On the journey of learning a language we are exposed to countless words that are easily forgotten and subsequently difficult to find again. This study investigates how to design a personal data management system that enables its users to efficiently organize, find and input the words and phrases that they encounter on their journey. Using DSRM, an artifact was iteratively developed and tested in usability tests and interviews by a total of 10 participants. The feedback from the respondents indicates a strong demand for this type of app and also uncovered design knowledge in this new context. The contribution of this study is a set of 14 design principles for making data management in language learning apps more user-friendly and efficient.

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Mobile learning has significant potential to be very influential in further and higher education. In this research a new definition for Mobile Educational Mixed Reality Games (MEMRG) is proposed based on a mobile learning environment. A questionnaire and a quantifying scale are utilised to assist the game developers in designing a MEMRG. A ¿Conversational Framework¿ is proposed as an appropriate psycho-pedagogical approach to teaching and learning for MEMRG. This methodology is based on the theme of a ¿conversation¿ between different actors of the learning community with the objective of building the architectural framework for MEMRG. Various elements responsible for instructing and motivating learners in educational games are utilised in an instructional-motivational model. User interface design for the games incorporates an efficient navigation system that uses contextual information, and allows the players to move seamlessly between real and virtual worlds. The implementation of MEMRG using the Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) platform iii is presented. The hardware and software specification for the MEMRG implementation and deployment are also discussed. MEMRG has produced improvements in the different cognitive processes of the learner, and also produced a deeper level of learning through enculturation, externalising ideas, and socialising. Learners¿ enjoyment, involvement, motivation, autonomy and metacognition skills have improved. This research will assist developers and teachers to gain an insight into learning paradigms which utilise mobile game environments that are formed by mixing real and virtual spaces, and provide them with a vision for effectively incorporating these games into formal and informal classroom sessions.

This thesis focuses on the adaptation of formal education to people’s technology- use patterns, theirtechnology-in-practice, where the ubiquitous use of mobile technologies is central. The research question is: How can language learning practices occuring in informal learning environments be effectively integrated with formal education through the use of mobile technology? The study investigates the technical, pedagogical, social and cultural challenges involved in a design science approach. The thesis consists of four studies. The first study systematises MALL (mobile-assisted language learning) research. The second investigates Swedish and Chinese students’ attitudes towards the use of mobile technology in education. The third examines students’ use of technology in an online language course, with a specific focus on their learning practices in informal learning contexts and their understanding of how this use guides their learning. Based on the findings, a specifically designed MALL application was built and used in two courses. Study four analyses the app use in terms of students’ perceived level of self-regulation and structuration. The studies show that technology itself plays a very important role in reshaping peoples’ attitudes and that new learning methods are coconstructed in a sociotechnical system. Technology’s influence on student practices is equally strong across borders. Students’ established technologies-in-practice guide the ways they approach learning. Hence, designing effective online distance education involves three interrelated elements: technology, information, and social arrangements. This thesis contributes to mobile learning research by offering empirically and theoretically grounded insights that shift the focus from technology design to design of information systems.

With the wide adoption of mobile technologies, new opportunities exist with regard to how these technologies can be used to support teaching and learning. However, there is limited empirical evidence on the use of mobile learning (m-learning) frameworks that support adult students in online and blended learning environments and consider ways to support administrators, faculty, and students in the adoption of mobile technologies for teaching and learning. The goal was to develop and validate an m-learning framework capturing the administrative, communication, and instructional elements that must be considered when integrating m-learning technologies to support adult community college students. Using design and development research methods, an m-learning framework was constructed and validated. Based on the literature review and the results of the data analysis, the framework was developed and included three sections: major categories; needs within categories; and attributes of the needs. Each section is composed of at least one of those major categories: section 1 composed of Access and Security; section 2 composed of Applications and Instructional Materials; and section 3 composed of Control and Monitoring Systems. Combined, all three sections account for five major categories. The final m-learning framework was design to include specific guidelines to help administrators and faculty make decisions about the adoption of m-learning technologies to support teaching and learning in online and blended learning environments.

Mobile technologies present an opportunity for scholars and practitioners to extend the application of instructional design theories and models to a mobile learning environment. The goal was to examine mobile learning design and development issues, validate and extend the instructional design theory, Component Display Theory (CDT), to the development of mobile learning activities, and recommend guiding principles for mobile learning system development. Using a formative research approach, which focuses on improving design theory for instructional practices and processes, CDT was used to design a tutorial mobile application targeting faculty professional development. This design instance was formatively evaluated to determine how CDT can be used to guide the design and development of a mobile learning environment; the key processes that are pertinent to translating instructional design plans into mobile learning lessons; and the challenges and issues in designing instruction for a mobile learning environment. The findings resulted in the identification of variables and factors related to the instructional strategies, design variables, and the learning system that affected the application of the CDT. Recommendations and further research opportunities are presented to increase practitioner use of the theory and to address learner and organizational readiness. This research contributes to the field of instructional design and development by examining how underlying theories, principles, and frameworks can be applied to the design and development of mobile learning systems.

