This study developed a mobile APP support learning system to compare the effects of two different learning approaches based on students’ health-related physical fitness (HRPF) achievements, self-efficacy, and system usability. There were 90 participants from four physical education classes in an elementary school of Taiwan who were assigned to the experimental and control groups. An 8-week experiment was conducted to evaluate the two different learning approaches. The experimental results showed that a mobile APP support learning approach could improve the students’ HRPF achievements. Furthermore, this study found that the self-efficacy and system operations affect the students’ HRPF achievements. To sum up, the combination of traditional and a mobile APP support learning system is an effective approach that would help students to improve their HRPF achievements. The findings can provide the key factors of assisted learning design and students’ HRPF achievements for the teachers and the related educators as references.
Improving health-related physical fitness (HRPF) is a desired learning performance for school-aged children to achieve, and children who are physically fit are more likely to be active people [
In the field of HRPF, many psychological theories are utilized to improve students’ motivation for HRPF achievements, and the self-efficacy theory is one among them. Self-efficacy was a key concept in Bandura’s social cognitive theory and was proposed by Bandura [
In recent years, many scholars have employed mobile and cloud-based technologies as tools to assist learning. Mobile technology refers to characteristics of a device to handle information access, communication, and business transactions while in a state of motion [
In addition, some scholars had proposed evidence that the use of assisted technology can achieve higher learning outcomes, such as use of web-based assisted learning system in education [
However, there is no research to investigate whether using a mobile APP support learning influences the physical fitness of elementary school students; it indicates a knowledge gap. In order to fill this gap, this paper develops a mobile APP support learning system named My-Fitness which assists students improve their HRPF achievements. My-Fitness is a mobile phone-based system which has a simple and convenient feature, and students can upload data to the cloud and teachers can also use the Firebase on the web to assess students’ learning achievement and quickly give advice and encouragement to students.
In order to set a cornerstone for understanding this study, we briefly introduce some theoretical views and information based on literature analysis.
Many kinds of literature attempted to define physical fitness. Pate [
A study by Pate [
Mobile devices were the ideal terminal to deliver the message that enabled students to access learning materials anywhere and at anytime, and it could also provide opportunities for the teachers to develop learning activities [
Other researchers reviewed 110 papers published between 1993 and 2013 that investigated the effects of integrating mobile devices into students’ learning showed that the overall effect of using mobile devices appears to be effective [
Cloud-based learning has become increasingly popular in every field. Cloud-based paradigm provided a virtual resource pool (hardware, development platforms, or services) that was available through the network. Cloud services would make users more efficient and allowed users to access their information anytime and anywhere seamlessly [
Self-efficacy was a key concept in Bandura’s social cognitive theory and proposed by Bandura, and later he further mentioned that self-efficacy was one’s belief in his or her ability to execute a particular task or behavior [
Dinthervan et al. [
Holden and Rada [
Brooke [
In this section, we describe the research design, research questions, operational definitions, participants, experimental procedure and learning activities, measuring tools, and system development.
This experiment was done mainly to explore whether the use of a mobile APP support system could help elementary school students to enhance HRPF achievements and self-efficacy. A research framework proposed in this study is depicted in Figure
Research framework.
The purpose of this study focuses on the effect of different learning approaches on students’ HRPF achievements. In the meantime, the demographic variables how to affect students’ self-efficacy and system usability and the impact of self-efficacy and system usability on students’ HRPF achievements are also explored. The research questions include: Is there any difference between the different demographic variables and the students’ HRPF achievements? Is there any difference between the different demographic variables and the students’ self-efficacy? Is there any difference between the different demographic variables and the students’ system usability? Does the students’ self-efficacy affect the HRPF achievements? Does the different perception of system usability result in different HRPF achievements? Is there any correlation between the students’ self-efficacy and system usability?
The research variables include a dependent variable of HRPF achievements and independent demographic variables, self-efficacy, and system usability. The definitions and references of variables are listed in Table
Operational definitions.
HRPF achievements | The HRPF achievements are evaluated by the Sports Administration Ministry of Education (SAMOE) normative physical fitness scores [ |
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Demographic gender | There are gender differences in information technology use and implementation [ |
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Demographic grade (experimental and control group) | Nursing students who were older had better physical fitness [ |
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Demographic phone usage experience | Participants’ experiences in using similar gaming systems. Experience will affect a user’s self-efficacy [ |
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Demographic exercise habit | Exercise habit will affect a person’s confidence [ |
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Demographic beverage drinking habit | A caffeine-containing energy drink might be an effective ergogenic aid to improve physical performance and accuracy in male volleyball players [ |
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Demographic BMI | With lower BMI had better physical fitness [ |
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Self-efficacy | Holden & Rada (2011) said that both self-efficacy and perceived usability had a positive correlation in education [ |
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System usability | Usability is not a quality that exists in any real or absolute sense [ |
The students were from four classes of the 3th–6th graders at an elementary school in southern Taiwan, and 90 students took part in a HRPF lesson. A total of 89 students fully completed the course, while one was unable to put through the activities, including 40 males and 49 females with an average age of 10.1 years.
