MASLO: A Mobile Learning Development System

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Published: Nov 30, 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14434/ijdl.v7i3.13116

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Rovy Branon
University of Washington
Moses Wolfenstein
University of Wisconsin-Extension
Cathrin Weiss
ShopBop, Inc.

Abstract

The Mobile Access to Supplementary Learning Objects (MASLO) is an open source software kit developed by the Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Laboratory (AADLC) at the University of Wisconsin-Extension. The MASLO kit is designed to provide the components for content authoring and delivery on Apple iOS® and Google Android® smart phones.This project built on work from an earlier AADLC effort to develop a high school test preparation mobile application called Revu4u (Review for You). In that project, AADLC team members successfully created a technical framework for delivering smart phone enabled instructional content. While the technical components functioned as intended, virtually no time was spent in Revu4u on creating usable interfaces. Additionally, the Revu4u project was limited in scope to only deliver multiple-choice questions and feedback. The MASLO project focused on usability rather than technological capability and was designed as a more comprehensive instructional content authoring environment. In this article, the authors will describe MASLO as a design case. The purpose is to clearly describe the kit itself, critical design decisions, and the context and situations relevant to understanding the decisions made. Relevant Revu4u processes and outcomes are briefly described as a precedent for MASLO. MASLO is a living, open source project, and this case describes the development of the kit up to August 2012.

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How to Cite
Branon, R., Wolfenstein, M., & Weiss, C. (2016). MASLO: A Mobile Learning Development System. International Journal of Designs for Learning, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.14434/ijdl.v7i3.13116
Issue
Vol. 7 No. 3 (2016)
Section
Articles

Copyright © 2023 by the International Journal of Designs for Learning, a publication of the Association of Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) and Indiana University. Permission to make digital or hard copies of portions of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page in print or the first screen in digital media. Except as otherwise noted, the content published by IJDL is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA. A simpler version of this statement is available here.

Author Biographies

Rovy Branon, University of Washington

Rovy Branon is the Vice Provost for Continuum College at the
University of Washington. Previously, Rovy was the Associate Dean and Executive Director of the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Extension in Madison, WI.

Moses Wolfenstein, University of Wisconsin-Extension

Moses Wolfenstein is a senior interaction designer at the University of Wisconsin-Extension in Madison, WI.

Cathrin Weiss, ShopBop, Inc.

Cathrin Weiss is a senior software engineer at ShopBop and is the former senior engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Extension.

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