LMSs, such as Moodle, SOUL and Blackboard, have been widely adopted by many higher education institutions around the world. The versatility of LMSs can be demonstrated by how tertiary educators in different disciplines adopt the LMS as an interactive learning environment. With the growing popularity of handheld mobile devices among staff and students in higher education, it is increasingly common for them to access LMSs using mobile devices such as smartphones. Funded by the Teaching Development Grant (2014-2017), with the central aim to improve teaching and learning in the HKU community, this project investigates how Moodle is used across six different faculties and HKU SPACE and how mobile learning (m-Learning) can be integrated with Learning Management Systems (LMSs). This project provides an empirical assessment of the usage and impacts of LMS in general and via mobile access on teaching and learning, leading to recommendations of pedagogical and activity designs for mobile learning on LMS. It also summarizes the best practices and share them with all instructors across the HKU community.

 

Researchers

Principal Investigator

Dr. Xiao Hu, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong

Co-Investigators

Dr. Chi-Un Leon Lei, Technology-Enriched Learning Initiative, University of Hong Kong
Dr. Jinbao Li, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Hong Kong
Ms. Nathalie, Iseli-Chan, Faculty of Arts, University of Hong Kong
Dr. Felix Siu, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong
Dr. Sam Chu, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong
Dr. Wilfred Lau, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong
Prof. Nancy Law, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong
Prof. Liaquat Hossain, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong
Dr. Weiyuan Zhang, Centre for Cyber Learning, HKU SPACE Community College
Ms. Jeanne Lam, Centre for Cyber Learning, HKU SPACE Community College
Ms. Nicole Tavares, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong
Dr. Xiaoli Gao, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Hong Kong
Dr. Janice Johnston, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong
Dr. Ben Law, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Hong Kong

Collaborators
Ms. Ka Yee Kitty, Tsang, HKU SPACE Community College

 

Deliverables

 

  • An evaluation report on current (pre-intervention) impact of Moodle on learning and teaching across four participating faculties in HKU
    This evaluation report has been published as a book chapter in Mobile Learning Design, reporting the usage and impact of Moodle on learning and teaching across four participating faculties, including Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Engineering in the first year of the project.

    Please click here to download the full text of the book chapter.

 

  • A report on teaching cases of integrating mobile learning with LMS in supporting teaching and learning in the participating programs
    This is a report of teaching cases across all rounds of the project, presenting the best practices on how teaching and learning were enhanced through integrating m-learning with LMS. Four cases from different types of courses (e.g., a major course, a Common Core course, etc.) from four participating faculties are illustrated.

    Please click here to download the report.Instructor's handbook

 

  • An instructor’s handbook on successful pedagogical approaches and best practices in integrating mobile learning with LMS, for future adoption in different HKU faculties
    This handbook is targeted at instructors from all disciplines, after summarizing and generalizing instructors’ recommended pedagogical approaches and practices on LMS via mobile access.

    Please click here to download the electronic version of the handbook.Instructor's handbook

 

  • An evaluation report on usage and impact of integrating mobile learning with Moodle on learning and teaching across four faculties in HKU
    It reports the usage and impact of integrating mobile learning with Moodle on teaching and learning across Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Engineering in the second year of the project.

    Please click here to download the evaluation report.Instructor's handbook

 

  • A report on the comparison of the impact of Moodle and SOUL on teaching and learning, with recommendations on future improvement of LMS in HKU
    This brief report summarizes a comparison of the impact of LMS on teaching and learning between Moodle in HKU and SOUL in HKU SPACE, with recommendations on future improvement of LMS in HKU.

    Please click here to download the report.Instructor's handbook

 

  • A half-day symposium for advocating the integration of mobile learning with Moodle and to share experiences
    We organized a symposium at the CITERS 2016 titled “Enhancing Teaching and Learning through Integrating Mobile Learning with Learning management Systems”. We invited different instructors from the participating courses to share their pedagogical strategies and LMS implementations that benefit both students in their learning and instructors in their teaching. In particular, based on their experience with the mobile-friendly interfaces of LMSs (e.g., the Mobile Theme in HKU Moodle) and mobile applications (Apps) (e.g. SOUL App in HKU SPACE), presenters also discussed how mobile access to LMS was integrated into their courses. This symposium comprised three presentations:
    (1) “Language Learning in a Moodle-based Learning Community” by Nathalie Iseli-Chan
    LAK17_LA tool poster_20170126_preprint_modified

    (2) “Providing Timely and Structured Feedback via LMS Enhancements: A Case Study in a Technological Course” by Dr. Leon Lei
    LAK17_LA tool poster_20170126_preprint_modified

    (3) “Supporting Teaching and Learning with SOUL and the SOUL Mobile App” by Kitty Tsang
    LAK17_LA tool poster_20170126_preprint_modified

 

  • Talks and presentations related to this project
    “Non-repository Uses of Moodle through Mobile Access: Students’ Usage Patterns and Perceptions”. June 2016. Centre for Information Technology in Education Research Symposium (CITERS), University of Hong Kong.
    LAK17_LA tool poster_20170126_preprint_modified


    “How We Used Moodle: A Sharing Session”. Dec. 2016. Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CELT), University of Hong Kong.
    CETL Seminar_MOODLE_20161207

 

  • Publications
    • Hu, X., Lei L. C. U., Li, J., Iseli-Chan, N., Siu, F. L. C. & Chu, S. K. W. (2015). Access Moodle Using Mobile Phones: Student Usage and Perceptions, In Proceedings of the International Mobile Learning Festival, May 22-23, 2015, Hong Kong.
    • Hu, X., Lei, L. C. U., Li, J., Iseli-Chan, N., Siu, F. L., & Chu, S. K. W. (2016). Access Moodle Using Mobile Phones: Student Usage and Perceptions. In Mobile Learning Design: Theories and Application (pp. 155-171). Springer Singapore. DOI= 10.1007/978-981-10-0027-0_10 (PDF)
    • Ng, J., Lei, C.-U., Iseli-Chan, N., Li, J., Siu, F., & Hu, X. (2016, June). Non-repository Uses of Moodle through Mobile Access: Students’ Usage Patterns and Perceptions. Paper presented at the Centre for Information Technology in Education Research Symposium (CITERS), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
    • Hu, X., Iseli-Chan, N., Lei, C.-U., Hou, X., Tsang, K. Y. K., Li, J., Siu, F., Gao, X., Chu, S. K. W., Zhang, W., Lam, J., & Ng, J. (2016, June). Enhancing Teaching and Learning through Integrating Mobile Learning with Learning Management Systems. Symposium conducted at the Centre for Information Technology in Education Research Symposium (CITERS), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
    • (in preparation). Integrating mobile learning to Learning Management System in A Community College.
    • (in preparation). Non-repository Uses of Moodle through Mobile Access: A Case from Hong Kong.
    • (in preparation). Factors Predicting Students’ Mobile Access to Learning Management Systems.