The experimental procedure is shown in Figure
Flow of the two learning activities.
In the second to seventh week, the teacher in the experimental group randomly assigned 3 or 4 students into a team, in which they were equipped with a mobile phone to interact with the APP. Furthermore, each team was asked to elect a team leader who was responsible for handling mobile phone and arranging the use of mobile phone. In the meantime, the students were asked to present their achievement weekly and upload them to the cloud by the APP. Then they could browse and compare their achievement with those of the other classmates on the mobile phone. Moreover, the teacher used the mobile phone or cloud to assess their HRPF achievements over the past week and then provide comments and encourage to them.
On the other hand, the control group students were guided by the same teacher to practice and complete their learning tasks. In the meantime, their HRPF achievements over the past week were recorded in the manuscript and commented by the teacher. Finally, in the last week, the posttest for HRPF achievements, self-efficacy, and system usability was conducted after the learning activities were completed.
These measurement tools include demographic scale, SAMOE normative physical fitness scores, self-efficacy scale, and SUS as shown in each section.
In this study, the demographic variables included gender, grade, phone usage experience, exercise habit, and beverage drinking habit that are employed to explore the demographic relationship with self-efficacy and system usability. Table
Demographic variables.
Variable | Statement |
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Gender | Denote the student gender: male or female |
Grade | Denote the student grade: 3–6 |
Experience in using phone | How many times does the student use phone per week? |
Exercise habit | How many minutes does the student exercise per week? |
Beverage drinking habit BMI | How many cans of beverages does the student drink per week? Denote the student BMI: low BMI or high BMI |
In order to evaluate the HRPF achievements, this study uses the SAMOE normative physical fitness scores as shown in Table
HRPF-based test.
HRPF items | Activities | Descriptions |
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Body composition | Body mass index | The weight in kilogram/the square of height in meters |
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Body flexibility | Sit and reach | The students sat on a wooden board with their feet apart (about 30 centimeters) and kept knees straight. Place the measuring tape between the students’ legs and their heels were aligned with the 25 cm mark of the measuring tape. The students naturally stretch forward as far as possible and then measure the score. A higher score indicates greater flexibility |
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Muscular strength | Standing long jump | The students stand behind the take-off line on the ground then attempt to jump as far as possible. Measure the distance from the take-off line to the nearest contact landing point (heel). Three attempts are allowed and the longest distance in the three attempts is then recorded |
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Muscular endurance | One-minute bent-knee sit-ups | The students were asked to lie on the floor with the knees bent to form a 45 degree angle and two hands across the chest and palms on the shoulders. During one minute of testing, hold the students’ ankles to keep the heel in contact with the floor and make them to try their best to complete the sit-ups test |
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Cardiorespiratory endurance | 800-meter sprinting/walking ability | To measure 800-meter sprinting/walking ability. The teacher encouraged the students to do their best and complete the test. When the students were unable to run they could replace to walk. The shorter the time, the better the cardiopulmonary endurance |
This self-efficacy questionnaire was obtained from Wang and Hwang [
Self-efficacy scale.
1. I believe I will receive an excellent grade in this physical fitness test |
2. I’m certain I can master the skills being taught in this physical fitness program |
3. I’m certain I can understand the most difficult part presented in the physical fitness program |
4. I’m confident I can understand the most complex part presented by the instructor in this physical fitness program |
5. I’m confident I can catch the basic movements taught in this physical fitness program |
6. I’m confident I can do an excellent job on the movements in this physical fitness achievement |
7. I expect to do well in this physical fitness test |
8. Considering the difficulty of this physical fitness program, the teacher, and my skills, I think I will do well in this achievement |
The SUS is based on the mobile APP system and developed by John Brooke at Digital Equipment Corporation in the UK [
System usability scale [
Questionnaire item | Strongly disagree | Strongly disagree |
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(1) I think that I would like to use this system frequently | 1 | 5 |
(2) I found the system unnecessarily complex | 1 | 5 |
(3) I thought the system was easy to use. | 1 | 5 |
(4) I think that I would need the support of a technician to be able to use this system | 1 | 5 |
(5) I found that various functions of this system were well integrated | 1 | 5 |
(6) I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system | 1 | 5 |
(7) I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly | 1 | 5 |
(8) I found the system very cumbersome to use | 1 | 5 |
(9) I felt very confident using the system | 1 | 5 |
(10) I needed to learn a lot of things before I could use this system | 1 | 5 |
Mobile devices have been widely used in various fields, and in this study, we use Android Studio and Eclipse as development tools to develop the mobile APP named My-Fitness on the mobile platform. Table
APP development lifecycle.
