The development of information and communication technology established a wireless network environment and supplied portable small digital devices. It changed the way of acquiring knowledge and information in industry, economy, society, culture, and ...
The development of information and communication technology established a wireless network environment and supplied portable small digital devices. It changed the way of acquiring knowledge and information in industry, economy, society, culture, and education. The number of smartphone users has increased significantly in the past six years, and the number of smartphone subscribers has exceeded 50 million in July 2018. This is a penetration rate of 97% of the population, and the smartphone use rate in their 20s has risen from 88% in 2012 to 100% in 2017.
These statistical data prove that Korea has the most advanced Internet infrastructure. The spread of smart devices and supply of wireless Internet technology brought a shift from e-learning to a new paradigm of education system called u-learning. S-learning is an education system that provides an integrated online and offline learning environment and uses various digital devices in an ubiquitous environment, regardless of time, place, or environment.
Traditionally, education was conducted in a one-sided relationship in which the instructor owned the content and the learner consumed it. The u-learning is increasingly gaining attention for the interactive learning method. It induces the learner driven learning as well as sharing and participation in the relationship between learner and instructor.
Many universities are utilizing the smart campus as a learning platform as well as online lectures due to the introduction of s-learning which uses a ubiquitous environmental element and smart devices. In the opinion of this researcher, however, this learning platform is not suitable for learning foreign language for the following reasons. First, the professor could upload the learning materials to the smart campus or to the e-learning classroom, and it is possible to check and evaluate the learner's learning status. But, the learning environment within smart campus does not provide various media outlets such as electronic dictionaries and YouTube for foreign language classes. Also, it is not suitable for learning language because it is difficult to communicate and provide feedback between learners and between instructors and learners in real time.
Second, it is difficult to find a platform where comprehensive information covering all learning sources can be used and found in one place.
Third, the existing online learning environment has limited access to only students of schools or private institutes. Such a learning environment may be useful for some learners, but has a limitation for being closed. In the era of the 4th industrial revolution, a new model is needed, in which everyone shares both learning contents and environment while participating in reproduction, rather than being owned by only a few. The place of learning is no exception. An open platform accessible to all is the mission of our generation.
Fourth, the lack of learning contents is also a problem.
According to Sung Gyun Shin, the most important task of educational informatization is the development of diverse level based learning contents and the contents in the context of real life situations that reflect the needs of the learners. The relationship between the learning contents and the platform that supports learning is a framework that aids both learning contents and learning process.
This study proposes a German learning model through u-learning-based Lernplatform as an alternative to solve the above-mentioned problems. The smart device-based e-learning content “Na, geht’s?” for learning German is developed in an ubiquitous environment for basic German learners who are familiar with mobile devices.
This e-learning content “Na, geht’s?” is at the European reference standard A1 level and contains contextual topics and contents closely related to learners’ real life which is based on action-oriented theory. Next, we decided to build a learning platform as a learning environment that supports UBL (ubiquitousbasiertes Lernen) German classes on basis of “Na, geht’s?”. This learning platform is created by combining the learning models of Jung-Joo Yoon and Dong-Bin Jeong. It is established using Google Classroom and Padlet reflecting constructivist learning factors and u-learning characteristics.