Learning Activity Design on Mobile Learning Device: using ESL Reading Comprehension as Example

Using information and communications technology in education has changed the learning process from the perspective of student, teacher, activity, and evaluation. This paper reports a design method to achieve the goal of the curriculum studies— optimum curriculum design, which means that the curriculum will be evolutionary with the learning technology. This paper focuses on“product”technologies (i.e. learning devices) of learning technology evolution, such as mobile phone, laptop, tablet PC, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), etc. Hence, a teacher can directly use the digital contents for various learning devices to begin a learning activity on any accessible learning device, such as a PC or a PDA. The reading instruction of ESL (English as Second Language) is selected to demonstrate operations of the adopting methodology. The design method for creating digital contents adopts existing curriculum materials as a basis to develop fundamental activities for cross-platform reusability, denoted as activity-based design. Hence, teachers must be familiar with the digital contents in the fundamental activities. Then, the digital contents can be directly installed on various learning devices that are available in real-school environments. In the example of ESL reading instruction, the required learning activities are identified and encapsulated by an activity template for various learning devices to demonstrate the analysis method of activity-based design. Based on the template of fundamental activities, a teacher may plan an advancement activity. Most important of all, the activity-based design of digital contents makes the existing curriculum feasibly evolve toward an optimum curriculum with progressing learning technology.