(1) Analyze |
(i) Develop tool (Eclipse and Android Studio) |
(ii) Program language (Java) |
(iii) SDK (Android SDK) |
(iv) Database selection (Firebase) |
(v) Functional planning |
(2) Design |
(i) Interface of the HRPF APP (on screen) |
(ii) Design the system process of the HRPF APP |
(3) Develop/implement |
(i) Use the selected tools, program language, and SDK to develop the HRPF APP |
(4) Testing |
(i) Recruit volunteers for testing the HRPF APP usability |
(ii) Bug fixes |
Furthermore, the mobile APP provided hyperlinks of physical fitness-related knowledge and interesting games. We arranged suitable hyperlinks for the students to inquire and also provided many hyperlinks of interesting physical fitness games that could inspire students’ curiosity and learning motivation. The physical fitness games consist of introduce activity games, development activity games, and recovery activity games, in which the students could get a lot of physical fitness knowledge and right learning methods by using the mobile APP, so as to enhance HRPF achievements. The interface and content of the mobile APP are shown in Figures
The interface of APP.
The content of APP. Note: The APP provided hyperlinks of physical fitness related knowledge and interesting games [
Ranking scores. Note: The students check the normative physical fitness scores table based on gender, age to know their own relative position of physical fitness. HRPF ranking offers the students a place to view and compare the achievements with the other team members and classmates and could timely know their own ranking in the class. The teacher could assess their achievements by the Firebase on the web. Firebase is a mobile and web application platform that includes tools and infrastructure and is designed to help people build high-quality APP.
Additionally, the students could enter their fitness scores and view their present and historical record achievement by the mobile phone. During the learning activities that the system will rank students’ HRPF ordering, they could compare the achievement with those of other classmates and know their own ranking in class timely. Meanwhile, their own achievement could be compared with the SAMOE normative physical fitness scores to know their own relative position of physical fitness. Moreover, the teacher could view and manage students’ login status and evaluate their achievement by the Firebase on the web. The system architecture is given in Figure
The system architecture.
In this study, the students’ self-efficacy and system usability are measured, and the effects of different groups on HRPF achievements are analyzed. After analysis, the internal consistency Cronbach’s alpha of the self-efficacy scale reaches 0.9 in the collected questionnaire. The descriptive statistics include frequencies, means, and standard deviations, to present the trends of demographic variables; furthermore, the Hotelling
For investigating the effects of different demographic variables on students’ HRPF achievements, the analysis of Hotelling
The results of Hotelling
Variables | Descriptive statistics | Hotelling |
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Mean | SD |
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Gender | Male | 40 | 55.37 | 21.30 | 1.42 | 0.23 |
Female | 49 | 62.44 | 18.50 | |||
Grade | Grade 3, 5 | 41 | 50.73 | 16.61 | 10.02 | 0.01 |
Grade 4, 6 | 48 | 66.56 | 19.92 | |||
Phone usage experience | Weekly phone using times <5 | 54 | 56.85 | 20.73 | 0.59 | 0.66 |
Weekly phone using times ≥5 | 35 | 63.00 | 18.51 | |||
Exercise habit | Weekly exercise minutes ≤80 | 55 | 55.09 | 18.59 | 2.68 | 0.03 |
Weekly exercise minutes >80 | 34 | 66.02 | 20.63 | |||
Beverage drinking habit | Beverage consumption per week (cans) <3 | 55 | 58.45 | 18.49 | 0.22 | 0.92 |
Beverage consumption per week (cans) ≥3 | 34 | 60.58 | 22.47 | |||
BMI | BMI ≤ 2 | 68 | 63.51 | 17.72 | 11.65 | 0.01 |
BMI > 2 | 21 | 45.53 | 21.22 |
Grade 3, 5: control group, grade 4, 6: experimental group; exercise habit: weekly exercise minutes >80, no exercise habit: weekly exercise minutes ≤80; low BMI: BMI ≤ 2, high BMI: BMI > 2, divide by the median,
For investigating the effects of different demographic variables on students’ self-efficacy, analysis of the Hotelling
The results of Hotelling
Variables | Descriptive statistics | Hotelling |
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Mean | SD |
