Peer Profile Driven Group Support for Mobile Learning Teams

The requirements on infrastructures for digital learning are changing as learners become more and more mobile. Ad hoc interactions, dynamically changing learning teams and communication and collaboration centered learning have to be considered. In contrast to traditional digital learning environments focused on simulation, content representation and distance learning support, we focuse on collaborative learning. Using the notion of a group as a structuring element and building group hierarchies, mobile learners can be assigned to groups based on similar interests and skills, projects or location. To express the learners’ attributes, peer profiles are used. Based on the peer to peer technology JXTA, a prototype capable to support spontaneous collaboration of learning teams is implemented. Finally, we demonstrate the advantages of hierarchical grouping in mobile learning environments in an example lecture.