tests. Initially, tailored weekly sessions were delivered to support students in applying the concepts learned during the past few weeks of study. In these sessions, the focus is to practice concepts learned in specific lectures with problem-solving, and engage students in a collaborative learning environment that promises higher levels of interaction. The outcome of Kahoot!-infused sessions is studied by analysing students’ feedback in relation to Bloom’s Taxonomy. In addition, students’ performance in the assignments and examination of the targeted module have been recorded, analysed and contrasted with other cohorts. These initial findings show promising results, which encourage us to share the experience with other teaching staff to include using the tool in the delivery of their modules.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-learning has become a new option for learners to access the learning materials and enhance their learning experiences outside the classroom. The flexibility of the technology goes beyond the traditional way of learning and enable learners to use mobile devices as the mean to learn. The emerging of mobile learning (M-learning) provides tremendous advantages for both learners and teachers, while more and more mobile learning applications have been developed and introduced to the market. The current study aims to investigate the voice of customers who have downloaded and used the mobile application. The edX - Online Courses by Harvard, MIT, Microsoft mobile application in Android platform was used as a case study. The M-learning evaluation factors employed in this study are including functionality, security, performance, usability, support, communication, portability, and pedagogical. The main methodology of the study is qualitative approach using text mining to analyze users’ reviews gathered from Google Play website in the past year. The total number of the reviews is 4,200 collected from January 2018 to April 2019. The reviews have been collected as the voice of customers by using web-crawler, and text mining were analyzed by using Nvivo 12 program. The attributes of the m-learning application were then compared with the findings from the reviews. The information that arose from the reviews were categorized into m-learning quality variables, users’ satisfaction, preferences, constraints, and suggestions. The research findings confirm the prior factors essential for evaluating the m-learning application, while new notions have been discovered. The limitations of the study are the limited sample of the m-learning application, and only reviews in the English language were analyzed. The practical implication of the research will benefit the m-learning application developers and the recently discovered factors can be applied to the theoretical implication for future research. This exploratory study aims to investigate the m-learning application from the customers' point of view, while most of the previous study focused on application development. Moreover, the findings also revealed the constraints and potentially useful features that could benefit learners and application developers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in the field of technology have led to a renewed interest in classroom learning method. there has been a dramatic increase from the use of electronic lessons to the integration of mobile learning “M-learning” into the education which has vastly been adopted by students. Despite its convenience, flexibility and portability. Lack of empirical evidence has appeared to drawback the effectiveness of mobile learning on students’ academic performance and learning attitude. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of M-learning in the form of learning applications and social media platforms on teaching and learning commercial subjects in high school students and their performance in the kingdom of Bahrain. It is conducted to understand how M-learning affects the learning process, and in which way it affects the learner's’ ability and how it facilitates the learner's’ understanding of the different subject matter. This paper attempts to demonstrate the argument of using M-learning as a as a break from routine or if it does have a stronger more positive impact on students’ performance. The importance of this research paper is to help raise student’s grade point average and grades. Furthermore, eliminate any methods that are redundant and that have a poor impact on the learning process and affect students understanding of the subject material negatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of the study that this paper will report on revolved around a research question related to the continuing development of a framework for describing partnership relationships between higher education institutions and e-learning schools, or e-schools. The framework reported on in this paper describes an extensive set of collaboration areas, where higher education institutions can support the establishment and success of such e-learning schools along various dimensions, while ensuring mutual benefit from the engagement. The framework was developed using a Design Science approach as research method, and is the outcome of the first stage of a broader research study. It used the Innovation Diffusion Theory, the Technology Acceptance Model, and the Levels of Teaching Innovation framework as primary theoretical lenses. Secondary data included success factors and barriers to the integration of e-learning technologies identified from literature and policy documents. The research currently being undertaken is mainly qualitative, and resulted in a framework, which showed how partnerships for e-learning school development are situated within broader contexts with regard to