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Gender | Male | 22 | 4.22 | 0.67 | 0.75 | 0.64 |
Female | 26 | 4.02 | 0.64 | |||
Grade | Grade 4 | 21 | 4.00 | 0.73 | 1.25 | 0.29 |
Grade 6 | 27 | 4.20 | 0.78 | |||
Phone usage experience | Weekly phone using times <5 | 25 | 4.10 | 0.62 | 1.06 | 0.41 |
Weekly phone using times ≥5 | 23 | 4.12 | 0.70 | |||
Exercise habit | Weekly exercise minutes ≤80 | 22 | 3.74 | 0.62 | 5.10 | 0.01 |
Weekly exercise minutes >80 | 26 | 4.42 | 0.50 | |||
Beverage drinking habit | Beverage consumption per week (cans) <3 | 24 | 4.12 | 0.69 | 1.04 | 0.42 |
Beverage consumption per week (cans) ≥3 | 24 | 4.10 | 0.63 | |||
BMI | BMI ≤ 2 | 38 | 4.13 | 0.64 | 1.20 | 0.32 |
BMI > 2 | 10 | 4.01 | 0.73 |
Exercise habit: weekly exercise minutes >80, no exercise habit: weekly exercise minutes ≤80, divide by the median,
For testing the effects of different demographic variables on students’ system usability, the statistical
The results of
Group | Descriptive statistics |
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Mean | SD |
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Gender | Male | 22 | 75.0 | 15.21 | 0.21 | 0.83 |
Female | 26 | 74.1 | 12.84 | |||
Grade | Grade 4 | 21 | 75.2 | 14.7 | 0.31 | 0.75 |
Grade 6 | 27 | 73.9 | 13.3 | |||
Phone usage experience | Weekly phone using times <5 | 25 | 74.3 | 13.3 | −0.12 | 0.90 |
Weekly phone using times ≥5 | 23 | 74.7 | 14.6 | |||
Exercise habit | Weekly exercise minutes ≤80 | 22 | 69.7 | 11.7 | −2.29 | 0.02 |
Weekly exercise minutes >80 | 26 | 78.5 | 14.4 | |||
Beverage drinking habit | Beverage per week (cans) <3 | 24 | 75.2 | 11.7 | 0.34 | 0.73 |
Beverage per week (cans) ≥3 | 24 | 73.8 | 15.8 | |||
BMI | BMI ≤ 2 | 38 | 77.1 | 13.7 | 2.67 | 0.01 |
BMI > 2 | 10 | 64.7 | 9.1 |
System usability is only rating in posttest, and it’s score is a number, exercise habit: weekly exercise minutes >80, no exercise habit: weekly exercise minutes ≤80; low BMI: BMI ≤ 2, high BMI: BMI > 2,
A linear regression analysis is employed to predict the results of students’ self-efficacy and HRPF achievements in the pretest and posttest, as shown in Table
Regression analysis between students’ self-efficacy and HRPF achievements (all participants).
Dependent variable | Independent variables |
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P.E.V. | Std. error |
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Sig. |
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Pretest-fitness | Self-efficacy | 0.131 | 9.808 | 2.703 | 3.630 | 0.000 |
Posttest-fitness | Self-efficacy | 0.083 | 7.684 | 2.728 | 2.820 | 0.006 |
P.E.V.: parameter estimated value,
A linear regression analysis is utilized to predict the result between students’ system usability and HRPF achievements in the posttest, as shown in Table
Regression analysis between students’ usability and HRPF achievements (experimental group).
Dependent variable | Independent variables |
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P.E.V. | Std. error |
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Sig. |
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Fitness | Usability | 0.511 | 1.030 | 0.148 | 6.950 | 0.000 |
P.E.V.: parameter estimated value, system usability is only rating in posttest, it’s score is a number,
In addition, the Hotelling
The result of Hotelling
Dimension | Group | Descriptive statistics | Hotelling |
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Mean | SD |
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Fitness | System usability ≤ 74 | 22 | 51.02 | 16.1 | 13.44 | 0.01 |
System usability > 74 | 26 | 79.71 | 11.6 |
Low perception of system usability ≤ 74, high perception of system usability > 74, divide by the median,
A Pearson correlation coefficient is used to test the relationship between self-efficacy and system usability, as shown in Table
Correlation between students’ self-efficacy and system usability.
Self-efficacy | ||
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Usability | 0.41 | 0.01 |
In terms of different learning approaches on students’ self-efficacy and HRPF achievements, they are utilized to prove that students will have more confidence to complete the learning process and achieve better HRPF achievements. A Hotelling
The results of different learning approaches on students’ self-efficacy and HRPF achievements (all participants).