L’innovation pédagogique pour elle-même s’avère parfois discutable, mais elle se justifie quand les enseignants se heurtent aux difficultés d’apprentissage de leurs étudiants. En particulier, certaines notions de physique sont réputées difficiles à appréhender par les étudiants, comme c’est le cas pour l’effet photoélectrique qui n’est pas souvent compris par les étudiants au niveau collégial. Cette recherche tente de déterminer si, dans le cadre d’un cours de physique, la simulation de l’effet photoélectrique et l’utilisation des dispositifs mobiles et en situation de collaboration favorisent une évolution des conceptions des étudiants au sujet de la lumière. Nous avons ainsi procédé à l’élaboration d’un scénario d’apprentissage collaboratif intégrant une simulation de l’effet photoélectrique sur un ordinateur de poche. La conception du scénario a d’abord été influencée par notre vision socioconstructiviste de l’apprentissage. Nous avons effectué deux études préliminaires afin de compléter notre scénario d’apprentissage et valider la plateforme MobileSim et l’interface du simulateur, que nous avons utilisées dans notre expérimentation : la première avec des ordinateurs de bureau et la seconde avec des ordinateurs de poche. Nous avons fait suivre à deux groupes d’étudiants deux cours différents, l’un portant sur une approche traditionnelle d’enseignement, l’autre basé sur le scénario d’apprentissage collaboratif élaboré. Nous leur avons fait passer un test évaluant l’évolution conceptuelle sur la nature de la lumière et sur le phénomène de l’effet photoélectrique et concepts connexes, à deux reprises : la première avant que les étudiants ne s’investissent dans le cours et la seconde après la réalisation des expérimentations. Nos résultats aux prétest et post-test sont complétés par des entrevues individuelles semi-dirigées avec tous les étudiants, par des enregistrements vidéo et par des traces récupérées des fichiers logs ou sur papier. Les étudiants du groupe expérimental ont obtenu de très bons résultats au post-test par rapport à ceux du groupe contrôle. Nous avons enregistré un gain moyen d’apprentissage qualifié de niveau modéré selon Hake (1998). Les résultats des entrevues ont permis de repérer quelques difficultés conceptuelles d’apprentissage chez les étudiants. L’analyse des données recueillies des enregistrements des séquences vidéo, des questionnaires et des traces récupérées nous a permis de mieux comprendre le processus d’apprentissage collaboratif et nous a dévoilé que le nombre et la durée des interactions entre les étudiants sont fortement corrélés avec le gain d’apprentissage. Ce projet de recherche est d’abord une réussite sur le plan de la conception d’un scénario d’apprentissage relatif à un phénomène aussi complexe que l’effet photoélectrique, tout en respectant de nombreux critères (collaboration, simulation, dispositifs mobiles) qui nous paraissaient extrêmement utopiques de réunir dans une situation d’apprentissage en classe. Ce scénario pourra être adapté pour l’apprentissage d’autres notions de la physique et pourra être considéré pour la conception des environnements collaboratifs d’apprentissage mobile innovants, centrés sur les besoins des apprenants et intégrant les technologies au bon moment et pour la bonne activité. / The educational innovation itself is sometimes debatable but it is justified when the teachers confront the learning difficulties of their students. In particular, some notions of physics are notoriously hard for students to understand, as is the case for the photoelectric effect which is not often comprehended by the students at the college level. This research tries to determine if, as part of a physics course, the simulation of the photoelectric effect and the use of mobile devices in collaborative situations facilitate an evolution of the student’s conceptions about the concept of light. We have proceeded to develop a scenario of collaborative learning by integrating a simulation of the photoelectric effect on handheld devices (Pocket PC). The design of scenario was first influenced by our socioconstructivist vision of learning. We conducted two preliminary studies to complete our scenario of learning and to validate the platform « MobileSim » and the interface of the simulator used in our experiment. The first studies were completed with a simulation on computers and the second with a simulation on Pocket PC. After that, we carried out the experimentation with two groups of students. The control group was assigned to the traditional approach of teaching and the experimental group was assigned to the approach based on the developed scenario of collaborative learning. We have conducted a test twice to assess a conceptual change about the nature of light and about the phenomenon of the photoelectric effect and related concepts. The first test (pre-test) before the students are involved in the course and the second (post-test) after completion of experiments. Our results in the pre-test and post-test were completed by conducting semi-structured individual interviews with all students, by video recordings and recovered traces (on log files or on paper). Students in the experimental group obtained good results in the test compared to those of the control group. We noted an average gain of learning