BOTTENTUIT JUNIOR, João Batista; COUTINHO Clara (2007) Virtual Laboratories and M-

Learning: learning with mobile devices. Proceedings of International Milti-Conference on Society,

Cybernetics and Informatics, pg. 275-278, Orlando, EUA. Julho.

Virtual Laboratories and M-Learning: learning with mobile devices

João Batista BOTTENTUIT JUNIOR
Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto
Porto– Portugal - jbbj@terra.com.br

and

Clara COUTINHO
Institute of Education of the University of Minho
Braga– Portugal - ccoutinho@iep.uminho.pt

learning objects and the m-learning and afterwards we introduce

our proposal and its methodology and the conclusions with
ABSTRACT some notes to future researches in similar contexts.

This paper introduces the concept and the advantages of using 2. VIRTUAL LABORATORIES
virtual laboratories through mobile devices. It will also be
introduced some concepts related to learning objects and m- The creation of virtual laboratories happened because it was
learning. We also present the virtual experience used for the necessary to use them in real-time, which means to be accessed
virtual mobile laboratory. In the end, we indicate the ideal by a huge number of persons anytime of the day, since dozens
methodology to use these technologies when teaching chemical of persons can share the same experience whether they are in
experiments. the same town or geographically apart. Besides, the expenses of
using a real laboratory can be, in many cases, a burden to
Keywords: Virtual Laboratories, Mobile Devices, M-learning companies or institutions. The availability of virtual laboratories
is made through the Internet using multimedia (sound, images,
1. INTRODUCTION graphics and animations), so it can be possible to simulate the
experiences. Their objects are mainly drawn images or pictures
With the development of ICT (Information and Communication of real things.
Technologies) students go to school knowing more and more, Virtual laboratories are presented as a solution to distance
which means that they explore a world full of contents and learning through computer, because they offer to students the
information through the computer and the Internet. They are possibility to interact and practice the content of the course in a
able to meet new people, enrich their knowledge and even to livelier and enrich way, comparing distance learning only with
visit virtual places, which they will never physically visit, only physical contents (books, videotapes, notes…).
by clicking in the mouse for a few times. Now teachers face this In summary, virtual laboratories have virtual elements, the
context, which means that they are no longer the only access is made virtually and all experiences are exclusively
knowledge resources, but they moved on to a position of virtual experiences. To [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], the advantages
managers of all paths that students take in their search for of virtual laboratories are:
knowledge through digital devices.
The great growth in sales and usage of mobile phones, • Good to explain concepts;
Smart Phones and PDA with Internet access makes the creation • There’s no time or place restrictions on the access;
of contents to these devices a discussed issue in the educational • To allow interactivity;
and technological field. We live in a society where knowledge • To have a low development, usage and maintenance
has more value and, with so many activities that we have, we cost;
don't have time to manage so many duties at the same time. To • To offer security, which means that it will not occur
learn anytime and anywhere is attracting more persons to this any risky operation or unwilling effect;
modality, which means that each day education and distance
• They allow the establishment of patterns to divulge
learning gain a new space in our daily routine.
scientific work, mainly in experimental areas, as
We believe that the Internet’s future is mobile and learn
researchers can show their methods through
through the distance method will attract more students. Having
simulations;
this idea in mind, we developed a virtual laboratory prototype to
• To rise the productivity by reducing the time of
be accessed through mobile devices. The main goal of our
travels and by giving to students the capacity to
proposal is to use the pedagogical and technological advantages
participate in several experiences that are
of a virtual laboratory in the interests of mobile teaching and
geographically spread;
learning.
In this paper we begin to define the concepts of virtual • To allow the share of resources that were limited to a
laboratories and their main advantages, we talk about the number of persons, since several users in different
 towns can share one single resource in a cooperative Besides the advantages, we can also present as main
way; disadvantages:
• To allow the student to work with cooperative tools; • The small size of the screens;
• To develop new abilities; • Limited keyboards;
• Less processing capacities;
• To access Internet through mobile devices is
still very expensive.
A research made in 2005, named From e-learning to m-
learning,made by ericson[11] shows that (86%) of students
3. LEARNING OBJECTS think that it is easy to use applications through mobile devices,
(67%) believe that the educational goals can be achieved and
Researchers from informatics and educational fields discuss (61%) state that the e-learning quality improves with the use of
more and more about Learning Objects and when we talk about these resources.
distance learning and virtual learning environments, we have to
refer them because they are related with each other. In recent 5. M-LAB: PROPOSAL AND METHODOLOGY
English literature, several terms are being used, such as
“Learning Objects”, “Educational Objects” and “Content M-lab or mobile laboratory is a prototype of a virtual chemistry
Objects”. For [7] and [8], a learning object is a digital file laboratory accessed through a mobile device. The virtual
(image, film, sound, multimedia file, etc) used for pedagogical experiences presented in this work were part of the virtual
proposes and that has, by itself or by relations, signs about the Organic Chemistry laboratory developed by Dr. André Arigony
context where it can be used. These objects have the following of the Pontifica Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul –
characteristics: reusable (can be used again), portability (can be Brazil, who gave us full support to use and modify the
used in different places), modular (use modules) and metadata experiences. In this research we work on an experience created
(has data information), adaptability, sustainability, durability for the 7th grade and the subject that was chosen was organic
and interoperability. chemistry, because it is a precise area and there is a great
The major difference between a digital file and a learning demand for e-contents, which can motivate even more the
object is that the last one can be built so it can be combined and students.
recombined with other digital files in order to produce new The virtual experience changed by us can be accessed
educational contents (e-contents). through two procedures, as it can be seen in picture 1.
When creating learning objects to be used with mobile
technologies, we have to consider several points and the main
ones are related to the screen size and the usage, which means
the content must be very well structured so it doesn't leads to a
cognitive overload of the users. [9] say that the cognitive load
refers to the demands on the work memory of the learner during
education. In education based on computers or in education
based on web, this term refers not only to the mental process
needed to access and interpret the screens, icons and objects, but
also to the cognitive process used to understand the real
education content. The main aim of a good educational material
design is to reduce the amount of processing directed to the
interaction with the system and to maximize the processing of Picture 1. Scheme of access to experiences through mobile
the teaching contents. devices.

