Self-initiated curriculum planning, visualization and assessment in improving meaningful learning: A comparison between mobile and ubiquitous learning

This study investigated factors that would contribute towards more effective problem-solving skills and increase meaningful learning in two different learning environments, i.e. mobile and ubiquitous learning. In order to study these factors two prototype applications were developed and tested. In the mobile learning application, the factors investigated were self-initiated curriculum planning, visualization and assessment. The second prototype was a ubiquitous learning environment, which extended the mobile learning application by integrating it with a web-based portal. As a result, the ubiquitous learning environment provided the learners with more flexibility and features. Findings from this research indicated that learners accepted self-initiated curriculum planning, visualization and correlated assessment as effective and efficient in enhancing problem solving and meaningful learning. The results also show how these factors affected the learning process in each of the learning environments, and what features are more suitable and accepted by learners for each studied learning environment.