Research, Reflections and Innovations in Integrating ICT in Education
Web-apps for the iPhone in Higher Education. Applications for the Degree in Actuarial Science
A. Fernández-Morales*1, and M.C. Mayorga-Toledano2
1
UNIVERSITY OF MÁLAGA, Department of Applied Economics (Statistics and Econometrics, Dep. 68), C/El Ejido, 9, 29071, Málaga, Spain 2 UNIVERSITY OF MÁLAGA, Department of Private Law, C/El Ejido, 9, 29071, Málaga, Spain The purpose of this paper is to present the new educative tools we are developing specifically for the iPhone (and iPod touch) platform in the first course of the Degree in Actuarial Science in the University of Málaga, and the results of a first evaluation, obtained from a survey. The m-learning resources, which were delivered by means of Java midlets in previous courses, are now being translated into web-apps specifically designed for the iPhone and the iPod touch. At present, we have developed interactive micro-tests and a simulator of the accident hump in human mortality using the Heligman and Pollard model, which are described in the following paragraphs. Keywords iPhone; web-apps; interactive tests; m-learning
1. Introduction
Several courses of the Actuarial Science degree in the University of Málaga, mainly in the first academic year, are involved in an experimental project of innovation in teaching and learning methods since 2002. In this project, we are following a blended strategy, combining traditional with e-learning and m-learning educative resources. The current legal dispositions that regulate Higher Education in Spain require the maintenance of a significant percentage of the teaching and learning activities in the traditional classroom in face to face sessions (with only a very few exceptions that not include our case), and, as a consequence, we introduced e-learning and m-learning tools in our general strategy in conjunction with the more traditional approach of face to face sessions in the classroom. In the previous courses we delivered the m-learning contents of our courses for small devices like mobile phones or PDAs via java midlets [4, 5]. The choice of this platform over other alternatives, such as mobile Internet, was conditioned by the opinions of students, who prefer downloading the contents only once, and then executing them off-line, avoiding the costs of communication every time that they used the m-learning materials. Based on the results of an initial survey, and being conscious of the technical limitations of mobile phones, we designed deliberately small modules that can be used off-line. The modules for these devices best valued by students were pedagogical assistants, like exams calendar or tutor hours, and small interactive tests and frequent errors. The new platform developed by Apple for the iPhone and theiPod touch, available in Spain since last summer, allows the user to access m–learning resources through 3G networks (with a flat-rate in Spain) or using WIFI Internet access. This new alternative scheme of mobile access to m-learning educative tools, and the enormous popularity of iPods within our students, encouraged our team to change the delivery channel of our m-learning contents to this platform. The purpose of this paper is to present the new educative tools we are designing specifically for the iPhone (and the iPod touch) platform in the first course of the Degree in Actuarial Science in the University of Málaga, and the results of a first evaluation, obtained from a survey.
2. M-learning resources for the first course in the Degree in Actuarial Science
The didactic strategies we are following in the first course of the Degree in Actuarial Science at the University of Málaga constitute a blended learning scheme. There is a significant part of the teaching and learning process that takes place in the traditional classroom, but it is complemented with several e-learning and m-learning resources. The central purpose of the latter is to promote the autonomous learning of students, taking advantage of the possibilities that new technologies offer, increasing interactivity and motivation [1, 5, 8]. Through a Moodle platform, students can access many electronic resources in our courses, which may be classified into several of the elements (included in categories 2 to 4) present in the Sharples’ framework of five approaches for using technology in learning [6]: (1) intelligent tutoring systems, (2) simulation and modelling tools, (3) system tools and resources, (4) communication aids, and (5) simulated classrooms; and included in almost all of the six
*
Corresponding author: e-mail: afdez@uma.es, Phone: +34 952137189
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Research, Reflections and Innovations in Integrating ICT in Education
types of learning objects proposed by Churchill [2]: presentation, practice, simulation, conceptual models, information and contextual representation objects . The e-learning resources available include interactive tests in several formats (Moodle and Flash), simulators of analytic mortality models, electronic tutorials (Flash), etc. The m-learning resources, which were delivered by means of Java midlets in previous courses, are now being translated into web apps specifically designed for the iPhone and the iPod touch. At present, we have developed interactive micro-tests and a simulator of the accident hump in human mortality using the Heligman and Pollard model [3], which are described in the following paragraphs. 2.1 Web-apps for the iPhone and iPod touch
Web-apps for the iPhone and iPod touch are applications that run on the Web and not on the local machine/phone iPhone. There is also another kind of applications for the iPhone, known as iPhone apps, which run directly on the device, but these ones are commercially distributed through the Apple store. Web apps combine the power of the Internet with the simplicity of Multi-Touch technology, all on a 3.5-inch screen. In addition, it is possible to put them on the home screen for easy, one-tap access. The first web-app we developed is a micro-test. Fig. 1 shows the main screen of the web-app for the course in Actuarial Statistics and two screens of one of the micro tests. The main screen (Fig. 1.a) has links to a section including general information on the course, to the available micro tests, and to the simulator. Micro-tests are delivered in groups of three for every thematic area in every course. Each micro-test has five short questions related to the discussions held in the traditional classroom and/or in the forum of the course web during the last three weeks. Questions are relatively short with alternative answers (Fig. 1.b shows an example of a question). The navigation is deliberately simple, with a link to the next/previous question, and to the results section. In the results section (Fig. 1.c) the student gets the final score, can check his / her answers, and repeat the test.
