In light of the ubiquitous nature of mobile communications technology, society is forced to rethink education. When considering the freedom of communication in terms of time and space that this mobile technology provides, educators need to understand how this ever present communications platform can be exploited to enhance collaborative learning. The central theme of this thesis is the role of mobile phones as a support for collaborative learning both in and out of the classroom. The questions asked are: What is the distinctive affordance offered by the mobile phone for collaborative learning? What is the affective relationship between student, mobile phone and homework? Does the intervention affect the relationship between students, their mobile phones and their homework? Does the affordance offered by the technology lead to more awareness of learning? What is the nature of the dialogue with the mobile phone technology? In this thesis, the methodology is designed to explore the area of collaborative learning and the use of mobile phones as a support for collaborative learning through critical reviews of the literature and a year-long exploratory multiple case study integrating both qualitative data analysis and quantitative data analysis. Qualitative exploratory interviews and surveys are combined with extensive quantitative internet log data to provide a detailed image of students’ mobile use during collaborative activities. The results are triangulated, and In light of current research key issues are interpreted and discussed. The findings of the study support four key hypotheses which emerge from the theoretical framework. First, that there are distinctive affordances offered by the mobile phone for collaborative learning that increase learning opportunities. Second, that the affective relationship between students and their mobile phone has a positive influence on attitudes towards homework when the homework involves the use of their mobile phones. Third, that the intervention affected the relationship between students their mobile phone and their homework by reducing barriers between private and public spaces. Fourth, the affordances offered by the technology led to more awareness of content through an increase in opportunities for reflection. In addition, some insights into the nature of the dialogue with the mobile phone technology are explored. These findings have implications for educational theory and practice since they provide evidence to support the incorporation of mobile devices into collaborative educational situations. This research will be of interest to those concerned with the impact of mobile devices on the area of collaborative learning specifically and the field of education in general. The contribution that this research brings to scholarship and to the educational community is an increased understanding of the ways that ubiquitous mobile technology can affect a student’s mobile-based collaborative learning experience. The integration of these findings into the current body of knowledge may lead to improvements in future educational design and highlight areas which require further research.

This thesis studies the usability issues of the mobile phone in informal Swedish language learning. The concept of usability is defined by expanding the technical usability attributes of Jakob Nielsen with other recent attributes derived from considering the technical aspects of mobile learning (m-learning). Thus, the ultimate structure of the usability factors that are discussed in this study consists of: accessibility, easy-to-learn, technical design, efficiency and satisfaction. With the support of the relevant previous literature and interview, we research this topic by considering the mobile-assisted language learning (MALL), informal language-learning and usability elements, in order to explore and identify the usability of mobile phone. The goal of this study is to contribute to detailed understanding of mobile phone usage, further identify the usability issues of mobile phones by obtaining both critical and commendatory feedbacks and reflections from the users. For final results, through qualitative research approach, we offered several findings regarding the mobile phone usability with specified reasons.

This thesis investigates the perceptions of students about using mobile communication tools in web-based instruction. A mobile learning portal that can be used by different mobile devices was designed for this purpose. This portal included a mobile discussion forum and a course information system. Sixty undergraduate and five graduate students from METU/CEIT department used this portal as a supportive learning activity in three different courses throughout two-three, and four-week periods. The discussion subjects related to course content were created by instructors in these courses and students used this portal by sending messages or creating new subjects. Assignment results and announcements were inserted into the system by the instructors of these courses. A user evaluation instrument was developed by the researcher and validated by field experts. At the end of the study, perceptions of students were collected about mobile learning, mobile learning technologies and mobile discussion forums by using this instrument. Descriptive statistics were calculated according to the responses of students. The study results show that most of the students enjoyed using mobile technologies in education and they want to use mobile technologies in other courses. Although they like using mobile technologies, they did not increase the level of learning and motivation of the students much. Furthermore, mobile technologies did not increase the communication between students and between students and teachers despite their highly developed communication capabilities. Students could easily use the mobile technologies but small screen sizes and limited keypads hindered them from performing the operations. According to students, the cost of using mobile technologies is quite important whereas the data communication security is not important.