qualified at a moderate level according to Hake (1998). Interview results were used to identify some conceptual difficulties of student learning. Analysis of collected data from video sequences, questionnaires and recovered tracks allowed us to better understand the process of collaborative learning and has revealed that the number and the time of interactions between students are strongly correlated with the gain of learning. At first, this research project is a success in the designing of a learning scenario of a phenomenon as complex as the photoelectric effect and respects many criteria (collaboration, simulation, mobile devices, etc.) that it seemed for us extremely utopian to combine them in an effective learning situation in the classroom. For instance, this scenario could be adapted to the learning of other concepts in physics. It could also be considered for the design of collaborative environments for innovative mobile learning focused on the needs of learners that integrate the technologies at the right time and for the right activity.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2017-09-27T13:25:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Vitória Vieira Mattiello da Silva_.pdf: 2383128 bytes, checksum: 1cd451c92d4a9262fcda8bef7770eac1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-27T13:25:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Vitória Vieira Mattiello da Silva_.pdf: 2383128 bytes, checksum: 1cd451c92d4a9262fcda8bef7770eac1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-19 / Nenhuma / O Microempreendedor individual (MEI) é a pessoa que trabalha por conta própria e se legaliza como pequeno empresário. Pressupõe-se que esses empresários enfrentem dificuldades em participar de processos de capacitação, em razão do tempo e de recursos escassos, pois, pelo fato de trabalharem sozinhos (ou com pouca ajuda), a participação em capacitações presenciais é inviável, na maioria das vezes. Por outro lado, sabe-se que há uma variedade de tecnologias disponíveis no mercado, como Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TICs) móveis, que viabilizam o Mobile Learning. Dessa forma, entende-se que o M-learning são processos de aprendizagem apoiados pelo uso de tecnologias da informação ou comunicação móvel e sem fio, onde a característica fundamental é a mobilidade dos aprendizes (SACCOL; SCHLEMMER; BARBOSA, 2011), possibilitando que os MEIs aprendam em seu próprio contexto, onde a aprendizagem pode ser situada, autêntica, personalizada e colaborativa. O objetivo central desta pesquisa é analisar as potencialidades (affordances) e os desafios do M-learning para o desenvolvimento de competências empreendedoras de Microempreendedores Individuais. Utilizou-se o método Design Science Research (DSR), na geração de um artefato - um método de capacitação de MEIs na modalidade m-learning, usando como plataforma o aplicativo whatsapp. O processo da pesquisa seguiu as etapas da DSR (entendimento do problema, sugestão, desenvolvimento, avaliação e conclusão), e os resultados gerados em cada etapa tornaram-se oportunos para compreender as vantagens e os desafios da modalidade M-learning. Na ocasião do entendimento do problema, compreendeu-se as competências a serem desenvolvidas sobre o ponto de vista teórico, bem como o entendimento das abordagens de aprendizagem a serem consideradas: a da aprendizagem situada (LAVE; WENGER, 1991) e da pedagogia da autonomia (FREIRE, 1996). Realizou-se também uma survey com 206 empreendedores individuais, permitindo compreender as suas principais necessidades de capacitação; se buscam (ou não) capacitar-se, por quais meios e a quais TICs teriam acesso. Na etapa de sugestão de problema, deu-se a elaboração do método de capacitação sob a ótica das abordagens de aprendizagem adotadas no estudo. Na etapa de desenvolvimento, aplicou-se o artefato (método) com uma 1ª turma da capacitação, com 30 MEIs. Após essa realização, o artefato foi avaliado, aprimorado, e, depois reaplicado com uma 2ª. Turma de capacitação envolvendo mais 45 MEIs. Na etapa de avaliação, foi possível avaliar o artefato, identificando os atributos desenvolvidos da competência empreendedora, as potencialidades e os desafios da modalidade testada. Finalmente, compreendeu-se que as potencialidades (affordances) do M-learning contribuíram significativamente para o processo e viabilização da capacitação, identificadas como: acesso à multimídia, conectividade, informação e captura de dados, presença social, aprendizagem personalizada, interação, colaboração, motivação, expressão emocional, representação de conhecimentos e suporte a vários pontos de entrada e caminhos de aprendizagem. Quanto aos desafios do m-learning, percebe-se dois aspectos: 1) aspectos externos da tecnologia (internet, custo, uso de dados, memória) e 2) aspectos de ordem pedagógica e contextual, que, acredita-se, foram parcialmente superados. Porém, observou-se que essa modalidade possibilitou desenvolver alguns atributos da competência empreendedora ligada à categoria de negócio e gestão, sendo elas: habilidades de gestão, habilidades financeiro-orçamentárias e habilidades operacionais do negócio. / The Individual Microentrepeneur (IM) is the person who works on their own account and becomes a small entrepreneur under the law. It is assumed that these