EFFECT OF CLOUD BASED MOBILE LEARNING ON ENGINEERING EDUCATION

International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET) Volume 10, Issue 03, March 2019, pp. 614-621. Article ID: IJMET_10_03_063 Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijmet/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=10&IType=3 ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359 © IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed EFFECT OF CLOUD BASED MOBILE LEARNING ON ENGINEERING EDUCATION Ramananda Mallya K Research & Development Centre, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu. IS&E Department, MITE, Moodbidri, Karnataka, India. Dr. B Srinivasan Department of Computer Science, Gobi Arts & Science College, Gobichettipalayam, Tamilnadu, India ABSTRACT It has been accepted that Mobile Learning has provided innovative opportunities for both teachers and students, as it produces an active learning atmosphere anywhere and anytime. Mobile learning model can be resourcefully improvised by adding the cloud technology into it. This paper explores the effect of cloud based mobile learning on education competencies of engineering students. The main intention is to test whether cloud based mobile learning has a positive effect on student’s performance by investigating the effect of this innovative teaching system on course outcomes. The results showed that introduction of cloud based mobile learning in studying an engineering subject is productive and does has an positive impact on education competencies of engineering students. The results particularly indicate that technology underneath cloud based mobile learning can be effectively used in the study of engineering subjects resulting in superior attainment of course outcomes. Key words: mobile cloud computing, mobile learning, course outcomes, engineering, education. Cite this Article Ramananda Mallya K and Dr. B Srinivasan, Effect of Cloud Based Mobile Learning on Engineering Education, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 10(3), 2019, pp. 614-621. http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=10&IType=3 1. INTRODUCTION In the current times, there is an immense tendency for the engineering educational institutions to get used to new methods of learning along with the conventional methods. Engineering education segment has been entering into a new scientific era of modern days due to the quick uprising in Information and Communications technologies. The existing conventional in-class learning is being improved with electronic and mobile learning making the learning process more effective [1]. http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 614 [email protected] Ramananda Mallya K and Dr. B Srinivasan It is apparent that existing conventional learning methods are not fulfilling the demands and requirements of industries. These methods also have a tendency to make the educational growth sluggish. Hence it becomes the need of time to boost the learning techniques according to the increasing requirements of the industry and student community. Mobile learning is one of the trends in the educational sector that equips the educational system with the modern technology [2]. Mobile learning is a learning scheme, which uses mobile devices in the management and enrichment of the learning process. Mobile learning does not propose to replace the existing learning system; it aims to complement it. Mobile learning has several advantages like flexibility and openness. It will be definitely going to become a revolutionary system of education in the coming days [3]. In the on hand web based mobile learning systems, the system creation, infrastructure building and maintenance are to be performed by the institute itself. This requires significant amount of investment and it also leads in a lot of maintenance burden. Hence, the education institutions are trying to discover new substitute techniques which can provide improved and inexpensive services for learning. Another technology that is anticipated to show its existence in the education system in the coming years is cloud computing [4]. Cloud computing was developed enabling the users to reduce their concerns about device necessities so as to run the latest software applications. The cloud enables information to be shared without the prerequisite of complex hardware as the computations are performed in the cloud. It has also became a truth that the two fields namely cloud computing and mobile computing have united together creating a new technology named mobile cloud computing. Mobile cloud computing can be a solution to provide superior capabilities to platforms involving mobile communication and access [5]. Mobile cloud computing is the burning research topic among organizations and researchers, as it provides quite a few advantages such as convenience and ease of use [6]. It has changed the outlook of internet into a different computing prototype, having a wider development prospectus. The application region of mobile cloud computing has extended in nearly every area including education. This paper explains building a mobile learning system using cloud computing, by using a simple infrastructures enriched with mobile devices such as smart phones. The system supports institutions with diverse learning styles in diverse learning contexts to facilitate learning. The system provides continuous learning solutions to the engineering students enabling anytime and anywhere learning facility, extending learning beyond the classrooms. An experimental research design was used to test the effect of cloud based mobile learning on learning attainment of engineering students, based on the attainment level of course outcomes. 2. BACKGROUND 2.1. Mobile Learning Mobile learning provides personalized learning anywhere and anytime using a mobile device. It facilitates connection and communication with participant learners in a specialized manner. Mobile learning has got the capability to expand the learning even outside the classrooms and support suitable learning for the learners. http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 615 [email protected] Effect of Cloud Based Mobile Learning on Engineering Education The arrival of classy and superior mobile devices opens up the opportunity for learning outside the classrooms as well. Mobile devices can be used for communication, association and knowledge sharing between the students even after the class hours. According to [7], mobile learning can be defined as any sort of learning system, in which the learner need not be at a fixed, prearranged location or learning that happens when the learner utilizes the advantage of the learning accessible by mobile devices. During the last decade, a huge number of mobile learning projects were developed. In [8], the authors have recognized almost hundred such projects. They concluded that mobile learning provides the support for learning rather than just providing learning content for the learners. Despite all these developments have happened in the mobile learning technology, still it lacks the stiff guidelines in order to properly implement mobile learning. Like any other new technology, mobile learning has also its own advantages and disadvantages as discussed in [9]. The advantages of mobile learning are:  Learning can happen anytime and anywhere.  