Mobile learning (m-learning) is a relatively new technology that helps students learn and gain knowledge using the Internet and Cloud computing technologies. Cloud computing is one of the recent advancements in the computing field that makes Internet access easy to end users. Many Cloud services rely on Cloud users for mapping Cloud software using virtualization techniques. Usually, the Cloud users' requests from various terminals will cause heavy traffic or unbalanced loads at the Cloud data centers and associated Cloud servers. Thus, a Cloud load balancer that uses an efficient load balancing technique is needed in all the cloud servers. We propose a new meta-heuristic algorithm, named the dominant firefly algorithm, which optimizes load balancing of tasks among the multiple virtual machines in the Cloud server, thereby improving the response efficiency of Cloud servers that concomitantly enhances the accuracy of m-learning systems. Our methods and findings used to solve load imbalance issues in Cloud servers, which will enhance the experiences of m-learning users. Specifically, our findings such as Cloud-Structured Query Language (SQL), querying mechanism in mobile devices will ensure users receive their m-learning content without delay; additionally, our method will demonstrate that by applying an effective load balancing technique would improve the throughput and the response time in mobile and cloud environments.

No / The rise of mainstream virtual learning environments has facilitated the operation of information spaces to support display, simulation, and interactive modelling. As well as disseminating information and knowledge, they can also be used to accumulate learning as each user is also a potential contributor. This paper examines the use of information environments to support mobile learning and dynamic decision making and the extent to which physical or social space can support the application. Such applications are not limited to the traditional data analysis and modelling functions but can be extended to include storytelling, theatre, and other aspects of the arts and the entertainment industry.

O desenvolvimento e a utilização de ambientes computacionais como apoio ao ensino e aprendizagem, aliados à evolução da computação móvel, têm contribuído significativamente para o estabelecimento de uma nova modalidade de ensino conhecida como aprendizagem móvel ou mobile learning (m-learning). Nesse cenário emergente, os ambientes educacionais existentes, mesmo possuindo diversos benefícios e facilidades no que diz respeito ao ensino e aprendizagem, apresentam problemas e desafios que precisam ser explorados. Um dos aspectos relevantes a ser investigado refere-se ao estabelecimento e adoção de padrões arquiteturais. De fato, grande parte desses ambientes é construída de forma isolada, possuindo arquiteturas e estruturas próprias, o que pode impactar negativamente a capacidade de padronização. O presente trabalho de pesquisa insere-se neste contexto, tendo como principal objetivo investigar e definir uma arquitetura de referência orientada a serviço voltada para ambientes de aprendizagem móvel. Tal arquitetura, denominada Ref-mLearning, visa contribuir para a evolução, reúso e interoperabilidade desses ambientes, possibilitando ainda um aumento na qualidade e redução de custos durante o seu desenvolvimento. Resultados alcançados por meio de avaliações e condução de um estudo de caso demonstram que a Ref-mLearning é uma arquitetura viável possuindo uma boa estrutura e organização para o desenvolvimento de ambientes de aprendizagem móvel orientados a serviço. / The development and use of computational environment to support the teaching and learning, together with the evolution of mobile computing, have contributed significantly to the establishment of a new mode of teaching known as mobile learning (m-learning). In this emerging scenario, the existing educational environments, despite having various benefits and facilities with regard to teaching and learning, present problems and challenges that need to be explored. An important aspect to be investigated refers to the establishment and adoption of architectural patterns. In fact, many of these environments is built in isolation, possessing own architectures and structures, which may negatively impact the standardization capacity. This research work is part of this context, the main objective to investigate and define a service-oriented reference architecture for mobile learning environments. Such an architecture, called Ref-mLearning, aims to contribute to the evolution, reuse and interoperability of these environments, still enabling an increase in quality and cost reduction during its development. Results achieved through evaluations and conducting a case study show that Ref-mLearning is a viable architecture having a good structure and organization for the development of a service-oriented mobile learning environment.

