Since convenience is one of the features for mobile learning, does it affect attitude and intention of using mobile technology? The technology acceptance model (TAM), proposed by David (1989), was extended with perceived convenience in the present study. With regard to English language mobile learning, the variables in the extended TAM and its explanatory power were analysed and antecedent factors that affected acceptance of English mobile learning were also examined. Participants were 158 college students from the middle part of Taiwan. After conducting English mobile learning with a PDA, data was collected by questionnaires. The results revealed that: a) perceived convenience, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness were antecedent factors that affected acceptance of English mobile learning; b) perceived convenience, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness had a significantly positive effect on attitude toward using; and c) perceived usefulness and attitude toward using had a significantly positive effect on continuance of intention to use. Overall, the extended TAM in the present study was effective at predicting and explaining the acceptance of English mobile learning. In the past, there were few mobile learning related studies examining the relationships between perceived convenience and other variables in the TAM. Therefore, the findings in the present study provide a reference for the future TAM and mobile learning related studies. IntroductionMobile learning is a method in which materials are delivered by mobile technology, such as mobile devices and wireless networks (Wang, Wu & Wang, 2009). Mobile learning contains the features of e-learning and the benefits of mobile technology, which include convenience, immediacy and expediency. Mobile learning is featured by mobility and ubiquity, so it becomes the next milestone of e-learning and educational technology (Peng, Su, Chou & Tsai, 2009). Mobile devices, such as PDAs ('personal digital asistants') and smart phones (Shih, Chuang & Hwang, 2010), are portable and can be instant communication tools (Lea & Callaghan, 2011;Tung, Chang & Chou, 2008). Wireless networks with functions of immediate connection and transmission (Chinnery, 2006) enable a learner's interactions with learning content, peers and instructors to foster a meaningful knowledge construction and to get the updated 810 Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2012, 28(5) knowledge (Wang et al., 2009). Mobile technologies can help students interact with one another, collect and analyse data and get instant knowledge and messages in a learning environment.Learners who study English as a foreign language (EFL) must listen to and practise the language over and over again in order to enhance their learning performance (Thornton & Houser, 2005). However, class hours are limited, so it is important to develop an efficient tool or method for English learning outside classroom hours. Mobile learning can provide ways for students to learn English at any time and any place. Tho...

No abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of blended e-learning on electrical machinery performance (achievement test and self-assessment). Participants were two classes of 11th graders majoring in electrical engineering and taking the electrical machinery class at a vocational high school in Taiwan. The participants were randomly selected and assigned to either the experimental group (n = 33) which studied through blended e-learning or the control group (n = 32) which studied through traditional classroom learning. The experiment lasted for five weeks. The results showed that (a) there were no significant differences in achievement test scores between blended elearning and traditional learning; (b) students in the experimental group obtained significantly higher scores on self-assessment than students in the control group; (c) students' scores on self-assessment were significantly higher after studying through blended e-learning than before. Overall, blended e-learning did not significantly affect students' achievement test scores, but significantly affected their self-assessment scores.

Although ubiquitous learning enhances students' access to learning materials, it is crucial to find out which media presentation modes produce the best results for English listening comprehension. The present study examined the effect of media presentation mode (sound and text versus sound) on English listening comprehension and cognitive load. Participants were 162 students majoring in Applied Foreign Language at a university in Taiwan. The students were randomly assigned to either single mode (sound) or double mode (sound and text). The research questions are (a) whether students learning with double mode outperformed students learning with single mode in listening comprehension; and (b) whether students learning with double mode encountered less cognitive load than students learning with single mode. If the answers to these questions are affirmative, then the modality effect occurs and the redundancy effect does not occur. The results demonstrated that (a) text significantly enhanced English listening comprehension and lowered cognitive load; (b) students with higher English listening comprehension experienced lower cognitive load, and vice versa; (c) text added no benefit to schema construction in long term memory; and (d) complex media presentations were not necessarily helpful to learning. Results (a) and (b) confirmed that the modality effect occurred, and the redundancy effect did not occur in the present study.

No abstract