policy and society. It organised activities in relation to major areas relevant to e-schools, such as management and administration, effective teaching and meaningful e-learning, as well as enabling factors, such as infrastructure and connectivity, and policy and budget. The framework is organised in three distinct phases, Readiness, which reflected the creation of enabling environments, leading to Implementation and then Sustainability. This paper should be of interest to conference participants, with the value of the findings including these being of use to schools and higher education institutions, who could implement the framework for guiding the inclusion and timing of activities as they jointly develop plans to collaborate, from initial introduction to the continued enhancement of e-learning technology integration. The next stage of this study will involve an empirical validation of the framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research and literature pertaining to smart classrooms is still in its infancy as the complexity and heterogeneity of all the factors involved are not only intricately multifarious, but intrinsically dissimilar in nature and function. To unravel and potentially offer a solution to such a multifaceted task we partition the enterprising undertaking into different aspects or dimensions, one of which is undoubtedly the educational component. Seven affordances from our e-learning ecologies model are revisited and effectively applied to shed light on specific academic issues distinct from social or technological issues that also form part of our conceptual model. We present our smart classroom setup and justify the rationale as well as highlight the challenges we encountered throughout our research project. The paper closes with the conclusions drawn together with recommendations to what might characterise the future of classrooms as we know them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This abstract contains a brief introduction to research on the topic of providing a mainly qualitative perspective on teachers' use of e-learning technologies towards effective teaching for meaningful e-learning to address the challenges of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) courses in an online and open distance education environment. A more detailed research question towards this purpose is provided in the paper. The paper proceeds to a review of the literature on research into how teachers use e-learning technologies towards effective teaching for meaningful e-learning, in order to thus increase throughput rates, in some cases in online and/or open distance education environments. As examples of what will be discussed in this section, online learning objects have been investigated from the perspective of constructivist theory through to application, and why online learners drop out interrogated, while some researchers worked towards a framework to support transformation through quality assurance at the University of South Africa. As an example of a research design that had been implemented in a previous investigation, a phenomenological study was used as part of a qualitative, interactive design in order to investigate e-learner interaction experiences in an online and open distance education context. In terms of the methodology used to collect the data, aspects relating to the data collection instrument, sample and sampling technique, validity and reliability of the instrument and data analysis were discussed in an earlier paper. Although some perspectives on a summary of quantitative results are provided, this paper mainly discusses results aimed at providing a qualitative perspective on teachers' use of e-learning technologies towards effective teaching for meaningful e-learning to address the challenges of ICT modules in an online and open distance education context. Conclusions are presented, including a summary of the most important results, and their value. The authors show how the results of this research could make a significant and original contribution regarding emerging trends in, and the promotion and development of knowledge in fields related to, teachers' use of e-learning technologies towards effective teaching for meaningful e-learning in an online and open distance education environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the challenges facing teachers in general, and those in South Africa, is the lack of skills to design pedagogically integrated eLearning environments. This paper argues that the use of a Teaching Change Frame (TCF) (Tarling and Ng'ambi, 2016) is a useful framework to guide teachers to effectively design eLearning environment. In addition, conceptually and theoretically, the TCF is designed to develop teachers' dispositions of the mind and body, guiding both conceptual and practice-based design. The article reports findings from a large-scale teacher professional development initiative that capacitated teachers to design integrated eLearning activities mediated by emerging technologies which had an impact on classroom practice. The study involved 450 in-service K-12 teachers predominantly from resource-poor rural and urban schools in the Western Cape, South Africa. These teachers enrolled for a short course in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Integration. Our approach in the course was to create and model a pedagogically integrated eLearning environment in which teachers could, through playful, active learning, experience, create and innovate pedagogical practices that integrates eLearning activities. The capacitation approach used was to model the design and allow teachers to create artefacts in a non-judgemental, playful and light-hearted environment. Teachers' digital artefacts created during these sessions were analysed. The different artefacts were aggregated in each teachers' ePortfolios produced during the contact sessions, and was continuously updated thereafter. Over 450 teachers created an ePortfolio of their work-in-progress. The paper concludes that changing classroom practices starts with capacitating teachers to manage their change processes using the TCF as a personal change guide/map. