Supporting mechanisms to the design and development of mobile learning environments and applications

Abstract

The development and adoption of computational technologies as a support to the teaching and learning processes, together with the evolution of mobile computing, have significantly contributed to the establishment of a new type of education known as mobile learning (m-learning).However, despite the benefits and facilities provided, mobile learning environments/applications also present limitations and challenges to be addressed. This research project fits into this context, aiming at the establishment of supporting mechanisms to the design and development of mobile learning environments/applications. In this scenario, an important issue to be addressed concerns the establishment and adoption of architectural patterns. Actually, most of the mobile learning environments/applications are built in separate, having their own structures and architectures, which can negatively impact the ability to standardization and reuse.So, our main goal is to investigate and define a reference architecture for mobile learning environments/applications. The establishment of a quality model and the definition of a product line in the domain of mobile learning should also be addressed, constituting the secondary objectives pursued. From the results obtained, the idea is to contribute to the development and reuse of such environments/applications, also providing quality increase and cost reduction during their development process. (AU)