Abstract:

In recent years, with the advent of mobile and HTML5 technologies, the web has undergone significant changes. Mobile devices are now essentially small computers whose browsers can potentially support video play, voice recognition, speech synthesis, geolocation, as well as drag-and-drop interfaces and real-time interaction between different users.

At this time, however, full support for all these technologies is incomplete and variable amongst devices, although it is generally possible to make use of core features in any major OS, and this represents a major challenge for the utilization of these technologies in the classroom.

As part of a 3-year cross-institutional research grant from the Japanese Government (Kakenhi), the author developed from scratch an online LMS (Learning Management System) that was designed for ease of use, its ability to be used both an mobile and PC, and its utilization of these latest technologies.

This paper will examine:
(1) the challenges of setting up such a system,
(2) the difficulties of dealing with a range of different devices,
(3) student feedback and resulting performance, and
(4) a demonstration of the innovative actives that real-time interaction enables.

Keywords:

Online learning, LMS, mobile, autonomy, motivation, CALL.