| Abstrakt: |
The revolution information technology embodies the traditional Internet applications to be held electronically and in a freely and virtually networked environment. Majority of mobile application systems for instant, are constructed based on a three-layer-architecture on the server side, in contrast, we only need a browser or some program execution-enabled interface on the client side. the top layer of the architecture is constituted with various applications that are built on top of an information platform - or called the middle layer. This middle layer provides management interface to monitoring and managing all of the applications above it, and in turns, is supported by the underlined network infrastructure ¡V the bottom layer that provides transmission channels. the enable technologies in providing sufficient bandwidth to construct the infrastructure of mobile systems are mature, ready and reliable. However, offering of content and applications is fallen far behind the building growth of transport networks. It is not the intent of this paper to review mobile applications ¡§implementation¡¨ alternatives or to discuss any of the enable technologies. Instead, we focus our discussions on the issues such as in a partial or completed mobile environment, what are the foreseeable impacts applied to the e-learning participating people ¡V meaning that, a variety of users who are approaching the applications with various roles and purpose, for instances, different age of people, students, teachers, the surrounding staffs, and the society who come to the application with different needs - browsing, learning, evaluating, testing, amending, referencing, etc. Are we able to establish a set of design guidelines in helping develop good content or interactive applications? a value-added application not only enriches users¡¦ knowledge but also helps realize or develop users¡¦ needs or even potentials. What are the basic functions of an mobile application systems should be ¡V in particular, in the e-learning arena ? What are the embedded or advance functions in which, a mobile application systems can provide? What could be a good information process model to accomplish our educational purpose that utilizes most of the benefits warranted by multimedia networks? How will we encourage users to initiate learning process and be willing to stay online until a desired learning milestone can be reached? etc. None of these questions has a unique or consent answers because these questions are basically humanistic-oriented questions. While most people have their attentions concentrated on the advanced Internet technologies, we would like to spend effort in exploring these topics in the e-learning content design, planning and producing phases, and hopefully, can use this opportunity to encourage and generate more discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