Learning can happen after class hours also.  It provides better interface between learners and tutors.  Learners and tutors can interact even while moving.  Review of learning content can be done when needed.  Tutors can focus on weak students to improve their learning process. The drawbacks of mobile learning include:  Due to network problems tutors and learners may not be connected always.  It may require a supplementary tutorial on how to use the implemented technology.  Mobile application may not be suitable for the non–technical batch of students.  Mobile learning may grant the students a chance to cheat, if no monitoring system is used.  Mobile learning does not carry practical experiment sessions.  It lacks physical interface between the tutor and the learner. 2.2. Mobile Cloud Computing The Mobile Cloud Computing Forum defines Mobile cloud as follows [10]: Mobile cloud computing is a system in which both the data processing and data storage are performed outside the mobile equipment. It performs the computations and storage of data in the cloud and out of the mobile, bringing applications to not just sophisticated mobile users but a wide broader range of mobile users. There are a number of articles about the architecture of mobile cloud computing in the literature. Most important one among them is the service oriented architecture of mobile cloud, which was explained by the authors of [11]. Since mobile cloud computing is a new technology, it is linked with a number of challenges. These challenges are associated with resources, network and security. Mobile cloud computing is a union between two different technologies, mobile computing and cloud computing. The cloud is enormously operational having maximum computing facilities, http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 616 [email protected] Ramananda Mallya K and Dr. B Srinivasan whereas the computing capability of mobile devices is too little. In [12], the authors have elaborated a number of challenges faced by mobile cloud. Regardless of all these hurdles and challenges, the mobile cloud computing has gained popularity and is widely used by countless users all over the world. Today mobile cloud is being used in a wide array of applications as discussed in [13]. Common applications of mobile cloud include:  Email: It is the vital and most important application of mobile cloud. Here the mails of users are stored on a mail server. Users can check their mails with their mobile devices, which is a best example of mobile cloud application.  Mobile Commerce: Mobile commerce (M-Commerce) is performing different financial transactions using mobile devices. M-Commerce applications include mobile shopping, Ticket reservation by using mobiles and payments made by using mobile phones.  Mobile Healthcare: Mobile healthcare (M-Health) is the idea of using mobile devices in the healthcare sector. The main reason for this is to provide better care to the patients and improved medical treatment. Accessing health records of patients easily and quickly is an example of M-Health.  Mobile Gaming: Mobile gaming is the scheme of playing games using the mobile devices. Playing games needs many computing resources like complex graphic displays. Using Mobile cloud all the computations happen outside the mobile device in the cloud.  Mobile Learning: Mobile learning (M-Learning) is the idea of learning anywhere using the mobile devices. It is the mixture of Mobile Computing and E-Learning. The use of cloud for M-Learning improves the learning since all data processing are done outside the mobile device and learners get the service at low cost and at a faster rate. 2.3. Mobile learning in the Cloud Mobile learning was on the climb in the last decade and efforts have been put to improve its performance. In general, implementation of mobile learning involves a lot of investments and resources. Hence to reduce the investments involved in mobile learning some alternatives were required to be implemented. The mobile cloud computing was found to be the ideal technology for the same. In mobile cloud computing, hardware resources and storage location reside outside the mobile device. Thus mobile cloud based learning overcomes device resource and storage limitations. Also mobile cloud reduces the cost involved in the implementation of MLearning. In [14], the author has thought of introducing cloud computing in the education sector and discussed the possible benefits and drawbacks of introducing the cloud technology to the education field. He compared the usage of different public cloud platforms in education and listed the positive impacts of the same. An E-Learning architecture in cloud computing was coined by the authors of [15]. Based on this novel architecture E-Learning system was implemented using the cloud and performance of the proposed system was evaluated. Similar to E-Learning and cloud combinations, the idea of M-Learning and mobile cloud combinations were evolved over time. The authors of [16] have used the concept of cloud in http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 617 [email protected] Effect of Cloud Based Mobile Learning on Engineering Education the implementation of M-Learning and the analysis of the proposed architecture has also been done. The authors of [17] have elaborated a number of benefits in the implementation of mobile learning using the concept of mobile cloud. The advantages of M-Learning using mobile cloud are:  Improved data sharing: Since the data resides in the cloud, it can be accessed anywhere and anytime.  Reduced cost: Certain cloud vendor offer free applications for mobile learning. This results in reduced investment.  Versatility: There are a vast number of applications available that support mobile learning.  Improved performance: Since cloud is accessed by the mobile device, less memory is needed and fewer installed programs are needed resulting in better performance.  