Trends in Distance Education and Open Learning: Policy ... - ADEA

• Change management, staff development, evaluation, quality assurance andaccreditation.• Learner assessment and learner support.• Cultural factors in learning.• International collaboration.• Lifelong learning and non-formal adult and community education.As technology changes pedagogy also need to change or to adapt, research on pedagogyand educational scenarios to enhance the learner’s experience requires furtherexploration. On the other hand any advancement in mobile technology or electrical energywill be beneficial in overcoming technological barriers and constraints to mLearning.Example of a research questions:How to couple mobile terminals with radio transmitters?Can mobile technologies lead to improved students performance in foundation courses?How to make mLearning suitable for practical disciplines?What is the roadmap towards the development of standards for mobile learning?Can mobile learning answer to cross border accreditation and recognition?How far mLearning can be efficient to disabled learners?Best PracticesSince learning through mobile devices is still limited both technically (speed of data access,memory capabilities and media support) and economically (cost of devices, cost of wirelessdata access), while developing standards and best practices we must give consideration toaddressing these barriers.Here are a few best practices to consider:Minimize Data Entry: Avoid making learners use their phone keyboards too much as thesecan interrupt learning, and become tedious and time consuming. At most, keep answers tooptional choices or short fill-in-the-blanks to check understanding.Use Text Support: Structure learning material to be used for general reference, likedefinitions and how-to guides. This may not allow for complete learning material, but canprovide learning support through notes, which can be easily read and accessed quickly.Avoid Costs to Learner: If the student is incurring costs to learn via their mobile devices,that’s a big problem. So while implementing mobile learning keep in mind downloadingcosts if any, as well as data access costs.84