DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A NATIVE MOBILE MULTIMEDIA LEARNING APPLICATION FRAMEWORK ON ANDROID PLATFORM

Abstract

Internet connectivity is one of the fundamental requirements for a successful mobile learning environment. However, within the context of Africa, availability and access, let alone cost, still pose a great challenge in higher education, especially in distance learning. Consequently, there arises a dire need for a native mobile learning application framework that would serve as an alternative to web-based learning environments in localized contexts such as Africa, where the problems of internet connectivity and bandwidth remain untackled. However, little body of knowledge exists on how such native application frameworks, which leverage the mobile device’s underlying hardware resources and rich user interfaces (UIs) in offering a heightened learning user experience (UX), can be designed and implemented. As a result, this thesis sets  out to bridge this gap by proposing a Native Mobile Multimedia Learning Application (NMMLA) Framework, implemented on the Android platform by using a systematic approach we called “Content Flow Algorithm Tree,” which can be leveraged by mobile learning application developers in developing native applications for various higher education courses, especially in science and engineering. The framework is a one-page-setup and do-it-yourself toolkit and library that will facilitate the development of NMMLAs by reducing deployment time or time to market. Basically, the framework supports five (5) types of multimedia learning content-images, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), audio, video and simulation—aimed at meeting the different needs of learners with different learning preferences. The framework provides a number of key features, which include theme, course, quiz and simulation menus; listview and tabview render modes; and Search and Help utilities. This work will benefit researchers and stakeholders in the m-learning field, especially Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), training and learning organizations. It will also benefit multimedia learning content developers and providers in general and on the Android platform in particular by preventing them from reinventing the wheel. Above all, it will benefit teachers, students and workers, especially distance learners, in the pursuit of life-long formal and informal learning, as they will be able to learn anywhere and anytime without internet connectivity and limited bandwidth being a barrier.

Chapter 1

Introduction

The advent of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and much later smartphones brought about a paradigm shift in the way, how, when and where we learn—from e-learning to m-learning [1], which fosters a much more personalized and self-directed learning. Upside Learning [2], while referring to mobile technology “as any device that is designed to provide access to information in any location, or while on the move,” defines mobile learning as “the acquisition or modification of any knowledge or skill through the use of mobile technology, anywhere, anytime, resulting in the modification of behaviour.” Mobile learning has made great inroads worldwide into our way of life and every facet of our humanity, be it personal or professional, in a way some few years ago no one expected or ever imagined. For example, on the educational and organisational fronts, it has made such impact that you would hardly find a Higher Education Institution (HEI) teacher or student, a corporate employer or employee, both in developed and developing countries, without a smartphone be it in the sitting room, bedroom, office, classroom, on the road, in the air or at sea. According to Heiphetz [3], it has impacted our lives to such a great extent that some of us are unable to leverage all of its benefits, which include but not limited to the following:

1. Makes content universally accessible anytime, anywhere

2. Adapts to student and employee needs (personalization)

3. Enables reflection

4. Is continuous, ongoing and flexible

5. Enables formal and informal learning

6. Increases knowledge retention and saves time

7. Encourages knowledge sharing and gathering

8. Readily available

9. Adapts to the needs of the organisation (academia and business)

10. Creates best practices

M-learning is made possible by mobile devices, mobile technology, mobile platforms and mobile applications, which come basically in three different forms: 1) a dedicated standalone application that can run on individual mobile devices; 2) a client-server model with the client application running on mobile device and a server application on remote server; and 3) a mobile web browser that requires back-end application-server connection in the course of sending requests from the mobile device [4, 5]. The introduction of the open-source Android platform [6] in 2007 by the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) pushed the frontiers of mobile learning further, owing to its openness, flexibility, and relatively low cost of developing and owning its applications, as opposed to the iOS, Windows Phone 7 and other mobile development platforms [7]. Similarly, according to [8], “Android applications have none of the costly and time-intensive testing and certification programs required by other platforms such as BREW and Symbian.” As a result, a large number of learning content developers and providers (e.g. Moodle, Blackboard etc) started taking advantage of it as a medium for delivering rich, interactive multimedia content to a wide range of learners with different learning preferences across different geographical locations and time zones. Consequently, mobile multimedia learning applications (native and web-based) abound in the marketplace today, as evident in Google Play. However, while there is a substantial body of knowledge on the design and implementation of mobile multimedia learning application frameworks for web-based applications, there is little or none on native applications, which can take advantage of the mobile device’s underlying hardware resources and rich user interfaces in delivering rich multimedia learning user experience (UX) [9]. This research sets out to bridge this gap by providing a conceptual design of a NMMLA framework and implementing it as a library on the Android platform using an Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), Universal Modelling Language (UML) and Model View Controller (MVC) approach, Java programming language and the Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE) with Android Development Tool (ADT) and other required development tools plugged in. The framework will help guide the process of mobile multimedia learning application development and facilitate future development on the Android platform. The framework is made up of a number of components. A component, within the context of the framework, is represented by an icon (with certain functionality) on the Android device’s screen. It is either hosted in the main body, called gridview (GV) or at the top of the screen, called actionbar (AB). Thus, the framework has two types of components, namely, gridview and actionbar. The former are the main components, while the latter are the support components. The main (GV) components are grouped into five (5) major abstracted categories, which include AtomicItem, TabFile, ListItem, TabModule and ListModule, which content developers and providers can leverage in delivering a complete functional NMMLA, which include components such as Introduction, Learn, Simulate, Evaluate, Resources and Help in line with industry guidelines such as the Advanced Distributed Learning M-learning Guide [10].

The support (AB) components are further grouped into two: menu and action. The action components include About, Search and Help. They derive from the main components, with the last two offering utility services across an instance application. About is a HTML file which holds information about the instance application, which utilizes the framework. Search enables the learner to look up words in the dictionary included in the application. Help offers a list of HTML files, which provide information on the usage of various components of the application. Search and Help (represented by an icon and text) are pinned to the actionbar throughout the application UIs. On the other hand, the menu components include Course, Theme and Render Mode menus, which are pinned to the actionbar as well. They enable the framework to support multiple courses, themes and render modes respectively.

Department: Computer Science (M.Sc Thesis)

Format: MS Word

Chapters: 1 - 5, Preliminary Pages, Abstract, References, Appendix.

No. of Pages: 112 

Price: 20,000 NGN

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