Improved reliability: The data loss problems are reduced, since the data resides in the cloud.  Device independence: The cloud overcomes the restriction of the usage of a specific type of device and any types of mobile device can be used. Eventually, the implementation of mobile learning using the mobile cloud faces several challenges. These challenges are related to the mobile user who uses the services provided by the cloud. The mobile devices are exposed to the elements of varied types of vulnerabilities and risks, as the mobile device is connected to internet. The issues and challenges as discussed by the authors of [18] are:  Privacy: Since user data resides in the cloud server, it results in data privacy issues. The user data will get exposed due to cloud.  Compliance: Most of the existing data compliance laws assume that the user data is with the user. But when cloud is used, data will be stored in the cloud itself. This result in issues related to compliance.  Interoperability: When using the cloud, the users may be using different mobile devices. Application development that fits all these devices is a tedious task for the developers.  Data Integrity: The user data residing in the cloud is accessible for anyone. There is no distinction between simple data and important data in the cloud. This result in serious issues related to data integrity.  Security: Since cloud uses the internet, accessing the cloud leads to many security issues including Virus, Malwares, and Trojan horses. 3. METHODOLOGY A mobile learning system was developed using the cloud computing technology for the students of 8th semester students undergoing graduation in Mechanical Engineering at Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodbidri, Karnataka, India. The faculties were instructed to upload the study materials including lecture notes and video lectures to the cloud. The students can download the study materials and video lectures as and when required and make use of them. The participants were 40 undergraduate Engineering students studying at Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodbidri, Karnataka, India. They were randomly grouped into two equal-sized groups with 20 students in each group. An experimental http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 618 [email protected] Ramananda Mallya K and Dr. B Srinivasan research design was used to test the effect of using cloud based mobile learning on learning outcomes. In this study, the simplest type of research design was used where there are two conditions, namely A (traditional) and B (mobile). We divide the subjects into two groups, as shown in Table 1, where one group have studied with condition A while the other with condition B. Table 1 The two groups used in the study Condition Assessment Group 1 A (Traditional) Course Outcomes Group 2 B (Mobile Cloud) Course Outcomes Time span 6 Weeks This study investigates the impact of using cloud based mobile learning used to teach the Engineering subject namely Machine Design of the undergraduate course at Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodbidri, Karnataka, India. Students are expected to attain a minimum course outcome of 60%. The experiment was conducted within a period of 6 weeks. First, two conditions of teaching methodology were prepared; A: traditional learning, and B: cloud based mobile learning. In condition A, the traditional, classroom based face-to-face method of learning was used. In condition B, cloud based mobile learning was used by using a mobile phone that can access internet. Second, the sample was divided into two groups namely, Group 1 and Group 2 with 20 students in each group, and both groups were tested in six weeks. After 6 weeks, a test was conducted to evaluate the performance of the two groups to collect the required data. Different methods of analysis, including summative assessment and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data collected. The summative assessment method was used to calculate the individual course outcomes and overall course outcomes. Descriptive analysis measures used were mean and standard deviations. The Table 2 describes the overall performance in the tests. Table 2 Participant’s performance in test Condition A (Traditional) B (Mobile Cloud) Course Outcomes 60.25 68.25 Mean 12.05 13.75 Standard Deviation 3.02 3.12 4. DISCUSSION The data analysis reveals that the mean score of Group B students who followed Cloud based mobile learning is 1.65 more than Group A students who followed only traditional learning. The standard deviation of Group B is 3.12 which is better than 3.02 measured in case of Group A students. The study also reveals that the average course outcome of Group B students who is 8% more than Group A students as shown in the Figure 1. http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 619 [email protected] Effect of Cloud Based Mobile Learning on Engineering Education Figure 1 Result analysis for mean and course outcomes From the analysis it is evident that the students who used mobile learning outside the classroom to learn the subject have scored more marks and attained better course outcomes. According to the results, cloud based mobile learning helped them to a greater extent in understanding the problems and eventually helped them to score more. The findings show that using cloud based mobile learning is effective as the results indicate that their overall performance is generally improved. Thus, cloud based mobile learning improves students’ performance greatly especially when compared to traditional methods of learning. 5. CONCLUSION The results indicated that mobile learning can be effectively used to teach and learn engineering subjects outside the classroom. The main aim of this study was to explore the effect of mobile cloud computing technology on learning competencies of engineering students. The main objective was to test whether cloud based mobile learning has any effect on student’s performance by investigating the influence of such teaching technique on course outcomes. The results showed that use of cloud based mobile learning in learning an engineering subject is productive and does has an positive impact on learning competencies of students. The results specifically indicate that cloud based mobile learning can be used for effective learning of engineering subjects which will result in improved attainment of course outcomes. REFERENCES [1] [2] [3] Baran, E. A Review of Research on Mobile Learning in Teacher Education. Educational Technology & Society, 17(4), 2014, pp. 17-32. Kwang, B. 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