– 1 – An argument to XXIst century e -learning via smart devices [622373]

– 1 – An argument to XXIst century e -learning via smart devices

ABSTRACT
Mass education for the general public has not changed
significantly for the last 2 centuries. Yet with the advances
happening in the computer industry and mass adoption of
computers, smartphones and wearable devices , society
seems to be now in the eve of the education revolution.
Many skills that are required today at the workplace did not
exist when today’s teachers were going through their
education. This paper attempts to describe a perspective in
which devices allow humans to interact easier and gain new
skills in fast and effective ways. The paper presents
arguments towards more integration between the education
process and the digital ecosystem, from the early days in
kindergarten to formal tertiary education and life -long
learning.
Author Keywords
Smart devices; Technology -enhanced education;
Just-in-time education; Technological unemployment;
Human -computer interaction
ACM Classification Keywords
• Applied computing ~ Computer -assisted instruction
• Applied computing ~ Interactive learning
environments
• Applied computing ~ Distance learning
• Applied computing ~ Collaborative learning
INTRODUCTION
In the eve of the fourth industrial revolution, the education
systems around the world are pressed to deliver better and
better results as the number of blue -collar jobs is dropping
faster than even before [5]. While automation and robots
are killing some jobs, they are also creating other jobs. The
2 main problems are that these new jobs are fewer than the
jobs killed in their creation, and that they are not directly
compatible with the pe ople laid off from the old jobs. The
new jobs require engineering knowledge, soft skills and
flexible career vect ors, things that the recently laid off blue-
collar workers lack in [8].
Given the correlation betwe en having a job and being
happy , plus the added strain on the job market bro ught on
by the increase of automation, many people are looking at
extending their education in an effort to remain competitive
and keep their jobs. There is also a direct positive impact of
education on happiness [ 2]. Since many people d rive their
self-worth from their work, as soon as they go unemployed their self-respect drops. In his 2017 Harvard graduation
speech, Mark Zuckerberg said “Class of 2017, you are
graduating into a world that needs purpo se. It’s up to you to
create it. ” [3] In his leaving -office speech, ex -president
Barack Obama said – “[…] the next wave of economic
dislocation won’t come from overseas. It will come from
the relentless pace of automation that makes many good ,
middle -class jobs obsolete.” [6] Life-long-learning looks to
be the most promising candidate in the list of concepts that
will be adopted by the majority of the popul ation, as a
solution to the technological unemployment of the XXIst
century.
Formal vs. Real -time vs. Just -In-Time Education
Formal classroom education is mandatory is most countries
and territories across the globe. The general role of formal
education is to establish a strong foundation of general
knowledge in the population, so that they become inter –
swappable cogs in the economy. W hen one worker retires,
the education system is supposed t o provide a drop -in
replacement. In the XIXth and XXth centuries the interval
between the birth and death of a job (e.g. typewriter or
telegraph operator) was long enough for people to retire
from t heir first job obtained in their early 20s or even
earlier. In the eve of the 4th industrial revolution in the early
XXIst century, many jobs are replaced with machines, and
the efficiency of the 12+ year school system is being put
into question. The dilemma of the educators today is what
to teach the younger generation, when the jobs they look at
today are likely not to exist by the time they graduate [7].
Real-time education is a new concept made available by the
widespread penetration of mobile and wireless
technologies. Using their smartphones or other similar
devices, learners can gain knowledge on the spot, wherever
they are physically. This makes learning some thing new an
option when someone is waiting in line at the tax collection
office or having their evening walk after dinner. Using
connected devices this learner can benefit from learning
from the most recent version of the materials.
