Designing for Context-Aware and Contextualized Learning

Abstract

Contextualized and context-aware learning refer to active and passive approaches of utilizing contexts in educational designs. Both are at the core of many mobile learning solutions. For scaling mobile learning in educational institutions, it is important to understand that mobile learning is neither an independent nor a stand-alone educational approach, but part of a rich repertoire of tools and practices that shape complex learning processes and are embedded in increasingly smart environments. Moreover, mobile learning combines solutions for a range of different educational interventions. Educators have to choose and integrate each solution into their educational concepts in order to utilize the ubiquitously available technologies for leveraging on the learners’ contexts. This requires a better conceptual understanding on the role and function of context in educational design. Seamless learning addresses this understanding by generalizing contextual influences on learning processes beyond mobile learning, which is lacking in conventional educational design models. However, seamless learning is not an educational design model that educators can use directly for deducing design principles. Seamless learning is rather a concept that best understood in relation to integrated approaches of context-awareness and contextualization that contrast of existing educational design models. Because much research on mobile learning focuses on the active role of contexts, the question comes into mind, whether context is always an explicit design element? This chapter addresses this question in two parts. First, by operationalizing the concept of seamless learning for planning and orchestrating contextual and context-aware mobile learning. Secondly by analyzing potential contextual affordances of a mobile app with minimized contextual dependencies.

Keywords

Glossary

Affordance

The quality or property of objects or tools that define their possible uses or makes clear how they can or should be used.

Assessment

Any form of comparison of performances with benchmarks or objectives.

Blended learning

All forms of combining different technology-enhanced learning approaches with each other and with conventional educational practices and interventions.

Context-awareness

The use of context to provide task-relevant information and services. In education, context-awareness refers to explicit use of context or contextual factors for creating and moderating learning experiences.

Contextual affordance

Properties of objects or tools that bind usages to contexts. These properties are connected to contextual dimensions.

Contextual requirements

The contextual preconditions that are necessary for learners to perform learning activities or to make learning experiences.

Contextualization

The use of context to change information and services. In education, contextualization refers to the use of context for selecting learning activities as well as for changing the conditions of one or more learning activities.

Device sensors

The sensor-network built into digital devices, such as microphone, camera, gyroscope, or compass.

Digital natives

Generations who only experienced a world with ubiquitous presence of digital technologies in daily life.

Educational design

Planning and arrangement of learning activities into educational processes that include the assessment of learning objectives. It complements learning design that focuses on the design of learning tasks and instructional design that primarily addresses the design of learning resources.

Learning activity

Educational tasks including necessary resources, environment, intended performances, expected outcomes, as well as relevant feedback. Learning activities typically consider a learner role and a facilitator role but can also address multiple roles in different social interactions. Learning activities abstract beyond individual performances and refer to planned educational interventions.

Learning environment

The setting of one or more learning activities. Learning environments provide learning resources that are needed to perform a learning activity. Moreover, learning environments determine the context of learning activities. A learning environment can bind a learning activity in terms of the activity’s framing as well as it can be part of an activity in terms of structured resources.

Learning experience

The sensory and emotional impressions of learners when performing a learning activity or being exposed to a learning environment.

Micro-learning

Educational design patterns that utilize atomic learning activities as fundamental building blocks. Learning activities consist of a task, performance assessment, and performance feedback, learning activities are atomic, if they cannot get further separated into sub-activities with this structure intact.

Perceived learning behavior

The learners’ self-reported perception of their own learning and/or of their personal engagement in learning activities.

Seamless learning

Seamless learning happens when persons or groups experience a continuity of learning, and consciously bridge the multifaceted learning efforts across a combination of locations, times, technologies, or social settings. In educational design, seamless learning refers to approaches that create continuous learning experiences that leverage the diverse contexts of learners to shape learning experiences. Mobile seamless learning refers to applications of mobile technologies such as smartphones to facilitate learning in context and/or to bridge between contexts.

Technology-enhanced learning

Combines all approaches and applications, in which digital technologies are used for supporting education and learning processes. This includes but is not limited to e-learning, online learning, and MOOCs, mobile learning, game-based learning, simulations, gamification, educational approaches to augmented and mixed reality, virtual and remote labs, as well as virtual worlds.