4. M-LEARNING • The observation of the experiences simulations is

available to those who have mobile phone.
The m-learning or mobile learning is characterized by the use of • For those who have more complete devices, as PDA
mobile devices in teaching and education. or Table PC, the interaction with the experiences can
For [10], the advantages of using these devices in education can be greater because they can move the objects with the
be numerous if we think about the portability that students have pen to the correct place, instead of only seeing it.
to access updated information on several matters whether in It would be ideal if the two users could perform the same
school or at home. tasks, but the mobile phone has fewer resources than the PDA.
Some of the advantages of teaching through mobile learning In picture 2, we will see the virtual experience of filtration that
are: we use to access through mobile device. In the first screen we
• To increase of the number of users, as almost every see the opening of the laboratory and in the second screen we
student owns a mobile phone; have the objects needed to perform the experience. To finish the
• The devices that students have are of a model that process, the users must put the objects in the correct place, so
the experience can be conclude has shown in the third screen.
allows Internet access;
The fourth screen presents us another resource that is a video of
• The access to the contents can be done anywhere, at
a real experience, in which the users have the possibility to have
anytime;
a stronger contact with reality, besides watching how things
• To learn how to use a mobile phone is easier than to
happen in a real laboratory.
learn how to use a computer;
• The mobile device cost is lower than the computers
cost.
 Picture 3. Methodology of the usage of the laboratory in the
classroon.

New technologies renew distance learning, especially with

communication through computer and mobile devices, which
are characterized by their fast and range in the process of
transmission of information.

6. CONCLUSION

In this paper, we started to define the concepts of a virtual

laboratory (simulated experiences using multimedia), then it
were presented the advantages and disadvantages of these
laboratorial experiences based on Internet as well as the
proposals to implement and develop them through mobile
devices in a pedagogical context.
The mobile technologies will very soon be the most used
ones because there is more demand for an education adapted to
a great amount of extra activities that each person has to
perform. Besides this fact, teaching methodologies that respect
Picture 2. Phases of the experiences in the virtual laboratory
the rhythm of the student and his availability will be the most
successful ones in information society. We present as
When teaching chemistry, whether in presence or in
suggestion to future studies in this area the following:
distance, two aspects have to be considered: the theoretical part,
• Improvement of the use of the experiences;
composed of the content, and the practical part, where all
knowledge is applied through the experiences in laboratories. • Evaluation of all learning gains when teaching
To perform some experiences, it is necessary to have time and contents through mobile devices;
money, which is beyond the possibilities of many institutions. • Creation or adaptation of more e-contents to a virtual
To overcome the financial problems and to raise the access to mobile laboratory;
practical experiences, studies are made to develop the virtual We hope that very soon the results of this research on
laboratories that can be a solution if applied in distance using a virtual laboratory through a mobile device can be
education through computer. presented to all scientific community of the education sciences,
They offer to the student an easy production, creation and favouring the possibility to implement identical experiences in
active interaction with the learning content. They are tools that other contexts, namely in non presence teaching activities or b-
allow the simulation or improvement of the systems by data, learning. [12] says that “We need to bring education to people
sounds and images processing via web, which promote the instead of bring people to education”.
integration of their computer and laboratorial resources through
the interoperability of data and applications. They can also be 7.REFERENCES
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