entrepreneurs face difficulties to take part of qualification processes due to lack of time and scarce resources, because since they work alone (or with little help), taking part of onsite qualification trainings is not feasible, most of the times. On the other hand, it is known that there is a variety of technologies available in the market, such as the mobile Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which makes Mobile Learning feasible. In this way, M-learning is understood as learning processes supported by mobile or wireless information and communication technologies, where the major characteristic is the mobility of the learners (SACCOL; SCHLEMMER; BARBOSA, 2011), allowing the IMs to learn in their own context, where learning can be situated, authentic, personalized and collaborative. The main objective of this research is to analyze the potentials (affordances) and the challenges of M-learning for the development of entrepreneurial competences of Individual Microentrepreneurs. The method Design Science Research (DSR) was used to generate an artifact — a method of qualification of IMs through M-learning, using the Whatsapp application as platform. The research process followed the steps of the DSR (understanding the problem, suggestion, development, evaluation and conclusion), and the results generated in each step were crucial for the understanding of the advantages and challenges of the M-learning modality. During the period of understanding the problem, the competences to be developed under the theoretical point of view were comprehended, as well as the learning approaches to be considered: the situated learning (LAVE; WENGER, 1991), and the pedagogy of autonomy (FREIRE, 1996). A survey was also carried out with 206 individual entrepreneurs, through which their main qualification necessities were known; if they try (or not) to get qualification, through which means and to which ICTs they would have access to. During the problem suggestion step, the qualification method, under the point of view of the learning approaches adopted during the study, was developed. During the development step, the artifact (method) was applied to the first group of qualification, with 30 IMs. After that, the artifact was evaluated, enhanced and, later, applied to the second group of qualification, with other 45 IMs. During the evaluation step, it was possible to evaluate the artifact, identifying the attributes developed for the entrepreneurial competence, the potentials and the challenges of the tested modality. Finally, it was understood that the potentials (affordances) of M-learning had a key role for the process and viability of qualification, which are: access to multimedia, connectivity, information and data collection, social presence, personalized learning, interaction, collaboration, motivation, emotional expression, knowledge representation and support to several entry points and ways of learning. In terms of M-learning challenges, two aspects stand out: 1) technology external aspects (internet, cost, data use, memory) and 2) pedagogical and contextual aspects which, it is believed, were partially outdated. However, it was possible to observe that this modality allowed the development of some attributes of entrepreneurial competence related to the category of business and management, which are: management skills, financial and budgeting skills and business operational skills.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-06-03T12:07:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Aline Grunewald Nichele.pdf: 5451607 bytes, checksum: a9009a738e834f402fde486dd9c646cb (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-06-03T12:07:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Aline Grunewald Nichele.pdf: 5451607 bytes, checksum: a9009a738e834f402fde486dd9c646cb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-25 / Nenhuma / Motivada pela crescente utilização de diferentes tecnologias móveis e sem fio (TMSF), principalmente smartphones e tablets, entre os estudantes, bem como pela política pública de inserção de tablets no contexto das escolas públicas, surge o problema dessa pesquisa, que consiste em investigar como as TMSF podem contribuir para os processos de ensino e de aprendizagem em Química na perspectiva do mobile learning e do “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) no contexto da formação inicial de professores no Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS) – Campus Porto Alegre. A pesquisa tem como objetivo principal compreender como as TMSF podem contribuir para os processos de ensino e de aprendizagem em Química na perspectiva do mobile learning e do BYOD, a fim de potencializar o desenvolvimento de práticas pedagógicas no contexto da formação inicial de professores no IFRS – Campus Porto Alegre. São também objetivos da pesquisa: a) identificar elementos que permitam compreender quem são os licenciandos em Ciências da Natureza do IFRS, principalmente no que se refere ao acesso e utilização das tecnologias digitais (TD); b) buscar e selecionar os aplicativos para tablets e smartphones, disponíveis em loja digital virtual, com potencial para os processos de ensino e de aprendizagem em Química; c) estabelecer critérios de avaliação para os aplicativos, que possibilitem conhecê-los