O desenvolvimento e a utilização de ambientes computacionais como apoio ao ensino e aprendizagem, aliados à evolução da computação móvel, têm contribuído significativamente para o estabelecimento de uma nova modalidade de ensino conhecida como aprendizagem móvel ou mobile learning (m-learning). Nesse cenário emergente, os ambientes educacionais existentes, mesmo possuindo diversos benefícios e facilidades no que diz respeito ao ensino e aprendizagem, apresentam problemas e desafios que precisam ser explorados. Um dos aspectos relevantes a ser investigado refere-se ao estabelecimento e adoção de padrões arquiteturais. De fato, grande parte desses ambientes é construída de forma isolada, possuindo arquiteturas e estruturas próprias, o que pode impactar negativamente a capacidade de padronização. O presente trabalho de pesquisa insere-se neste contexto, tendo como principal objetivo investigar e definir uma arquitetura de referência orientada a serviço voltada para ambientes de aprendizagem móvel. Tal arquitetura, denominada Ref-mLearning, visa contribuir para a evolução, reúso e interoperabilidade desses ambientes, possibilitando ainda um aumento na qualidade e redução de custos durante o seu desenvolvimento. Resultados alcançados por meio de avaliações e condução de um estudo de caso demonstram que a Ref-mLearning é uma arquitetura viável possuindo uma boa estrutura e organização para o desenvolvimento de ambientes de aprendizagem móvel orientados a serviço. / The development and use of computational environment to support the teaching and learning, together with the evolution of mobile computing, have contributed significantly to the establishment of a new mode of teaching known as mobile learning (m-learning). In this emerging scenario, the existing educational environments, despite having various benefits and facilities with regard to teaching and learning, present problems and challenges that need to be explored. An important aspect to be investigated refers to the establishment and adoption of architectural patterns. In fact, many of these environments is built in isolation, possessing own architectures and structures, which may negatively impact the standardization capacity. This research work is part of this context, the main objective to investigate and define a service-oriented reference architecture for mobile learning environments. Such an architecture, called Ref-mLearning, aims to contribute to the evolution, reuse and interoperability of these environments, still enabling an increase in quality and cost reduction during its development. Results achieved through evaluations and conducting a case study show that Ref-mLearning is a viable architecture having a good structure and organization for the development of a service-oriented mobile learning environment.

Education field has been affected by Covid-19 pandemic, same as many other aspects of our lives during this period. Many universities and schools had to close for physical education and had to find different kinds of solutions to continue their educational activities. Therefore, the purpose of this master's thesis is to study students' experiences of using M-learning in higher education during the pandemic to see how they have been affected by this type of learning in their education during the time that Covid-19 changed the routine lives of students. To conduct this master's thesis an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach is used in order to get a deeper understanding of the students' learning experience. The results of this research show that using M-learning during the Covid-19 pandemic has positive effects on learning experiences of most of the participants, and a great number of the students have not seen any effects on their grades. Advantages of using M-learning are ease of use, convenience, understanding the concepts by searching on their own and independent learning experience, being able to participate in lectures from anywhere, even in time of sickness, and easily accessing course materials. On the other hand, the disadvantages of this type of learning are losing physical face-to-face interactions with teachers and other students, low level of activeness from the other students in discussions in the online lectures, losing motivation, and missing learning physical experience in some courses. The challenges that students have experienced with M-learning are low internet connection, problems with batteries of mobile devices, small screen of smartphones for reading files, some technical problems regarding the online lectures, and experiencing different types of distractions by using mobile devices and attending online classes. Finally, participants agree to recommend M-learning in times of crisis.

The main aim of this diploma thesis is to chart the trend of m-learning in Czech schools and to find out, if m-learning influences student' information behavior and how do they use mobile devices in such process. Basic theoretical concepts are defined in first chapters, for example m-learning itself, information behavior and other. Thesis as well contains chapter, where are described different definition of what digital generation is and who are its members. These definitons are the basic theoretical framework of this diploma thesis. One chapter desribes specific projects, statistics and web pages that are dealing with m-learning. Practical part consists of questionnaire evaluation. Survey results are included in the last chapter.