Research On The Design Of Application Content For Smartphone In Smart Learning Environment Of Korea

Recently, the emergence of smart phones and tablet PCs has changed people’s lifestyles. Using smart devices, such as smart phones, we can conveniently find and utilize information anytime and anywhere. Reflecting the trend in the IT field, the discipline of education in Korea has begun to pay attention as to how to make the best use of such smart devices in the classroom. Accordingly, in the e-learning education field in Korea, there have been big improvements in the simple ICT education, which used to use computers as learning aids, but has now switched to smart learning that utilizes smart devices. In this current trend, the learner, as a subject of learning, gains, shares and applies knowledge through smart devices. Consequently, in the mobile contents market, the amount of educational content is growing rapidly, as is the number of users of such content. However, it still needs further verification as to whether these contents actually help learners improve their knowledge and skill. In this regard, it seems that we still have a long way until there is a satisfactory level of high quality educational contents that meet learners’ needs.On the other hand, as smart learning is getting attention from all over the world, smart devices are getting attention, as well as new mediums, that meet the educational needs with outstanding accessibility, mobility, and ease of use. Smart phones, especially, have evolved to the level of personal computers. Therefore nowadays smart phone is at the center of e-learning. Hence, it is critical to develop qualified contents reflecting the need of learners using smart phones. However, most of the Chinese language applications that run on smart phones are just minor modifications of hardcopy textbooks or web version contents, hence they are ineffective in drawing interest from learners. To make it worse, most of them are focused on memorization-oriented formats, without an assessment of achievement or feedback from the learners.In this paper, we propose effective configuration schemes of Chinese language learning applications running on smart phones. First, this paper suggests various possible ways to use smart phone applications in linguistic education by understanding the flow of educational paradigms through "smart learning".Second, this paper analyzes the currently released Chinese language learning applications by categorizing them into vocabulary, conversation, pronunciation, pinyin, translation, dictionary, sentence expression, and image service applications. At the same time, this paper also reviews the limits of Chinese language learning applications as well.Third, it studies the characteristics of Chinese language applications, and suggests an appropriate composition strategy of Chinese language applications based on the analysis of surveys for appropriateness, learning effects, and learners’ demand of those applications.By analyzing smart phones with many functions, advantages and applications, this paper suggests an efficient way of learning, and gives opportunity to the students of Chinese language around the world. Although there is still a long way to go for smart phone applications to overcome such issues as high initial prices of smart phones and a limited learning environment, these kinds of issues are expected to be solved in the near future-just as wireless internet has become commonplace all over the world over such a short period of time.This paper is expected to lead to the acceleration of research for Chinese language learning applications, and to pioneer the development and improvement of such smart learning applications running on smart phones.