e classificá-los em termos de aplicabilidade; d) conceber, desenvolver e avaliar prática pedagógica em Química utilizando aplicativos para tablets e smartphones, no contexto do mobile learning e do BYOD. Em função das características do problema de pesquisa, bem como dos objetivos a serem alcançados, optou-se pelo desenvolvimento de uma pesquisa exploratória, de natureza qualitativa e quantitativa, baseada em Design Research, em que o artefato foi uma prática pedagógica desenvolvida por meio de uma atividade complementar junto a um grupo de dez estudantes da Licenciatura em Ciências da Natureza: Habilitação em Biologia e Química do IFRS – Campus Porto Alegre. Como instrumentos e materiais, utilizou-se: questionários, “roda de conversas”, entrevista semi-estruturada, registros em áudio, fotos, vídeo e observação. Para a análise de dados, utilizou-se a Análise Textual Discursiva (GALIAZZI; MORAES, 2011). Para interpretação dos dados e melhor compreensão do problema e objetivos da pesquisa, buscou-se fundamentação teórica nos seguintes autores: Galiazzi, Moraes (2002); Saccol, Schlemmer & Barbosa (2010); Lemos (2003); Giordan (2008). Os principais resultados da pesquisa apontam que os licenciandos têm um amplo acesso às tecnologias digitais e à internet, entretanto seu uso era basicamente restrito a comunicação. Há diversos aplicativos para tablets e smartphones específicos para a área de Química disponíveis em lojas digitais virtuais, bem como aplicativos gerais que tem potencial para o desenvolvimento de práticas pedagógicas, entretanto, após estabelecimento de critérios e avaliação desses foram selecionados aplicativos que fossem gratuitos, multiplataforma, com conteúdo preferencialmente em língua portuguesa e que esse fosse de qualidade. A partir do perfil tecnológico dos licenciandos e dos aplicativos selecionados foi concebida uma prática pedagógica na perspectiva do mobile learning e do BYOD, desenvolvida por meio de uma atividade complementar, em que os participantes vivenciaram as TMSF no contexto educacional e desenvolveram projetos de aprendizagem de Química no âmbito das TMSF. / Motivated by the increasing use of different mobile and wireless technologies, especially smartphones and tablets among students as well as the public policy of tablets insertion in the context of public schools, this research investigates how mobile and wireless technologies may appear to contribute to the processes of teaching and learning Chemistry from the perspective of mobile learning and BYOD in the context of initial teacher training in IFRS - Campus Porto Alegre. The research aims to understand how mobile and wireless technologies can contribute to the processes of teaching and learning Chemistry from the perspective of mobile learning and BYOD in order to enhance the development of educational practices in the context of initial teacher training in IFRS - Campus Porto Alegre. Some other objectives of the research are: a) to identify the Natural Sciences undergraduates’ digital technological profile, mainly with regard to the access and use of digital technologies ; b ) to search and select the applications for tablets, with potential for the teaching and learning processes in Chemistry, available in virtual digital store; c ) to establish evaluation criteria for the Apps in order to know them and classify them in terms of applicability; d ) to design, develop and evaluate pedagogical practice in Chemistry with applications for tablets and smartphones in the context of mobile learning and BYOD. Taking into consideration the different characteristics of the research problems achieved, we opted for the development of an exploratory research, qualitative and quantitative, based on Design Research, where the artifact was a pedagogical practice developed through a complementary activity with a group of ten undergraduates. The instruments and materials which have been used are: questionnaires, “workshops”, interviews, audio recordings, photos, video and observation. For data analysis, we used the text analysis discourse (GALIAZZI; MORAES, 2011). In order to interpret the data and for better understanding of the problem and research objectives, we sought theoretical foundation in the following authors: Galiazzi, Moraes (2002); Saccol, Schlemmer & Barbosa (2010); Lemos (2003); Giordan (2008). The main results of this research show that the licensees have broad access to digital technologies and the Internet, but its use was basically restricted to communication. There are several Apps for specific tablets and smartphones concerning Chemistry education, and general applications that have potential for the development of teaching practices available on virtual digital stores. However, after establishing criteria and evaluation of these Apps we selected some of them which were free, multiplatform, and with contents preferably in Portuguese. A pedagogical practice was designed from the technological profile of undergraduates and from selected applications considering the perspective of mobile learning and BYOD developed through a complementary activity. In that complementary activity the participants experienced the mobile and wireless technologies in the educational context and developed Chemistry learning projects in the context of mobile and wireless technologies.