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feedback plays a critical role in identifying areas to improve, ultimately enhancing and supporting the learning process. A growing body of research has investigated student perceptions of written feedback in higher education; however few studies have considered feedback perceptions in one-on-one contexts such as postgraduate projects, in particular audio-visual feedback through screencasts. Feedback narrows the gap between current and desired performance, and thereby positively contributes to the student learning experience. Engaging a student's visual and auditory senses through screencasts has been demonstrated by previous studies to enhance learning. The personalised and conversational nature of audio-visual feedback is considered to support students' comprehension of, and engagement with feedback. Furthermore, the use of expression through tone and emphasis of voice is believed to convey nuanced meaning which differs from written communication. This enables 'meaning' that is frequently lost in written feedback to be transmitted and retained, thus supporting students to better understand. This paper reports on a case study that examined three postgraduate students' perceptions of the value of using screencasts as a feedback medium, at a University of Technology (UoT) in the Western Cape, South Africa. It sought to evaluate the use of screencasts as a means of enhancing the formative assessment process for postgraduate students and to develop guidelines for practitioners wishing to adopt its use. Data analysis was guided by a framework advanced by Marriott and Teoh (2012) to gauge students' perceptions of screencast feedback. Concepts were clarity and coherence, strengths and weaknesses, personalisation and formality and amount of feedback. Within the theme strengths and weaknesses a research lens offered by Hoessler and West (2014) facilitated the exploration of student perceptions on communication, support and scaffolding and multidimensional nature. The findings reveal that students are very positive about the introduction of audio and visual feedback. Students reported that screencast feedback is more engaging, detailed and supportive when compared to written feedback and thereby promoted metacognitive self-monitoring. The paper concludes with the implications and limitations of the study and recommendations for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

the primary goal of this single-subject study was to examine the effects of using mobile learning apps on the social skills of three preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A secondary goal was to gain an in-depth understanding of the teacher's perceptions of the feasibility and value of the intervention. Navigating appropriate social skills for children with autism is a major challenge for the teacher of these children. It is argued that children with autism may be less motivated to imitate by social interaction, but may be motivated to imitate to receive a non-social reward. So we used the mobile learning apps to give the children with ASD an opportunity to demonstrate their social language, and to make the modelling examples much more meaningful. The apps used for teaching the children with ASD included 'Cuedin-Autism Early Intervention App ', 'Autism Help', 'Social skills for Autism KLoog2' and an app made by ourselves that fits the individualized scenarios of each subject in this study, because children with ASD vary widely in their skills, interests and needs. Three young children diagnosed with autism participated in this study. Intervention for the children with ASD was implemented by their teachers and an A-B-A-B single-case research experimental design was used to assess the differences between the non-embedded and embedded social conditions. The teachers taught the children to use the apps in some embedded social interaction conditions. Prior to the start of the study, child-preferred items and activities were determined for each child. All sessions were conducted once a week for two hours in the kindergarten. After all the experiment sessions were implemented, the teachers were asked to complete the 'The Teacher Perception Measure'- a 26 item questionnaire to rate the teachers' perceptions of students' social skills. Overall, this mobile learning apps intervention resulted in substantial improvements in social skills and teacher perceptions of the feasibility and worth of the intervention were reported as highly favourable. Limitations and future directions for research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology today is continuing to innovate at a staggering pace, expanding the potential for web based communities such as social media. With the advent of web based technologies, face to face traditional learning is simply not sufficient to facilitate learning. Traditional learning methods need to evolve with technology. This study investigates the use of social media to facilitate learning amongst ISTN students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). The study adopted a quantitative methodology and was underpinned by the UTAUT framework. The findings of the study indicated that ISTN students at UKZN predominately use social media for social reasons. However, social media is also used to a certain extent for educational purposes. The students believe