Dimension | Group | Descriptive statistics | Hotelling |
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Mean | SD |
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Fitness | Control group | 41 | 43.62 | 18.20 | 3.38 | 0.01 |
Experimental group (pretest) | 48 | 54.76 | 21.96 | |||
Control group | 41 | 50.73 | 16.61 | 10.02 | 0.01 |
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Experimental group (posttest) | 48 | 66.56 | 19.92 | |||
Self-efficacy | Control group | 39 | 3.99 | 0.84 | 2.14 | 0.04 |
Experimental group | 47 | 4.09 | 0.65 |
We removed 3 outliers during the Self-efficacy analysis process,
This study attempts to investigate how self-efficacy levels affect HRPF achievements and reinforce self-efficacy by using a mobile APP system to make the process more interesting in order to enhance the HRPF achievements. The students in the experimental group were provided with a mixed mode that combined with traditional learning and a mobile APP-supported learning to assist their learning, and those in the control group were provided with traditional learning that attempts to ascertain whether the use of a mobile APP system is significantly effective to enhance the HRPF achievements. From data analysis and results, there are three main findings as follows.
The demographic variables related to these discussions are summarized as follows: There is no significant difference in different genders on the students’ HRPF achievements, self-efficacy, and system usability.
The experimental results are quite different from that of scholars [ A mobile APP-supported learning approach (grade 4, 6) help the students enhance HRPF achievements
The students who accepted a mobile APP-supported learning approach would have better HRPF achievements than those who learned with traditional learning approach. The result conformed to the study of [ There was no significant difference in different phone using experiences on the students’ HRPF achievements, self-efficacy, and system usability.
The experimental results were different from that of scholars [ Exercise habit help the students enhance HRPF achievements, self-efficacy, and have more confidence in learning an unfamiliar system.
This finding is consistent with the viewpoint of other scholars [ There was no significant difference in different beverage drinking habit on the students’ HRPF achievements, self-efficacy, and system usability.
This result was different from the viewpoint of other scholars [ Low BMI help the students enhance HRPF achievements and had more confidence to learn an unfamiliar system
The students who have low BMI would have the confidence to complete the instructional process and learn a new system. This result is consistent with the viewpoint of other scholars [
In order to test whether My-fitness is helpful for students’ self-efficacy and HRPF achievements, a control group was utilized to compare with the experimental group. The results indicate that the experimental group will have more confident to complete the learning process and achieve higher HRPF achievements, as shown in Figure
The difference of HRPF score and self-efficacy between the control group and the experimental group.
The result shows that there is a positive correlation between self-efficacy and system usability, as shown in Table
We found that two different learning approaches can improve students’ HRPF achievements, but a mobile APP-supported learning approach (experimental group) has a much better effect than the traditional learning approach (control group), as shown in Table
This study has developed a mobile APP-support learning system named My-Fitness which assists students to improve their HRPF achievements. It allows students to strengthen their self-efficacy based on the mobile phone-based environment and give them a more efficient and complete learning process. In addition, My-fitness is a mobile phone-based system which has a simple and convenient feature, and students can upload data to the cloud; teachers can also use the Firebase on the web to evaluate students’ learning achievement and quickly give advice and encouragement to students. The results showed that most students were satisfied with the system and confirmed that My-Fitness did enhance their learning achievement.
This study explores several factors of HRPF achievements, such as self-efficacy, a user-friendly system, and various demographic variables. The results confirmed that these factors actually affect students’ learning achievement. My-Fitness is indeed able to enhance students’ self-efficacy and improve their learning achievement. In addition, this study found that regular exercise can achieve better HRPF achievements.
These findings can provide a good reference for assisted tool design of relevant studies and help teachers implement efficient instruction and improve students’ HRPF achievements. This paper aims to investigate how My-Fitness improves students’ HRPF achievements and effectiveness. The contributions of this paper are listed as follows: A mobile APP-supported learning system was proposed to improve students’ learning achievement and make students to easily use it. The HRPF achievements by proposed system were investigated. The self-efficacy and system usability influence effectiveness of HRPF achievements and the students’ acceptance of a mobile APP support learning approach.
To sum up, the major contribution of this study is to propose a new application of a mobile APP-supported learning system in the field of physical fitness with elementary school children.
In the future, a mobile APP-supported learning approach can be further improved by providing a database with categorized candidate feedback through which students are able to receive an immediate feedback from the system, and the system can be a good support to improve students’ HRPF achievements. Furthermore, a new perspective can enhance the work. Fu et al. [
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of this paper.