Meaningful learning in U-learning environments: An experience in vocational education

Abstract

Mobile technologies allow new learning experiences anytime, anywhere. In this sense, this study presents a learning experience in urban context supported by a U-Learning environment. Using the Youubi ubiquitous learning platform, the experiment was carried out in a vocational course at a public school in Brazil. Challenging learning situations concerning the urbanization theme of the cities were proposed. The approach adopted was based on the qualitative analysis. The theory of meaningful learning was used as a theoretical framework to assess knowledge construction. The results indicate that the Youubi learning environment fostered the discussions on the content in a dynamic way when outside the classroom, allowing collaboration and knowledge sharing among those involved, mainly strengthening the existing meanings and the perception of problems in the daily life related to the proposed content.