that student-teacher relationship building is a key benefit of adopting social media as a facilitative learning tool. However, reduced face-to-face interaction was cited as a key limitation. ISTN students were most influenced by peers when it came to their decision to adopt social media as a learning tool. However, the findings indicate that current policies at UKZN limit the adoption social media as a facilitative learning tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an age of technology where students have constant access to smartphones and other electronic devices to get just-in-time information, educationists need to continuously adjust to keep users engaged. With this premise in mind, the North-West University, South Africa, started an initiative to digitalise printed study guides. Academic Development & Support on the Vaal Campus took ownership of coordinating the shared development of the project; in 2013 a group of 14 academic volunteers developed the pilot SMARTguides. During the first year much emphasize was placed and research done on ensuring that the electronic interactive study guides have been effectively designed, and achieved the desired learning outcomes for students. Since then many study guides have been successfully converted to SMARTguides, of which some are utilized across campuses. At the North-West University a restructuring process has been embarked on since the end of 2015. This process was concluded at the onset of 2018 and resulted in a unitary university where more focus is placed on alignment of courses across campuses. This wind of change will also blow over study guides - where the current support for electronic interactive study guides may be withdrawn. This paper provides a background on the evolution of the initiative to implement electronic interactive study guides; from the design, development and implementation of the pilot guides until the present situation. In addition, it focuses on the particular case implementation in the two subject modules of Systems Analysis & Design, a second year subject offered in the Information Technology course; starting with its inception as pilot SMARTguide, and following its development into a well-developed SMARTguide. Feedback from students using the Systems Analysis & Design guides over a number of years, are scrutinised to determine its value. Lastly, in preparation of possible study guide changes to be imposed by a unitary university, the authors reflect on the preferences of the current Systems Analysis & Design students regarding study guide implementation options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have experienced rapid development. Nevertheless, despite its success, high dropout rate has become a prominent issue and studies have shown that 50 % of those who register for MOOCs don't start the course. Currently, there are relatively few studies that addresses the issue of why students sign up for MOOCs and don't start the course. In order to motivate students and increase engagement most MOOCs instructors are now cultivating the active learning environment, by incorporating a variety of external tools like social media to enhance motivation, engagement, and retention. However, there are lack of (1) Empirical evidences on why most students who sign up for MOOCs don't start the course. The time between which students sign up and the start of the course is referred to in this study as pre MOOC period. To further build understanding on this phenomenon, the goal of this studies is to (1) Find out, if early engagement of students on social media before the course begins i.e. pre MOOCs period, will motivate students to start the course. (2) To get a deeper insight into how students' usage and perception of social media engagement between the periods they signed up and start the MOOC affects their motivation. The research also aim to answer the research questions: (1) How motivated are students who engaged in social media interaction alongside with MOOC? (2) Does early engagement in social media motivate students who sign up to start the MOOC course? Specifically, the studies engaged MOOCs students who sign up to use social media voluntary before the start of the MOOC on Facebook, Google Hangout and WhatsApp platforms. Students engaged for five weeks on social media before the MOOC course started. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect data via questionnaire on the social media platforms during the pre-MOOC period. The results of the studies showed that (1) The early engagement of students on social media motivated students to start the MOOC course. (2) Most of the students were motivated interacting on the social media forums. (3) The early engagement also helped to prepared and warm up students for the MOOC. This paper would contribute and provide insights to future MOOCs and online instructional designer with greater understanding on how they can use social media to improve students' motivation in MOOCs. We discussed the design implications in the early engagement on social media in pre-MOOCs period, benefits and recommendations for future MOOCs platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accountants play an important role in the economy and the persistent rise in accounting scandals compels educators to intensify ethics education. Plagiarism, the act of kidnapping the work of others without proper acknowledgement, is but one form of dishonesty that educators should address in their quest to raise students' awareness of sound ethical behaviour. Like corporate scandals, plagiarism cases are also increasing. Globally, professional accounting bodies expect their members to behave ethically and professionally. It might seem extreme to mention plagiarism and other unethical behaviour committed by