Abstract
During the past few years, mobile technologies have become common in everyday life. Almost everyone carry some kind of mobile technological equipment with him or her, for example a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a multimedia player, such as an iPod, or a laptop computer. The use of these equipments is not limited only to workplaces, schools or homes. Particularly useful information and communication technologies (ICTs) are in educational settings. Especially wireless networks and laptop computers may promote many useful practices of collaborative learning (Cutshall, Changchit, & Elwood, 2006; Jones, Holmfeld, & Lindström, 2006).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Trust: Human trust means that the someone is willing to put him or herself in a position of vulnerability to or risk from another party. Technical trust means that the application does what it is supposed to do and not what it is not supposed to do.
Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: Studying and learning in knowledge building communities that have convergent goals and whose interaction is supported by computers and networks.
Social Usability: A part of usability that is concerned with those features of technology that influence users’ social interaction.
Virtual Community: Group of users that often are widely separated geographically, communicate via computer and share common interests, aims and resources.
Data Security: Technical means of ensuring that data is kept safe from corruption and that access to it can be suitably controlled. Data security helps to protect personal data.
Mobile Technology: The use of communication infrastructures, protocols, and portable devices like laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones, that enable users to communicate, study or work flexibly in terms of time and place.
Education on Virtual Organization: Teaching, studying and learning in network-based environments.