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(IJCNS) International Journal of Computer and Network Security, 59

Vol. 2, No. 6, June 2010

The Use of Mobile Technology In Delivering E-


Learning Contents: UNITEN experience
Mohd Hazli.M.Z, Mohd Zaliman Mohd Yusoff and Azlan Yusof
Universiti Tenaga Nasional, College of Information Technology,
KM7 Jalan Kajang-Puchong, 43009 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.
{hazli, zaliman, azlany}@uniten.edu.my

of the telecommunication infrastructure especially in the


Abstract: E-learning had become more affordable with area of critical broadband services, blue tooth and WIFI
cheaper but faster Internet connection. This has encouraged the technologies [10]. Thus, it is a challenge for Malaysian
development of mobile applications and integration of such researchers to study the best suitable delivering method that
applications into conventional e-learning system. This paper suits Malaysian environment. Without the right setting, the
presents a working prototype of SMS-based mobile learning
potential of mobile learning technology cannot be utilized by
system which includes the delivery and dissemination of
interactive learning contents to students using mobile phone at Malaysian students. Suitable delivering method is important
University Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). Challenges and issues so that the progress of mobile learning could be accelerated
related to the deployment of SMS-based application are also by providing better learning opportunities for students. In
discussed. the next section, results of a survey that was carried out to
Keywords: e-Learning, mobile technology, short message study the perspective amongst students with regard to
service application mobile learning is presented.
1. Introduction 2. The SMS based Mobile Learning System
In today modern life, mobile communication activities are (SMLS)
very popular among teenager and adolescence. This has A survey was conducted amongst students of Universiti
resulted in the raise of many mobile applications including Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) to study their perspective on
mobile learning [2]. In fact, mobile learning presents great mobile devices usage in obtaining information related to
potential as it offers unique learning experience which their studies. This includes dissemination of learning
allows students to learn their lesson anywhere, anytime and contents such as information on lecture’s notes, quizzes,
very personalized. Moreover, it provides enriching, class information and other related student activities. There
enlivening values as well as adding variety to conventional were 55 unpaid students of UNITEN involved in this study.
lessons or courses. They represent students from various degree levels (from
There is several benefits that mobile learning approach foundation to final year students), different degree program
can offer. For example, mobile learning approach encourages (Engineering background as well as IT background
both independent and collaborative learning experiences. students) including those with position in students’ club and
Attewell [2] reported that many learners who taking part in society.
mobile learning class enjoyed the opportunity of using Results from the survey indicate that very significant
mobile devices in their learning sessions. Besides, Mobile percentage (83%) of respondents agrees that using SMS to
learning approach helps to combat resistance on the use of obtain information related to their study and daily activities
ICT and bridge the gap between mobile phone literacy and in university was more effective and convenient. Besides
ICT literacy [9]. For example, it is reported in [6] that, post- that, the coverage of SMS applications is wider compared to
participation, a number of learners of displaced young adults social networking or instant messenger as it has better
studying ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) penetration level in this country. In fact, the penetration
who had previously avoided using PCs actively continue level of cellular phone in Malaysian is more than 98%,
working with their PCs on tasks such as writing letters. In compared to only 21% of broadband penetration [10].
fact, for some learners, their computer skills and confidence Underpinning by the survey results, we develop a working
were enhanced to such an extent that they felt able to offer prototype to incorporate mobile technology in delivering
support and assistance to their peers. Besides that, several learning contents. The SMLS application was developed for
successful results of the benefit gained from mobile learning both students and lecturers. For students, the SMLS
environment were also reported by researches in Sweden, application allows them to request various information
Italy and UK [9]. related to their learning routines such as checking for class
While mobile learning is regarded as the new promising schedule, downloading assignment and obtaining their
learning paradigm, adaptation of this learning approach into assessment marks.
Malaysian community must be done carefully [10]. One of As for lecturers, they can use the system to disseminate
the potential drawbacks to the success of the implementation important announcements to student such as posting the
of mobile learning approach is the delivering technology postponement of class or giving the instruction for
[10]. Compared to develop country, Malaysia is still lacking downloading notes or assignments. Moreover, the SMLS
60 (IJCNS) International Journal of Computer and Network Security,
Vol. 2, No. 6, June 2010