a)
Fig. 1
b)
c)
Home screen (a) and micro test examples: third question of test 1 (b) and results screen (c).
The second web-app is a simulator of the accident hump in the model of Heligman and Pollard of human mortality. This web app contains a succinct description of the model (Fig.2.a) and the instructions of the simulator functioning (Fig. 2.b). By means of Javascript animations, the student can see how the model reacts to changes in the three parameters that control the shape, location and extension of the accident hump in the early adult ages. Fig. 3 shows an example of several screens obtained simulating different values of the parameter D, which is responsible of the extension of the accident hump. Tapping on the buttons on the right, the student can see how the accident hump reacts to changes in parameter D, from a small value, associated to a rather limited hump (Fig. 3.a), to a highly significant one (Fig. 3.c).
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Research, Reflections and Innovations in Integrating ICT in Education
a)
Fig. 2
b)
Simulator of the accident hump: Description of the model (a) and instructions of the simulator (b).
a)
Fig. 3
b)
c)
Simulator of the accident hump: Examples of the effects of changes in parameter D.
2.2
Assessment
In order to get a first impression of the perceived usefulness of the web apps in the students’ learning process, we carried out a survey at the end of the first quarter of the course. Our questionnaire includes items related to three of the six dimensions of the model of Sun et al. [9]: course dimension, technology dimension, and design dimension, and to three of the four dimensions of Shee and Wang’s structure for evaluating web-based elearning systems [7]: learner interface, system content, and personalization. The answers were measured in a five point Likert scale. The results of the survey are summarized in Table 1. In general terms, although the results are very satisfactory, our students have better valued the micro-tests than the simulator. It is interesting to note that the highest values in the micro-tests case are found in the responses to the quality of the material, clarity and ease of navigation, all above 4.4. In the case of the simulator, the pattern of the responses is slightly different. The best-valued item is also the quality of the material, but the
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values of usefulness for the learning process and for autonomous learning are above the ones corresponding to clarity and ease of navigation. Finally, all the students answered ‘yes’ to the question ‘Would you like more activities of this kind?’
Table 1 Results of the first evaluation survey.
Item Mean Level of difficulty Ease of use Clarity Ease of navigation Quality of the material Contribution to a better understanding of survival models Usefulness for auto assessment Usefulness for the learning process Usefulness for autonomous learning Would you like more activities of this kind? n 3.43 4.14 4.43 4.45 4.57
Tests Standard deviation 0.90 1.12 0.73 0.78 0.73
Simulator Mean Standard deviation 2.80 0.91 3.80 1.28 3.73 1.00 4.00 0.97 4.80 0.40 3.20 0.91 0.96 0.88
3.71 4.16 4.29 100% 22
1.39 1.15 1.39
4.13 4.12 100% 22
3. Conclusion
The significant changes that recurrently occur in the field of small electronic devices condition the effectiveness of any m-learning strategy, which need to be in a constant adaptation to innovations. The new platform developed by Apple with their iPhone and iPod touch offers a very interesting opportunity for higher education courses due to the huge popularity of these devices within the students and to the simplicity of use. In addition, the creation of resources in the form of web apps is also very simple and does not require extensive programming abilities, but only some html coding. In this paper we presented our first two web-apps developed for some courses in the first year of the Degree in Actuarial Science at the University of Málaga. These resources are integrated in a blended learning that combines sessions in the traditional classroom with e-learning and m-learning resources. The results obtained from the first evaluation survey are very satisfactory and constitute a clear incentive to develop more resources in this format. One of the limitations of this project is that some students have not a device (an iPhone or iPod touch). To avoid this problem, we designed an html emulator of the iPhone that runs all the web apps in Internet Explorer, and so all the students have access to the available resources of the project.
Acknowledgements The support by Project PIE08-025, Servicio de Innovación Educativa y Servicio de Enseñanza Virtual y Laboratorios Tecnológicos of the University of Málaga is gratefully acknowledged.
References
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