Designing smart apps to enhance the learners’ engagement with online learning

Xiangyang Zhang
The Open University of Jiangsu
Nanjing, China

Shu-chiu Hung
Mingchuan University
Taoyuan City, Taiwan

Today, the majority of the online learning student cohorts in mainland China are ‘digital natives’, and there also exist many ‘digital migrants’, including middle-aged and retired professionals and senior citizens. Using social media apps has in recent years become a trendy movement in every walk of life, with a dynamic and vibrant market for large-screen smartphones.
According to an informal survey, people tend to use mobile phones or tablets to communicate with their friends by keying in words; use apps to browse the Internet for news and blogs; and conduct learning activities on some specific websites. According to the fiscal reports by the three telecommunication network giants in China, mobile phones with larger screens are selling well. Moreover, the 4G network has joined the wireless service throughout the nation. Therefore, it is high time for the online learning universities to integrate mobile learning into the traditional online learning based on desktop/laptop computers with the Internet. The working adult learners can access the Internet through their wireless devices anytime, without any constraints on location.

In this paper, after a survey of learners’ needs, we first address the relative concepts and context of current online learning in our university, and then consider the design of apps for smart learning to enhance the students’ engagement with online learning. Finally, we discuss the action of smart apps at our university and then look at the potential benefits of adopting this new alternative route to the learning platform, with an expectation of more engagement with learning activities, and learners’ satisfaction and versatility.