No abstract

Memorizing English vocabulary is often considered uninteresting, and a lack of motivation exists during learning activities. Moreover, most vocabulary practice systems automatically select words from articles and do not provide integrated model methods for students. Therefore, this study constructed a mobile game-based English vocabulary practice system, which imitates the popular block elimination game and combines test items of article, difficulty, and teacher model in accordance with curriculum objectives and demands. The participants were first-year students and classified into traditional group (Group T) and game-based group (Group G), and learning effectiveness and motivation were analysed in this study. According to statistical analysis results, students who used the game-based vocabulary practice system, which could captivate their attention and interest, had higher learning effectiveness and provided positive feedback of learning motivation. Furthermore, English teachers could select teaching materials that are consistent with the features, knowledge, and cultural background of learners to improve the relevance dimension of learning motivation.

No abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to present an innovative approach that is proposed for developing e-libraries with metadata to meet the need of training observation and classification skills in a mobile learning environment. Design/methodology/approach -A knowledge engineering approach is proposed to assist teachers in defining metadata of e-libraries to meet the need of training observation and classification skills. Based on the innovative approach, an e-library of butterfly and ecology has been developed. Moreover, an experiment was conducted from March-April 2007 on the science course "Butterfly and Ecology" at an elementary school in Taiwan. There were two teachers and 35 students participated in the experiment. Findings -Experimental results showed that the e-library developed with the innovative approach is able to effectively support the training of observation and classification skills for elementary school students.Research limitations/implications -Currently, the innovative approach has only been applied to the training of observation and classification knowledge. Further studies will be needed to assist teachers in defining metadata of e-libraries for other educational objectives, such as "analysis" (the ability to separate material or concepts into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood), "synthesis" (the ability to put parts together to form a new whole) and "evaluation" (the ability to judge the value of material for a given purpose). Originality/value -With the innovative approach, personalized supports can be provided as a guide for students' learning. Moreover, students are allowed to face the real objects with technology-rich supports during the learning process.

No abstract