Space-aware Design Factors for Located Learning Activities Supported with Smart Phones

Mobile technologies are currently being applied to facilitate the development of learning activities in diverse spaces beyond the classroom. Indoors and outdoors spaces are augmented with located digital Educational Resources (ER) through specific technologies that provide a sensory input to smart phones that can indicate position and, thus, enable located learning activities. The potentiality that smart phones have, make these devices adequate to facilitate the access to located ERs. This paper proposes four space-aware design factors (the space, the connectivity, the position-based technologies and the guidance) that have to be considered for designing located learning activities supported with smart phones. The application of the factors is explained through four illustrative located learning scenarios. The paper discusses and provides a wide-range vision of how the combination of these factors affects the design of the activity, accessing to the ERs and monitoring the students´ progress.