The Implications of Learning Cloud for Education: from the Perspectives of Knowledge-Building and Learners

• Main Authors: Cheng-sian Chang, 張承憲
• Other Authors: Tzung-Shi Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/68644113345308608308

博士 === 國立臺南大學 === 數位學習科技學系博士班 === 100 === Learning has already become a lifelong activity. People are participating in related learning activities, looking for reliable information, and sharing or accumulating knowledge, wherever and whenever, with the convenience of mobile devices. Cloud computing is regarded as a new computing platform that provides users with a service-oriented architecture, reduced information technology overhead for the end-user, greater flexibility and scalability, reduced total cost of ownership, on-demand services, and many other things via the Internet. Learning cloud based on the capabilities of ubiquitous computing and cloud computing can provide a resource-rich and ubiquitous learning environment for learners in daily life. The goals of this dissertation are as follows: (1)Developing a Learning Cloud framework for learners by using mobile devices and desktop computers, allowing learners to study related activities anytime and anywhere, is crucial to prompting their knowledge sharing via accumulating, building, and maintaining social networks. (2) Learning Cloud is a new learning platform, and its benefits to learners have not yet been identified. This dissertation presents a framework of learning cloud and includes six services (such as personalized learning platform, multimedia-rich material, social-community relationships, interactivity with others, working in coordination with discussion, and supports mobile devices) that change the learning styles and habits of learners in an individual learning environment (where they study on their own) by introducing them to a collaborative learning environment (where they study in groups) for lifelong learning. Moreover, the learning activities need students to immerse and participate in the ways of lifelong learning, whereas cloud computing oriented supporting services are the infrastructure of learning cloud and learning-oriented supporting services whose major goal is to assist learner in reducing barriers to lifelong learning. Experiments showed: (1) Participants were more likely to use learning cloud services in the future if they were proficient at using the Internet and cloud services. In addition, we also found that the cognitive levels of the learning cloud did not differ significantly between genders and the experience of using an e-Learning platform; (2) Based on the UTAUT model, this dissertation investigated the determinants of the intention to use the learning cloud and explored how differences in gender and in the experience of using the learning cloud moderated the influence of these determinants on ITU; (3) The findings of this dissertation not only will help new designers of the learning cloud to develop a better user-accepted e-Learning platform and promote this new technology to potential users but also it will provide insights for future research on the acceptance of the learning cloud for lifelong learning.