The new vision for self-directed, motivated, adaptive, resource-enriched, and technology-embedded smart higher education has promoted smart learning with mobile-assisted seamless activities to learn across time and locations, individual and collective, from one scenario to another including formal and informal learning through smart mobile devices. Methodologically, the collective and ubiquitous leaning for student-centered learning is examined qualitatively with empirical data of how smart education are enhancing students' individual and collaborative learning, rather than focusing on using only technological devices. Theoretically, the analysis is based on the concept of mobile-assisted seamless learning activities, MSL, grounded in six dimensions of actual learning. The findings display that smart learning with mobile-assisted seamless mediated learning activities improves with the design of before-, in-, and after-class stages with a focus on contextual, adapted, and self-directed seamless learning activities to promote the students' capabilities to learn, collaborate, and critically solve problems in different situations and contexts.
TopBackground
Smart education is a new global educational paradigm and a concept that describes learning in a digital age based on smart pedagogy for smart learning (Zhu, Yu & Riezebos, 2016). The point of departure is based in foundations on smart devices and intelligent technologies for accessing course documents, course literature, inquiry, communication and collaboration, as well as construction and evaluation. This is made possible by improved wearable technologies, faster internet transmission, and smart mobile devices through wireless networks (e.g. Amhag, 2016; 2017; Lee & Salman, 2012; Marin, Jääskelä, Häkkinen, Juntunen, Rasku-Puttonen & Vesisenaho, 2016).
This article progresses the knowledge about the design of smart learning with seamless activities including both in classroom and out of classroom with teacher recoded flipped lesson videos, in online webinars with verbal face-to-face, F2F communications and parallel textual chat exchanges with other students and teachers for their seamless learning and teaching. The article demonstrates in representative excerpts seamless learning activities and how they can increase student-centered learning and bridge between smart pedagogy and intelligent technologies in different professional teaching practices. The following questions are addressed:
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In what way can teachers a) design and b) use different smart learning with seamless activities and wearable tools that are appropriate for student-centered learning and active participation?
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How do the students experience the smart learning with seamless activities and the wearable tools for their learning?
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In what way can the smart learning with seamless activities and tools be analyzed comparing to the students’ performance?
The word ‘smart’ is an acronym for self-directed, motivated, adaptive, resource-enriched, and technology-embedded, and refers to wisdom as bounding together the ability of using and motivating self-directed learning, knowledge building, problem solving, critically reflections, collaborating and evaluating different circumstances with resource-enriched and technology-embedded tools (Hwang, 2014; Zhu, Yu & Riezebos, 2016).
‘Smart learning’ focuses on student-centered learning based on context-aware ubiquitous learning more than on devices. The features of smart learning include formal and informal learning, social and collaborative learning, personalized and situated learning, as well as application and content focus (Lee, Zo & Lee, 2014). Nevertheless, the mobile devices should be effective and intelligent for tailored learning based on advanced IT infrastructure, e.g. context-aware ubiquitous learning system with GPS and learning system for guiding (Hwang, 2014; Kim, Cho & Lee, 2012; Kukulska‐Hulme & Viberg, 2018; Scott & Benlamri, 2010; Zhu, Yu & Riezebos, 2016).
‘Smart education’ is based on smart pedagogy to make the students engaging and motivating in their learning and increase their independence in more open, collaborative and augmented environment with individually and collectively richer and smarter context (Zhu, Yu & Riezebos, 2016). In this way, smart higher education has expanded spaces and opportunities for mobile teaching and learning, observation and documentation, as well as participation and creativeness. The space of smart learning is transformed into flexible and smart technology-enhanced settings where students should be the key creator in the learning space design that can support various learning modes, e.g. formal, informal, ad hoc, and virtual learning (Scott & Benlamri, 2010). Three main educational goals should be included:
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Provide a learning environment to enhance collaborative learning and face-to-face interactions between students and teachers.
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Creating new patterns of social and intellectual interactions.
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Provide activity-based resources that promote knowledge dissemination and sharing.