Just-in-time educatio n is another new concept, where a
person can learn a new skill upon facing a situation where
that skill is needed. By using a central repository of
knowledge and knowhow, one can simply tap into it when
the need arises. Millennials and generation Z, also k nown
as the Google generations, very often prefer so search for a
solution to a specific problem, rather than learn general

– 2 – concepts and build general skills that they can later apply to
solving potential problems that might arise. In a way, their
requirem ents and opportunities are different from their
parents. Before the internet, one had to either know how to
fix a problem, know (and be able to contact) someone that
could fix the problem, or have access to a library where the
solution resided, in a book. She would have had to read the
book, absorb the knowledge, and then use it to fix that
problem. Today, using the Internet as a central repository of
solutions, one can simply search for a few keywords related
to the problem at hand, find a link to a potent ial solution
and simply follow the steps followed by someone else
before. While the quality of some online solutions can easy
be put into question, the speed from seeing the problem to
having a potential solution is unprecedented in human
history.
EVALUATION EXPE RIENCES WITH E-LEARNING
One significant yet rarely known advantage of using onl ine
evaluations (grading) is that tests can be used as a feedback
provider about the quality of the course. When running
statistics on which questions the students most often fail,
course creators can gain precious insights into what the
students understan d from the course. After identifying the
most common failed questions, course designers have to
separate them into 2 general reasons:
 the student understood the question, but did not know
the answer
 the student did not understand the question at all
One c ommon solution is to rephrase the question and ask
the next batch of students both the old version and the new
one. If many of them still answer the old version wrong, but
the new version correctly, the problem was in the words
used in the question. If the problem persists and most
students do equally bad in both the old and the new version
of the question, the course creator should consider rewriting
the section of the course that this question was evaluating.
Also, the problem might be even deeper, as stu dents might
not have the prerequisites to understand the concepts taught
in that section. In this case, a new chapter can be added, to
provide the students with the necessary prerequisite
knowledge so that the course can be both useful and a
positive exper ience for them.
PERSONALIZED LEARNIN G & GAMIFICATION
Futuristic maturation of e -learning would involve
technologies that are derived for current trends and
challenges. Customized learning will be all rage as the
sessions would help learners follow along at their own pace.
An e-learning system implementation that keeps teac hing
the same skill over and over until the learning ha s grasped
the concept and is able to use that specific skill in whatever
the evaluation inclu des is a potential solution to the
common attention -span problem encountered in online
education t oday [4] E-learning courses challenging current trends in terms of
creativity will likely resemble an interactive video game
rather than a conventional lecture that will reach out to
larger audience . Gamification of e-learning experiences can
make students pay both more attention and more time to the
educational experience, ev en if only to gain the points or
merit badges .
A significant number of people have registered for online
courses this decade. MOOCs (Massive Open Online
Courses) will allow millions of learners from anywhere in
the world to share tidbi ts of learned insights and form real –
time discussion stage. E -learning Content Development
Services offering MOOCs will entail open access features
such as the open licensing of content, structure and learning
goals permeating free online education avenues . While
today ’s MOOCs allow people to learn new things, future
versions can include live collaborative tools that allow
people to learn together, form friendships and share in the
wealth of knowledge.
PHYSICAL INTERACTION & EXPERIENCES
Just like teachers explain concepts on the whiteboard, and
often provide real -world examples for those concepts, e –
learning solutions can allow the learner to immerse herself
into the learning experience. The use of touch -enabled
devices allow s learners to use parts of the brain that control
movement simultaneously with memory -related brain areas.
Using feedback -enabled devices, like joysticks and
controllers often encountered on game consoles, learners
get a feeling of the impact of their acti ons, strengthening
the bonds between neurons.
The downside of interacting with the world via screens and
other virtual/digital interfaces is that it often reduces the
ability to relate to and interact with other people. This is
becoming a serious problem across the globe, as graduates
are no longer inclined to work together as closely -knit
teams, but more and more as “lone wolves”.
Mobile Interaction
With the speedy advancement in technology and
programming in recent years, mobile devices are acting
more and more like a desktop that fits in one’s pocket. Th is
format is ideal for custom e -learning design. A large portion
of the pop ulation already uses it to communicate, play
games, surf the web, along with a variety of other activities.
