A key step to understanding paradigm shifts in e‐learning: towards context‐aware ubiquitous learning

Electronic learning (e-learning) has become widely accepted in both entirely onlinelearning environments and in blended learning contexts (Mayadas, Bourne & Bacsich,2009). In a broad sense, e-learning is used to describe the way people use an electronicdevice (usually a computer) with learning technology (LT; Rushby & Seabrook, 2008)to develop new knowledge and skills individually or collaboratively. Mobile devices withLT, such as PDAs, smart phones and portable computers, constitute various forms ofwireless environments that foster two-way, real-time communications among users, aswell as between the user and their context, and can have many functions to promotemobile learning (m-learning; Rushby, 2005). Since the early 2000s, new forms ofmobile technology containing additional sensor devices have been providing new directionsfor technology-assisted learning, and this has led to context-aware ubiquitouslearning (u-learning; Hwang,Wu & Chen, 2007; Yang, 2006), which enables users tointeract and learn with sensors and radio frequency identification (RFID) embeddedobjects in their surroundings (Curtin, Kauffman & Riggins, 2007). Context-aware ubiquitoustechnology is continuing to develop and spread, and its applications have begunto influence learning in various fields and disciplines (de Jong, Specht & Koper, 2008).