Ubiquitous Learning

Ubiquitous learning (aka u-learning) has its origins in ubiquitous computing. In a broad sense, ubiquitous learning is defined as “anywhere and anytime learning,” encompassing any learning environment that enables learners to access learning content without any spatial and temporal constraints.

The exponential growth in handheld devices and wireless technology in recent years and increasing availability of high bandwidth network infrastructures have opened new accessibility opportunities for education. As a result, ubiquitous learning environments have started to emerge with potential to support lifelong learning and as a response to the traditional classroom-based learning that has been characterized as rigid, artificial, and out-of-context, making it very restricted in fulfilling the demands of real-life experiences and authentic learning needs of today’s society. Ubiquitous learning environments break the boundaries of the classroom and enable learning to take place in the contexts where learners are able to relate with the learning scenarios in their own living and work environments, leading to a better learning experience.

The development of such ubiquitous learning environments is fueled even more by the surge of mobile and sensor technologies in recent mobile devices that have made it much easier to detect a learner’s location, environment, proximity, and situation to contextualizing the learning process. It is now realistically possible to provide authentic learning by seamlessly integrating physical objects available in the learner’s vicinity with virtual information in real time. Such ubiquitous environments widen the educational access to those who cannot come to a physical classroom and increase the richness of the instruction by integrating multiple sources of instruction, contextualization, and real-time location-aware learning—hence overcoming the limitations of classroom learning. Ubiquitous learning therefore provides opportunities for learners to learn in their own environments, in context, using the real-life artifacts that they can relate to their daily experiences.

Although ubiquitous learning strives for contextual and authentic learning in real-world environments, interactions between peers and between students and teachers to foster dialogue and reflection are also key components. Ongoing advances in real-time communication technologies through mobile devices support such interactions, making it possible to incorporate group collaboration, collaborative problem solving and other socially oriented learning activities in authentic real-world environments. This entry discusses several aspects of ubiquitous learning, including its focus on learners, analysis of learning in ubiquitous learning environments, support for teachers in such environments, and open questions regarding ubiquitous learning.