Affiliations: Department of Computer Science, Multimedia and
Telecommunication, Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain Department of
Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunication, Open University of
Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain | Departament of Languages and Information Systems,
Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain | Departament of Information and Communication
Engineering, Fukuoka Institute of Technology, Fukuoka, Japan
Abstract: Mobile collaborative learning is considered the next step of on-line
collaborative learning by incorporating mobility as a key and breakthrough
requirement. Indeed, the current wide spread of mobile devices and wireless
technologies brings an enormous potential to e-learning, in terms of ubiquity,
pervasiveness, personalization, flexibility, and so on. For this reason, Mobile
Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning has recently grown from a minor
research field to significant research projects covering a fairly variety of
formal and specially informal learning settings, from schools and universities
to workplaces, museums, cities and rural areas. Much of this research has shown
how mobile technology can offer new opportunities for groups of learners to
collaborate inside and beyond the traditional instructor-oriented educational
paradigm. However, mobile technologies, when specifically applied to
collaborative learning activities, are still in its infancy and many challenges
arise. In addition, current research in this domain points to highly
specialized study cases, uses, and experiences in specific educational settings
and thus the issues addressed in the literature are found dispersed and
disconnected from each other. To this end, this paper attempts to bridge
relevant aspects of mobile technologies in support for collaborative learning
and provides a tighter view by means of a multidimensional approach.
Keywords: Mobile collaborative learning, mobile technologies, ubiquity, pervasiveness, constructivism, behaviorism, situated learning, social learning