application provides web-based interfaces for lecturers to means, when a mobile phone user sent SMS to 32244, SMS
update student information (e.g. students’ contact numbers centre of the respective mobile service provider will route
and email addresses), class information and upload notes or the message to the specific SMS Gateway server. Based on
assignments to SMLS server (see Figure 1). the first keyword in the message, the Gateway will then
make a HTTP GET request to SMLS. Upon receiving the
request, SMLS server will verify the message and process
the request as explain in the later part of this section. An
example of SMS sent by a user is as below:

To : 32244

SMS2U cseb364 notes


adam@yahoo.com.my

Send Cancel

Figure 1. Interface of SMLS Figure 3. Sending SMS to SMLS

3. Design and Implementation The first string which is “sms2u” is the keyword for SMLS
application (see Figure 3). The Gateway will invoke the
3.1 System Architecture HTTP request using a GET method to SMLS server together
Figure 2 below shows the architecture of the SMS with several other parameters for processing as below:
technology used in SMLS prototype. The prototype is
developed based on the current SMS technology. As to http://smls.net/receive.php?from=01234567
reduce the development time and concentrate more on the 89&text=sms2u+cseb324+notes+adam@yahoo.co
m.my.&time=13+May+2010+17:03:52&msgid=100
development of the learning contents, a third party SMS 01&shortcode=32244
gateway service was deployed. The third party SMS gateway
provides the application programming interface between the
After processing the string, SMLS will return the result
SMLS and the service provider’s SMS centre.
accordingly. Basically the result contains 4 parameters as
describe in the Table 1 below:

Mobile
Table 1: Return string parameters
Device Sequence Parameter name Description
Mobile SMS Centre
Service
SMS Gateway 32244 1 Type Message type
Provider
Internet 0 – normal text
1 – ringtone
Mobile
Device Internet 2 – operator logo
4 – picture message
SMS Centre 2 To The receiver’s mobile
number. Must be in
Mobile Internet
Device international format,
Mobile
Service
For example:
Provider
Web
60123456789
Browser SMLS 3 Text The content of the
(SMS Application Server)
message, which must be
Web URLencoded
Browser
4 Price 30 – RM0.30

Figure 2. SMLS system architecture


An example of a return string is as below:
Each SMS gateway has a unique number known as the
shortcode. The shortcode is used by SMS Centre of mobile 0,60123456789,CSEB364%20notes%20had%20bee
service provider to route the message to the respective SMS n%20sent%20to%20adam%40yahoo.com.my.,30
Gateway. In our context, the shortcode used is 32244. It
(IJCNS) International Journal of Computer and Network Security, 61
Vol. 2, No. 6, June 2010

