Dennis Krannich and Saeed ZareUniversity of Bremen/Digital Media in Education, Germany

krannich@tzi.de – (+49) 421-218-64384zare@tzi.de – (+49) 421-218-64369

International Conference on E-learning in the WorkplaceJune 10th-12th 2009

Concept and Design of a Mobile Learning Support System

for Mentally Disabled People at Workplace

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Digital Media in Education

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OverviewFriday, June 12th 2009; 3:00-3:30 PMSession 6a - Zankel Hall 125 (Milbank Chapel)

1. Introduction to Mentally Disabled People

2. Mobile Learning Projects

3. Our Concept and Methodology

4. Examples of first Prototype

5. Results of Evaluation

6. Conclusion and Future Work

„

Kevin Walker (London Knowledge Lab, IOE London)

Mobile Learning is not something that people do; learning is what people do.[...]Mobile learning is not just about learning using portable devices, but learning across contexts.

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1. Empirical analysis of the educational context of mentally disabled people.

2. Development of a mobile learning support system that provides a personalized learning process based on the user‘s abilities.

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MENTALLY DISABLED PEOPLE

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„

WHO (World Health Organization)

A disability is any restriction or lack (resulting from any impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.

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10 Pearson Education Canada, 2008

Ratio of Mentally Disabled People

MentallyDisabledPeople(1-3%)

Moderate,severe, andprofound

(10%)

Mild(90%)

Mentally disabled people have difficulties

in thought processesand to gain new knowledge to be

applied in daily work.

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MemoryPerceptionAwarenessReasoningJudgment

MOBILE LEARNING PROJECTS

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We have identifiedthree different areas in which research

projects take place:

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1. educational institutions 3. specific target groups2. workplace

However, there are nearly no research projectsfocussing on mobile learning for mentally disabled people

at workplace.

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OUR CONCEPT AND METHODOLOGY

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Our general approach isto engage them for

learning activities and new motivationsin order to enhance their

self-esteem and confidence.

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The focus of our system lies onthe learners and their abilities,

rather thanthe learning strategy.

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Transferring knowledgelearned from the classroom to

the workplacewill result

in a loss of parts of it!

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or daily life

Commonly, they have delay in their physical, cognitive and social activities and have less stamina than normal people.

But they are somehowincredible at rememberingpictures and concrete examples!

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Audio 10%

Visual 35%3x

Based on theory by J. Medina „Brain Rules“, 200820

Memorizing information

Audio 10%

Visual 35%3x

Audio + Visual 65%

6x

Based on theory by J. Medina „Brain Rules“, 200820

Memorizing information

Audio 10%

Visual 35%3x

Audio + Visual 65%

6x

Based on theory by J. Medina „Brain Rules“, 2008

+ Text -> more than 65% ?

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Memorizing information

Audio 10%

Visual 35%3x

Audio + Visual 65%

6x

Based on theory by J. Medina „Brain Rules“, 2008

+ Text -> more than 65% ?What about interactions?

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Memorizing information

Audio 10%

Visual 35%3x

Audio + Visual 65%

6x

Based on theory by J. Medina „Brain Rules“, 2008

+ Text -> more than 65% ?What about interactions?

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Memorizing information

Audio 10%

Visual 35%3x

Audio + Visual 65%

6x

Based on theory by J. Medina „Brain Rules“, 2008

+ Text -> more than 65% ?What about interactions?

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Memorizing information

OVERLOADED!

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Mobile Client User Interface:

text + audiovideo / animation

large buttons and textno scrolling

simple navigationsimple language

S S-button

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„

Suta et al. 2007

The perception of the mentally disabled is slow, rigid and insufficiently organized, which makes it limited, fragmental, incomplete; in short, there is a scarcity of elementary mental images.

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Our didacticand educational concept applies

customization and personalizationwith respect to

special-needs education.

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Levels of M

ental A

bility

Normal

Borderline

Mild

Moderate

Novice

Expert

Work Tasks

WT1

WT2

WT4

... WTn

WT3

Severe

Profound

detailed, simple explanation

compressed, abstract explanation

short blocksof information

large blocksof information

Leve

ls o

f Kno

wle

dge

Beginner

Advanced

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Three Dimensions Create Learning Entities

LearningEntity

LearningEntity

Our apprachcontains of three phases:

1. analysis2. personalization

3. immersion

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Analysis Phase:

Gathering information aboutthe user’s mental ability

and knowledgeregarding the assigned work.

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Personalization Phase:

The appropriate learning entityis selected according tothe user’s mental ability,

knowledge and work tasks.

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Immersion Phase:

The learner becomes part of the learning application,

he will see himself(instead of another person) depicted

within the context of use.

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Stationary Server

Statistics Authorware

Learning MaterialUser Profile

Decision Mechanism

Mobile Learning

Client

Supervisior

call viaSOS-button

Assessment

Client / Server Architecture

Decision Mechanism

Analytical information+

Test results+

ICF and ICD-10 classification=

Personalized Learning Material31

EXAMPLE OF FIRST PROTOTYPE

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Still under construction!

33 Source: Psion Teklogix

Example of Mobile Device

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RESULTS OF EVALUATION

5 Aspects of Learning Behavior:

AttentionRecall

MemorySpeechPraise

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Conclusion:

Mobile devices enhance the motivation of learning

and can be usedas a catalyzer for improving

their learning and performance.

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Thank youfor your attention.

?Any questionsDennis Krannich and Saeed Zare

University of Bremen/Digital Media in Education, Germany krannich@tzi.de – (+49) 421-218-64384

zare@tzi.de – (+49) 421-218-64369

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J. Medina, „Brain Rules“, 2008

WHO (World Health Organization), www.who.int

Sharples, M., Walker, K., et al.: Big Issues in Mobile Learning: Report of a workshop by the Kaleidoscope Network of Excellence Mobile Learning Initiative. The Learning Sciences Research Institute. University of Nottingham (2007)

V. Suta, L. Suta, M. Vasile, “Study on the ICT Application in the Didactic Activity of Children with Mental Deficiency”, ICT in Education: Reflections and Perspectives, Bucharest, June 14-16, 2007.

J. Traxler, “Learning in a Mobile Age”, International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, Vol. 1, 2008.

Pearson Education Canada, 2008

References