accountants in the same sentence; however, a lack of integrity remains at the root of both these dilemmas. An increased tendency to plagiarise can be ascribed to different factors, including the availability of technology that facilitates plagiarism, a fear of failure, ignorance and unawareness. In the rapidly changing elearning environment, students often fall prey to plagiarism. Technology has removed the barriers that previously prevented students from appropriating others' intellectual knowledge and ideas. Increased access to information via the internet and social networking platforms have not only made it easier for students to interact with their peers, but have also created a fertile environment for plagiarism. Proposed practices to combat plagiarism should be embraced, and accounting e-learning educators should endeavour to use new technology to prevent and detect plagiarism. They should for example create videos or podcasts, incorporate discussions on interactive platforms and use various available plagiarism-checkers. This paper seeks insight from the literature on how accounting e-learning educators might deliver accounting graduates who are aware of ethical issues, specifically plagiarism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of technology to facilitate learning in universities has increased in both developed and developing countries and hence has been the subject of several scholarly studies. Some of these have made recommendations on how to use available technologies, including mobile technologies, effectively in a learning environment. However, many universities in developing countries are still faced with the challenge of using these mobile technologies successfully to facilitate learning. There is evidence that an early assessment of the m-learning readiness of these universities could increase the success rate. Using Actor-Network Theory as a lens, this study aims to inform open, distance learning universities of a wide variety of factors that need to be addressed to improve m-Learning readiness. Data was collected at a large open distance learning university using qualitative, open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The outcomes of the study indicate that the success of m-Learning is dependent primarily on socio-technical issues. A number of critical actors, both animate (or social) and inanimate (including technology-related) actors were identified, many of whom would obviously be expected to play key roles. These actors are lecturer, student, university, top management, IT expert, learning management system, m-Learning policy, mobile device, researcher and infrastructure. However, it is the roles that these actors play, the relationships between them, and how best they can present their ideas and products to other actors that received special attention. Awareness, content presentation, alignment of interests, training programmes, the change management process, appropriate communication channels, costs and funding were all found to be important attributes influencing m-Learning readiness within the environment studied. This paper contributes practically, as the socio-technical concerns (comprising the actors and the associated attributes) can be used as a foundation to assess m-Learning readiness in other universities, particularly other open distance learning universities. Theoretically, this paper provides evidence that m-Learning readiness is complex and might be difficult to examine using traditional technology readiness, adoption and use models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning is a process of acquiring knowledge and skills in a particular domain of interest. This process, though continuous in one's life, ends with formative or summative assessment, in specific domain. In higher learning institutions, learning is acquired mostly through reading, experiments, observation, discussion, collaboration, lecturing etc, where sources of information play a fundamental roll. Repositories of learning resources are made available to students through portals that are integrated into e-learning management systems. Observations have showed that students are interested in these learning resources so that through utilising them they can acquire knowledge and skills, a part that is fundamental for one to be described as learned. The paper delves on the development and implementation of an ontology based innovative e-learning system with regard to acquisition of knowledge and skills by online learners at higher learning institutions set up where only core learner activities are identified. An e-learning ontology is used to model a domain of knowledge, thus complementing the functionalities of other learning systems that do not implement this technology. The paper presents assessment of students using assignments with instant feedback on the performance of the students following a Student-Teacher interaction algorithm (STia). The system is developed following creative design methodology and tested with the undergraduate students in the department of Computer Science at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Zimbabwe. Empirical results are given with regard to the strengths and weaknesses of the system as seen by the users. Recommendations to higher learning institutions in terms of policy, e-learning technologies and utilisation of e-learning systems are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flipped classroom is a form of blended learning model, which changes the conventional electronic learning in the class as well as outside the class, while focusing attention on students' active learning. Student and computer interaction becomes more prominent where visual-auditory hardware and materials are required at home and classroom environment. For