The above string contains message type code (0), the special keywords together with the announcement to be
recipient phone number (0123456789), the result or made to SMLS as below:
information requested in url encoded and the premium
charge (30) in cents. The Gateway then processes the string Sms2u announce cseb324 class is
and forwards the message to the respective SMS Centre of postponed.
the particular service provider. Figure 4 shows the example
SMS sent by a user to 32244 and the reply from SMLS. Upon receiving the request, SMLS will invoke the Bulk
SMS module to send the announcement to phone numbers
listed under CSEB324 class. The status of the operation will
then send back to the lecturer’s cellular phone. Besides IOD
and Bulk SMS module, there are also a database server
(MySQL) and PHP modules, which control the flow and
processes of user requests. They also act as the interfaces
between the SMS gateway and other web services, like
emails and FTP. So, upon receiving the HTTP GET request,
From : 32244
the web server will execute and perform specific PHP scripts
CSEB364 notes had according to the keyword. In some cases, when necessary,
been sent to
adam@yahoo.com.my. the script will invoke the database server to establish a
connection to the database or request the mail server to send
Close Delete
email to an email address.
Figure 6 describes the flow of SMLS processes. For
example, in the event of receiving a SMS, SMLS will first
verify the message and then performs the required task.
Figure 4. SMS replies from SMLS Every incoming SMS will be logged into an incoming SMS
database table. Also, for every valid keyword, the required
task will be performed (i.e. either make a query to database
3.2 Server Components of SMLS and get the result or invoke the sendmail function to send
In general, SMLS comprises of two main components; the emails). Also, an acknowledgment will be sent through the
Information On Demand (IOD) module and the Bulk SMS SMS gateway, then to the SMS centre and eventually to the
module. The IOD module is used to handle information as student’s mobile device for every valid SMS request.
per user request. This is a one-to-one service type. It means,
if information is requested by a user, the information is S ta r t
returned or sent only to that particular user. In general, the
server components of the SMLS are represented by Figure 5
SM S
below. R e c o rd M essage
Log R e c e iv e d

Apache P ro ce s s
W eb SM S
s t r in g
Server MySQL
Database

F a ls e R e tu rn e d
V a l id
e r ro r
R e q u e s t?
m essage

T ru e
IOD Mail
M odules Server o b t a in d
re le v a n t
in f o r m a t io n
Applications
scripts
R e tu rn e d
Bulk t h e in f o r m a t io n R e co rd

SMS FTP r e q u e s te d Log

Modules Server

PHP Scripts End

Figure 5. SMLS server components


Figure 6. General flowchart of SMLS

The Bulk SMS module is used when SMLS needs to send 3.3 System Functionality
message to multiple users. For example, let assume that a
Table 2 below describes the tasks and application offered by
lecturer needs to send announcement from his mobile
SMLS system to students and lecturers. SMLS has been
phone. In this case, the lecturer can send SMS containing
successfully implemented for student of CSEB324 Data
62 (IJCNS) International Journal of Computer and Network Security,
Vol. 2, No. 6, June 2010

