Towards pervasive mobile learning - the vision of 21st century

Today the growth of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has completely reshaped the area of education. Even though the traditional form of education exists today, there is a fast expansion of web based learning. It facilitates the learners to access the learning sources from anywhere, at any time. Web based learning environments includes e-learning, mobile learning and pervasive learning. Mobile learning is the union of mobile computing technologies and e-learning. This type of learning environment enables the learners to access the learning materials from anywhere at any time. Pervasive computing, also named as ubiquitous computing is a rapidly developing area of ICT. The term refers to the integration of ICT into people's lives and environments. It enables authorized access to anytime-anywhere-any device-any network-any data. Devices used in mobile learning cannot obtain the context of learners. Pervasive mobile learning is learning enhanced with intelligent environment and context awareness. While the learner is moving with his/her mobile device, the system dynamically supports his/her learning by communicating with the embedded devices in the environment. So by the integration of pervasive computing and mobile learning technologies, users are enriched with a great learning experience. This paper study about how mobile learning technologies can utilize the technology of pervasive computing so that the learning process can be made very efficient and productive. The integration of mobile learning with pervasive computing may offer great innovations in the delivery of education in the coming years. (c) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.