example, instead of having lectures during class session, students get most of their required learning resources mainly outside the lecture room by reading downloadable online lecture materials, watch video lectures or listen to podcast lectures or other audio lecture formats. Such learning contents need to be tailored to the students using adaptation technique. Adaptive flipped classroom technique is learning and teaching model that flips the traditional classroom based on the profile of the learner, in other words activity that ought to be done during class in the traditional classroom, is now done outside the class or at home. The approach helps in changing user's attitudes towards learning and presents the learning ideas according to students' learning ability. The objective of an adaptive flipped classroom model technologies is to achieve creative and innovative learning environment for those who have difficulty accessing education such as the poor, illiterate, less privileged, and those with location and financial constraints. The objective of this study is to provide flipped classroom model that will incorporate the context of adaptive expert system to improve learning outside the classroom. The study employs a combination of technologies such as system design and modeling using Unified Modeling Language (UML), server side scripting, web-based system development, data management and rule-based reasoning in order to develop a prototype for an adaptive flipped classroom model for an e-learning system. The developed system was evaluated to determine the level of usability. The result of the usability evaluation showed that the developed application has an 'average usability' rating of 4.05 out of 5 scales. This shows that the adaptive flipped classroom system will not only complement the existing e-learning system, it is also expected to be of immense benefit to all students with different level of learning and assimilation. The proposed model is generic and can be used to implement flipped learning applications for the virtually impaired students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, almost all business applications are digitised in such a way that every user of the applications is compelled to adapt to using the internet and computers to achieve their learning experiences in the form of an electronic learning, referred to as 'e-learning'. This article is a qualitative research that investigates the experience of students with disabilities in the use of e-learning platforms at an ODeL institution in South Africa. The study identified those factors that influence the use of e-learning by students with disabilities. The findings of the study indicate that students with disabilities are able to study at this institution. The study established that well-designed e-learning platforms such as the institution's website and learning management systems (LMS) will ensure efficient and effective use by students with disabilities. Therefore, it is possible to overcome all digital and social divides in order to create a society which respects all people, irrespective of their abilities. The study suggests that it is important for e-learning designers/developers to apply accessibility and usability design principles, guidelines and standards during the development process of e-learning websites in order to reduce digital divide and marginalisation. This becomes even more significant when the target user groups have limited capabilities or disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We live in a technology-immersed world where people of all ages, including students, high school children and many younger children and even toddlers, already have their own tablets, laptops as well as smart phones. Many people are convinced that the use of digital technologies, as in e-learning or blended learning is the best way to learn at school, varsity, home and at work. However, the reality is that many decision-makers are ill-informed on neuroscience and therefore the real advantages, as well as the disadvantages when using these technologies for learning from an early age. In many cases, much more time is needed for decision-makers, parents and educators to explore in-depth research articles on learning- and development topics before being lured into embracing these mesmerising technologies, under the umbrella of being educational. It is essential to have more in-depth knowledge around "good learning", with and without digital technologies. Only when we are empowered with knowledge and critical insights on these learning topics, including neuroscience and the impact of the misuse of technology and social media on the holistic development of all people, will we be able to make smarter and wiser decisions towards a brighter future and wellness for our children and humanity overall. Technology addiction and its associated negative impact on human minds, bodies and souls, are already well researched and will be referenced. Report will be given on a research project where learners were asked to complete a Self-assessment questionnaire, focusing on Multitasking. Based on research results and when applying critical and creative thinking, will we be able to find the ideal nexus for our learners' holistic development, learning performance and future! We must be pro-active and more critical in today's techno-immersed world to ensure we are embedding the ideal nexus with the relevant knowledge, strategies and 21st Century skills, and ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. A brief overview of an integrated holistic ecosystem to "Master Techno-life Balance™" and wellness as a solution to our real-world challenges in a techno-saturated world will be given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]