Structure and Algorithms class during Semester 2 and reliability issues, two solutions are proposed. First,
2009/2010 in UNITEN. university can choose a third party SMS gateway provider
with better reliability and performance track record. The
Table 2: SMLS functionalities option is a simple but the recurring costs (i.e. maintenance,
Actor Task Description upgrading) of such gateway can be very expensive. A better
Lecturer Announcement Send announcement to all option the problem is for university to setup its own SMS
students in a class. gateway server. Although the initial setup cost is expensive,
Announcement can be in the university can recoup its investment from the charged
the form of instruction to imposed by the service provider to the user.
students or notification
related to their class.
4.2 Cost of SMS issue
Student Request notes Student can request notes Since SMLS is using a third party SMS gateway, cost of
and the notes will then be sending IOD to user is charged at a premium rate with
emailed to their email minimum of RM0.30 per message received. This amount is
address. on top of standard SMS rate imposed by the respective
service provider. Students, with financing constraint were a
Check class Student can check class bit reluctant to use the system, unless they have no choice.
information schedule, class For an SMS massage, about 40% to 60% of the premium
announcement or any class charges goes to the service provider. Whatever remains will
related information. be shared between the third party SMS gateway and the
content provider (in this case the university). If the
Download quiz Student can request quiz university owns the gateway server, almost half of the cost
paper to be emailed to their can be subsidized by the university. Furthermore, the mobile
email. service provider could play their role in reducing premium
charged for education purpose as part of their corporate
Review question Student can request for social responsibility project.
review question for a
chapter for refreshment 4.3 Attestation and Privacy issue
before class. Despite the ability of the SMLS prototype system to detect
students’ mobile phone, the issue of user verification and
Class synopsis. Student can request for authentication still posed a major challenge in MSLS
class or chapter synopsis for environment. It is hard to develop a function that able to
refreshment before or after authenticate the user’s identity in the SMLS environment.
class. Although some mobile phone such as PDA has the user
authentication function using finger print to authenticate the
Check marks Student can check their authorized phone user, such mobile phone is seldom used by
marks (quizzes, test or any students. In most cases, the access to the mobile devices is
assessment marks) open to everyone; thus, who has access to the phone can use
the phone to send SMS and obtain privacy information such
as student’s marks, or maybe, answer a quiz on behalf of
other students.
In this pilot project, we just assume that the sender is the
4. Issues and Challenges trustworthy student. However, in order for an SMLS system
Although SMLS works as planned, there are several
to be widely used and accepted, attestation framework has to
important issues to be highlighted.
be developed.
4.1 Reliability and performance issue
4.4 Copyright of the learning material
The reliability of current implementation of the SMLS
It is common that academic materials are usually
prototype architecture relies on several servers. However,
copyrighted. In mobile learning environment where
these server are not owned by the university– they are
materials such as lecture notes and questions are
belongs to the service provider (i.e. SMS Centre and the
disseminated through mobile phone without the copyright
SMS gateway). As such, the performance of the SMLS
notice. Hence, the intellectual property of the material is not
prototype depends much on the performance and availability
protected. As such, the students could easily reproduce the
of both servers. During the trial, there were cases where the
material and disseminate the material to other students.
reply takes longer than 15 seconds and it was caused by the
Therefore, serious consideration should be taken into
Gateway server. In some isolated cases, the reply even failed
account including looking for means to protect lecturers’
to reach the user. This is solely due to the network
intellectual properties right for their learning materials.
connection problem.
Often, the problem was due to the connectivity failure
4.5 Equal opportunity among students
between the third party SMS Gateway and the service
In mobile learning environment, the use of mobile
provider SMS centre. Thus, to overcome the performance
(IJCNS) International Journal of Computer and Network Security, 63
Vol. 2, No. 6, June 2010

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improve students’ learning interest and eventually Authors Profile
contribute to the improvement of their performance.
Mohd Hazli M.Z obtained his BACHELOR
OF Computer Science and M.Sc (Computer
Science) from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in
1998 and 2001 respectively. Started his career
References as system engineer in an IT company in 1998 as
[1] Albanese, M and Mitchell, S (1993).Problem-based system developer and joined the UNITEN in
the year of 2001 as Lecturer in Software
learning: a review of the literature on its outcomes and
Engineering Department. He currently pursues
implementation issues. AcademicMedicine, 68: 52-81 his PhD in Software Testing.
[2] Attewell, J, 2005: Mobile technologies and learning
A technology update and m-learning project summary:
Learning and skills development agencies: http :// Mohd Z. M. Yusoff obtained his BSc and MSC
www.LSDA.org.uk, retrieved on 30 /10/2009 in Computer Science from Universiti
[3] Attewell, J and Savill-Smith, C (2003).M-learning Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1996 and 1998
and social inclusion - focusingon learners and learning. respectively. He started his career as a Lecturer
Proceedings of MLEARN 2003: Learning with Mobile at UNITEN in 1998 and has been appointed as a
Principle Lecturer at UNITEN since 2008. His
Devices. London, UK: Learning and Skills
has produced and presented more than 60
Development Agency, 3-12 papers for local and international conferences. His research
interest includes modeling and applying emotions in various
64 (IJCNS) International Journal of Computer and Network Security,
Vol. 2, No. 6, June 2010
domains including educational systems and software agents,
modeling trust in computer forensic and integrating agent in
knowledge discovery system.

Azlan Yusof obtained his BSc Computer and


MSc (Computer Science) from Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia in 2000 and 2002
respectively. Started his career in UNITEN in
the year of 2003 as lecturer in Software
Engineering department.

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