Combine the powers of smartphones, wearables and
wireless technology and with the right learning audience,
format, and content , and the result is a winning solution for
education.
E-learning design for mobile devices adds the ultimate in
convenience to educational programs. The student can use
time normally lost during a subway commute or get
comfortable at home or while sitting in the park. This
technology increases the interest in this style of educational
medium. With this course style , the student can choose the

– 3 – best time that works the best for them. This can cut down
on interruptions, settings the grounds for increased
information retention, whic h is difficult to achieve in a
large setting. Additional help, communication and
discussions, email, instant messaging, feedback, and hints
help improve the individual' s understanding of the concepts.
Cross -Device Graphical User Interfaces & Experiences
E-learning, while easiest adopted by the younger
generations, has the potential to be a game changer across
the entire age spectrum. High quality and impactful 2D and
3D animations lure people of all ages. These animations are
created keeping in mind the aptitude of elementary, middle,
high and secondary school students. Cost -effective
template -based interactive components and self -contained
learning objects are two of the major attributes of K -12
content development. Interactive White Board (IWB) based
applications are developed by companies and educator
targeting this age bracket . This helps in dev elopment of
platform -agnostic content for both classroom and mobile
devices . Many educators have begun to split the lessons
into smaller parts that can easily be consumed on smaller
screens, as many of today ’s students prefer mobile to
desktop learning. On a personal note, I believe that some
subjects are better taught in tandem, the mobile device
guiding what the learner is doing on the desktop one.
Today, expert instructional designers, graphic designers,
project managers and visual designers replicate traditional
lessons into e -lessons. However, significant efforts go into
developing e -content. First of all, an online lesson has to be
developed keeping in mind the grade of the stud ent it is
targeting, since c ognitive thinking and aptitude vary with
age. Moreover, this content has to be enriching, enthralling
and highly inter active. Only then can students grasp
concepts and gain abilities that say with them for many
years.
Another sensitive subject is accessibility . While general
classroom training poses significant problems for people
who are legally blind, deaf, mute or have significant
transport problems, e -learning can go ar ound most of these
with no problems. Blind people can receive training in
audio forma t. Deaf people can go through training in visual
format, if relevant with subtitles, while mute pe ople can
write down what they have to communicate. For hard to
transport people, e -learning is ideal, as it cuts all of the
hassle of moving, allowing the educational process to
continue for students that have suff ered an accident and
have to spend time in recovery. People with permanent
transport problems can also benefit from e -learning, as they
can gain skills that may make them better integrate in
society without having to physically be in a classroom to
learn.
SOCIETY FEEDBACK SYSTEMS
Learner rating of the learning materials can drive upward
the quality of materials made available at an unprecedented pace. Today, in a standard classroom, teachers rarely get
feedback on the ir performance directly from the students .
These teachers mostly provide grades for learners, assessing
whether the material has been properly assimilated. In the
e-learning ecosystem, this feedback goes both ways.
Students have the option to rate the perf ormance of the
educators, and these ratings stick with the educators for
their entire careers. On a platform like udemy.com [ 1],
courses have a 5 -star based rating system, and new students
can select which course they want to t ake based on previous
ratings left by former students.
Technologies like Google Glass, IMAX, 3D, will become
so promptly available that the y can permeate through
learning patterns. Futuristic virtual reality technologies
could actually put learners in the shoes of a discoverer,
businessman, historical figure, astronaut, etc. to witness a
firsthand experience . Gaining new skills will soon be as
simply as putting on a headset with virtual -reality glasses
and choosing the proper program.
Using artificial intelligence the system can notice what the
user is doing and automatically adapt the program to
concentrate more on repeating the tasks that are not very
well done by the user. Thus, the lesson is personalized in
real-time, and the user gets the most out of the training
experience.
A hypothetical case of high complexity can be parenthood.
