April 2012 Volume 15 Number 2 - Educational Technology & Society

tests, electronic tests are more lively and interesting.
During the interviews, the students stated that they thought using the m-Test to take tests was interesting, and the
immediate retrieval of answers was helpful for learning. Therefore, real-time tests improve student outcomes and
stimulate interest in learning (Liu, Tan, & Chu, 2009).
Individuality—individuality indicates separateness; individuality is the state or quality of being an individual, a
student separate from other students and possessing his or her own educational needs, goals, and desires. Klopfer,
Squire, and Jenkins (2002) argued that handheld computers provide a unique scaffolding function that is customized
to individual paths of investigation. A student noted the following in his survey response:
Student 31: During the learning activities, the portfolio tool (m-Portfolio) automatically recorded the
materials I read, stored the graphics of crabs I captured, saved my homework, recorded the treasure hunt
games I attended, and kept track of my test performance.
In the interview, a student stated that she recorded the deadline for each assignment on the calendar (m-Calendar).
The calendar would automatically alert her one day before each deadline. Therefore, handhelds enable students to
configure their own personal settings, profiles, activities, and private portfolios. The learning habits of students who
habitually set goals, priorities, and well-organized learning schedules are positively related to average academic
performance. Each student read different materials, watched dissimilar wildlife, stirred diverse reception, and
procured a diverse learning experience that could be saved in portfolios.
Diverse Interaction—there are four interactions in ubiquitous learning: learner-content interaction, learner-instructor
interaction, learner-learner interaction, and learner-environment interaction. Interaction in teaching and learning has
a positive meaning for learning efficiency and developing thinking ability (Vygotsky, 1978). A student wrote the
following in his survey response:
Student 16: Whenever we encountered problems during the “Wetland Rescue” activity, we used the
communication tool (m-Messenger) to chat with our teacher and ask for assistance. The teacher also used
it to guide us and give hints to the solution. All problems were finally solved after group discussion.
On the discussion forum, a student stated that he posted the following question: “Why do crabs walk sideways?”
This issue drew much attention and discussion. Many classmates provided their opinions. Some were interesting and
creative. The students browsed classmates’ articles on the forum and shared their opinions. By exchanging opinions,
they made many new friends. Therefore, through social interaction processes (e.g., exchange ideas and discuss
issues), students improve their comprehension.
Arbitrary Data Collection—data could be collected from the students’ observation, recording, investigation, and
measurement, or from existing videos, audios, images, and articles that were stored in the content management server.
The learning environment enables students to collect data freely and helps cultivate their abilities. A student wrote
the following in his survey response:
Student 15: Whenever I observed anything interesting, I would easily use the video-capturing tool (m-
Capture) to record the scenes in the PDA. For instance, I saw two crabs that seemed to be fighting, so I
recorded them in a video file and uploaded the file to the MOBILE server, which made the video available
for others to view.
In the discussion forum, a student said, “In the ‘Wetland rescue’ activity, I easily used m-Capture to take snapshots of
the special things I observed, such as a crab digging up its cave, a crab swallowing sand, and a dragonfly perching on
a leaf.” Therefore, as learning occurs in a rich natural environment, filled with real creatures, the concepts presented
can be meaningfully contextualized.
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