Examining the Effectiveness of Hyperaudio Learning Environments

Introduction

The post-modern era has brought about a dramatic change in our requirements from education and information. From a subjective point of view, the need and urgency for retrieving specific information has increased significantly. As a result, learners demand instant access to learning resources and information required for problem-solving as well as a flexible approach to learning. The development of new media offers, amongst other things, various opportunities for such flexible ways of learning. This is supported from a technological perspective by an ever-increasing number of versatile handheld devices. Mobile technologies such as smartphones are particularly well suited to meet these demands as they facilitate learning outside the bounds of time and place. Such equipment allows a fast retrieval of the right information at any given moment. While the place and time of learning were previously predefined by teachers, new media allow today’s learners to decide where and when to learn (Weidenmann, 2001). Mobile learning scenarios, usually referred to as “m-learning”, provide enormous potential for autonomous learning. In addition, current standards and software developments (e.g. data reduction) open up a wide range of applications. Consequently, a wide field of research on learning and instruction using mobile digital devices has been emerging in recent years (e.g. Hsi, 2003; Roschelle & Pea, 2002) as developing increasingly sophisticated mobile learning environments requires considerable experience and expertise. Particularly careful planning is required with regard to the uses of mobile devices in order to attract users and learners and to provide them with an integrated learning experience. Mobile technologies such as smartphones or tablets allow the presentation of both auditory and visual or audio-visual information. Given the wide range of technical possibilities available, finding the best way to present information and meet learners’ needs still poses a challenge to instructional designers. This paper focusses on auditive information as an arrangement of information that is presented exclusively via the auditory channel. In particular, the dissemination of mobile devices such as MP3-players or smartphones, to name but two examples, has led to an intensified usage of auditive instruction in recent years (O’Bannon, Lubke, Beard & Britt, 2011; Vajoczki, Watt, Marquis & Holshausen, 2010).