Experiential learning is the process of creating knowledge through the transformation of experience and has been adopted in an increasing number of areas. This paper investigates the possibility of technological support for experiential learning. A learning activity flow (or script) and a mobile technology system were designed to facilitate students in experiential learning. An experiment was conducted on two fifth-grade classes at an elementary school, one class using personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the other working without them. The results indicate that mobile technologies are effective in improving knowledge creation during experiential learning. The interplay between the mobile technology affordances and the proposed learning flow for experiential learning is thoroughly discussed.

In the last decade, more and more games have been developed for handheld devices. Furthermore, the popularity of handheld devices and increase of wireless computing can be taken advantage of to provide students with more learning opportunities. Games also could bring promising benefits -specifically, motivating students to learn/play, sustaining their interest, reflecting their learning/playing status, and facilitating the learning/playing progress. However, most of these have been designed for entertainment rather than education. Hence, in this study we incorporate game elements into a learning environment. The My-Mini-Pet system is a handheld pet-nurturing game environment, in which students learn with an animal learning companion, their My-Mini-Pet. Three design strategies are adopted. First, the pet-nurturing strategy, which simulates the relationship between the pet and its owner, the My-Mini-Pet becomes a motivator/sustainer of learning. Second, the pet appearance-changing strategy, which externalizes the learning status of the student. In other words, the My-Mini-Pet plays the role of a reflector. Third, the pet feedback strategy, which links the behaviours of the student and his/her pet, the My-Mini-Pet acts as a facilitator of learning. A pilot study was also conducted to preliminarily investigate the effectiveness and experiences of the strategies on allowing the student to understand arithmetic practices. The results showed that the strategy was effective, encouraging the students to engage in learning activities. Furthermore, the game attracted the students' attention and stimulated discussion between peers. Some implications about the further developments are also discussed.

Utilizing an integration of social-cognitivist and socio-cultural approaches, this study -comparing the interactive processes among peers and their mentor in two contrasting groups -was designed to explore the reasons why two learning groups, engaged in an inquiry-based learning project with comparatively sustained discussion, produced vastly differing results. Using discourse threads as the unit of analysis, together with the mentor's perceptions of group facilitation, the findings of this study highlighted the effect of group dynamics upon the mentor's facilitation. Group interaction with explicit and decisive discourse will result in a better understanding for the mentor of the group's zones of proximal development (different ZPDs), and will provide greater opportunity for effective group scaffolding.

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The study designed a system and a flow of learning to motivate and guide students to conduct experiential learning with mobile technologies. Students of two classes of fifth-grade at an elementary school participated in the experiment. Thirty-four students of one class conducted learning with PDAs in school garden while thirty-two students of another class conducted in a condition without PDAs. The data shows the advantage of supported with mobile technologies for the acquisition of knowledge. Most of hypotheses are confirmed in the study. These findings show just how important the mobile technology is which helps to improve the learning achievement of experiential learning.