Design of a Microlecture Mobile Learning System Based on Smartphone and Web Platforms

This paper first analyzes the concept and features of microlecture, mobile learning, and ubiquitous learning, then presents the combination of microlecture and mobile learning, to propose a novel way of micro-learning through mobile terminals. Details are presented of a microlecture mobile learning system (MMLS) that can support multiplatforms, including PC terminals and smartphones. The system combines intelligent push, speech recognition, video annotation, Lucene full-text search, clustering analysis, Android development, and other technologies. The platform allows learners to access microlecture videos and other high-quality microlecture resources wherever and whenever they like, in whatever time intervals they have available. Teachers can obtain statistical analysis results of the microlecture in MMLS to provide teaching/learning feedback and an effective communication platform. MMLS promotes the development of microlecture and mobile learning. A statistical analysis of the implementation of the system shows that students using MMLS to assist their learning had improved results on their final exams and gave a higher evaluation of the curriculum than those who did not. The advantages and disadvantages of MMLS are also analyzed.

I. Combination of Microlecture, Mobile Learning, and Smartphone Terminal

Microlecture can serve personalized learning and on-demand selective learning, helping learners to acquire new knowledge and remedy omissions in their existing knowledge. Surveys have found that students' concentration can last up to 10 min in a networked classroom. Online courses, however, are usually about 45 min long, making it difficult to maintain concentration throughout. Microlecture is expected to revolutionize teaching and research, replacing the traditional teaching/evaluation model. For this to happen, a suitable platform for microlecture will be one convenient for students to use in their spare time, and one that allows communication between teachers and students. M-learning, based on digital learning and mobile computing technology, is regarded as the future learning mode [9], [10]; students can not only use mobile terminals to collect a large amount of learning resources, but also can set their personalized learning schedule to suit their circumstances. Ubiquitous learning (U-Learning), as its name implies, refers to communication and learning at any time or place.