How will digital learning develop in the future?  According to recent reports from Horizon, Ambient Insight’s reports, a trend analysis done by Brandon Hall, among others, mobile learning will be the next key area. However, mobile learning has been the subject of discussion for some length of time; as early as 2000, the European Commission gave funding to international MOBIlearn and M-Learning research, but today, Mobile Learning remains underdeveloped. The author believes that the popularization of devices is a key factor. After all, however the garnish on a steak helps the taste (however much mobile learning matures), without knife and fork in hand (without popular mobile devices), it still serves no purpose. E-learning suppliers, not seeing their market, are unwilling to develop related services, and learning type mobile content is lacking. This situation has remained unchanged for a long time.

Last year, as a result of the explosive growth of smartphones, mobile internet infrastructure comprehensive establishment, and the price of such services becoming more than a little more accessible, commercial type services also developed vibrantly. As a result, the provision of all kinds of learning services based on mobile phones is no longer a problem. Simultaneously, industrial clients have also gradually come to recognize the need for the development of more flexible learning, the concrete manifestation of which have appeared in two areas in e-learning: job aids and performance support. This demand can be filled by mobile learning.

Taking into account the current actual devices and the commercial application situation and increased enterprise demand for learning, the present is a good time to invest in the development and provision of mobile learning.

Picture 1 Dr Li Zhen-yu of the Institute for Information Industry opens the meeting and welcomes representatives from industry.

This year the Institute for Information Industry has held many conferences for experts in new technology, and has invited a number of individuals engaged in the development of e-learning platforms, the provision of content, software and hardware for said platforms, and developers of mobile services to come and share their accomplishments, and develop a development consensus. The Institute for Information Industry has shared workable e-learning service models, the structure of core e-learning service technologies, and cases of successful mobile service provision abroad, etc. (please see Picture1), and, furthermore, through the provision of carefully designed activities, has allowed leading figures from industry to engage in small group discussions, encouraging brainstorming to produce new sparks of creativity (Picture 2).  

Here, we would like to express our gratitude to Chien Hua Learning Resources Network, Chuan Hwa Book Co., Ltd., the Hsin-Yi Foundation, Shindy Technology Co., Ltd., Kolyama Technology Development Co., BenQ Corporation, GEO Group, Taiwan Knowledge Bank, Wordpedia, Pitotech Co., Ltd.;  HiAchieve Digital Technology; and the PEGATRON Corporation for their participation.

Picture 2: An Opportunity for inter- enterprise co-operation.

Every digital learning technology expert conference is based on a theme chosen on the basis of foreign experts’ reports and objective domestic environmental trends. The last experts’ conference focused on Location Based Services (LBS). First, the three main vital factors in LBS were introduced, and then the three service levels of LBS.

A case study of the famous Frequency 1550 LBS application in education in the Netherlands was presented, application in environmental conservation teaching and mobile service Apps for the provision of environmental education supported by enterprise, then LBS service development structure was explained, from introduction and selection of low- level positioning models, a comparison of service platforms, the question of whether cross- platform development or unique SDK development should be chosen, the essence of service development based on an abstract concepts, which LBS study models are suited to LBS, etc.

   In this conference, we produced 3 innovative learning application models, advised operators that when developing LBS services, only by taking the experience of learners into consideration, considering the meaning of location with regard to learning into account, and combining geographical information related to the special nature of their own products will it be possible for LBS to be accepted by learners.  
 

Picture 3 Engineer Wang You-zhe’s lively case study presentation

This time, we chose Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) as the theme of our conference: Engineer Wang You-zhe of the Institute for Information Industry first defined and explained MAR, the 3 necessary elements for MAR, then introduced two application structures models, and characterized the various types of tag positioning technologies, presented a domestic case study, an example of MAR in a computer game, and an example of foreign application of MAR technology in education.

Interactive storybook, hand- controlled installation of machinery, the provision of real-time translation using Word Lens, the application of MAR to geography and chemistry education in the classroom, and enterprise maintenance education in specific areas using MAR were all given a detailed introduction. Finally, an in-depth introduction and explanation of the technological structure used when developing MAR products was given, from the lowest level of user- controlled components, MAR operational elements, MAR system platforms, and high- level educational provision .

 Aside from this, we also invited Pitotech, domestic operators in the MAR industry (founded in 1992, who are agent for specialized AR engines and specialzied equipment such as Eye-link technology), and we shared many striking case studies in the area of AR R&D (please see picture 4). Over the course of this conference, we advised enterprise that when using MAR to develop mobile educational services, they should take full advantage of academic disciplines which use space, such as physics and geography. As before, image recognition technology is  still a threshold for language type teaching,a fact that must be taken into consideration in development. 

Additionally, within the areas of higher and further education, anything involving simulation, such as in town planning, modeling changes in ocean currents, etc., can consider using MAR technology.

Picture 4 Pitotech display eye-tracker AR related application.

The next digital technology experts’ conference was held on the 6th of May, and the theme was the use of the recently-popular kinesthetic learning. We used Kinect as a case study to share the fruits of our research, and also invited experts from academia and enterprise to share their own insights to benefit together. At the same time, we also divided experts in different fields into groups to create an opportunity to stimulate creative co-operation on problems such as the creation of a cross- platform reference book to be used on a mobile phone: how to resolve the prime number problems, key areas to be noted in revising content, etc. It was hoped that through this activity, operators would collaborate in creating new ideas.