Netlab: Mobile Learning Application for Data Communication and Networking

This report discusses the research done on the chosen topic, which is
Development of Mobile Application for Learning Data Communication and
Networking (DCN). Basically, this project is about the implementation of M-learning
as the complementary platform of learning DCN. The objective of this project is to
conduct investigation on the acceptance of M-learning in the process of learning
DCN and to study the suitable mobile learning theories for DCN. In addition, this
research will also be used to study the effectiveness and user acceptance of Mlearning
for DCN. Currently, most of the students are unable to grasp the basic
concept of DCN as it is a tough subject. Besides, current learning process are also
lacking in term of facilitating the students in practical approach, time and place
constraint, and also cause student to focus more on memorizing the theory rather
than understanding how DCN actually works in real life. This study focus on
students of DCN as the main subject, and Android operating system was chosen as
the main platform for the application development. The main content of the
application consist of simulation, games, and interactive exercises. Specific
methodology was built for research purpose, while the Rapid Application
Development (RAD) is use for the application development process. Results were
obtained from the preliminary investigation that shows the positive subjects‟
acceptance for the project and also the framework of the study which is based on
Activity theory. Test subject (students) also gives positive feedbacks on the
application usefulness in learning DCN based on the usability and user acceptance
test done.