While a wonderful experience for the parents, sometimes
many wish they know before -hand what they were getting
into. Using virtual reality, soon -to-be parents can learn to
change diapers , feed and dress a baby. Using augmented
realit y, first time parents can be assisted live by a
pediatrician , without having to actually visit a clinic and
wait in line. Whether that pediatrician will be a human or an
AI, that is a choice many parents will eventually have to
make for themselves.
PRIMARY BENEFITS OF E-LEARNING VS. TRADITIO –
NAL CLASSROOM EDUCAT ION
 E-Learning can decrease the physical real estate needed
to house students.
 Students can learn from the comfort of their homes
without any travel time.
 E-Learning is very engaging. With new and e merging
technologies learners can now exchange ideas with
video -audio conferencing, live chat, and sharing
documents between teams and groups.
 With live reporting, learners can get live reports and
feedback from instructors very quickly , thus obtaining a
solid understanding of where they stand academically.
 Subject matter experts and trainers can easily teach
multiple classes and become more resourceful by
cutting their travel time to and from a physical
classroom.

– 4 –  Learning curves can be significantl y reduced as learners
will learn at their own pace and can always go back to
review materials as many times as they want if they do
not understand it completely. While the material is not
reduced, by spanning it across more days or weeks,
more students have the chance to effective gain the
knowl edge
 Learner participation is more engaging; rapport is built
easier between learners and trai ners. Examples of t ools
used for t his include Wiki s and Blog s.
 Often, people that would never speak up in a physical
classroom may speak up online without social pressures.
Additionally, learners can not only participate from a
stationary computer but als o from mobile devices like
internet pads, laptops, and cellphones.
 Materials can be reused and updated very quickly.
Content can be updated often , effectively, and almost
instantaneously with a click of a button. All costs of
reprinting and redistributing the books are removed.
 Many institutions utilize hybrid systems th at enable
them to keep their current student base while expanding
their reach and attracting new students from a global
audience. For a small university, gaining a 20% boost in
student numbers without having to house them on
premise can make the difference between survi ving in
the XXIst century education market and closing down.
 Leveraging on years of expertise, some organizations
have developed different types of game based learning
solutions where lear ning is provided via challenging and
exciting games. These games are developed and
programmed in such a manner that with each passing
level, the learners will get a clear er understanding of the
subject matter. With the help of games, even complex
procedures can be understood properly. Strategically
designed quizzes and board games help to easily
understand complex subject matters.
 Realizing the importance of social media, the
organizations have also developed social learning
solutions. The firms that believe i n informal learning mostly adapt this type of learning. By sharing
knowledge with peers after implementing themselves ,
the 'learning' shared , learners get to understand many
things. Moreover, social learning helps in connecting
with various trainers and experts . Blogs, surveys, polls
and forums help in self -learning, while sharing the
knowledge with others.
CONCLUSION
The mass adoption of smartphones , tablets and wearable
devices allow for the creation of a completely new
education ecosystem. The teachers of today and tomorrow
are no longer constrained to teaching in a room, using a
blackboard and chalk , while simply talking to their
students. Today students consume small pieces of
information from a wide variety of sources and keep the
knowledge they gain by using it often and sharing it with
others.
REFERENCES
1. http://www.udemy.com
2. Cuñado, J. & de Gracia, Does Education Affect
Happiness? Evidence for Spain , F.P. Soc Indic Res
(2012) 108: 185. doi:10.1007/s11205 -011-9874 -x
3. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/05/mark –
zuckerbergs -speech -as-written -for-harvards -class -of-
2017/
4. –removed for double -blind review process
5. Ross, A. (2016). The industries of the future. New York,
NY: Simon & Schuster.
6. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/11/barack –
obamas -farewell -speech -full/
7. http://www.popsci.com/prepping -students -for-jobs-
future
8. https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2017 -01-
09/the -robot -threat -donald -trump -isn-t-talking -abou