Dirk Boerner

Workshop at the Joint European Summer School on Technology Enhanced Learning

2013-04-08T13:18:00Z

The proposal for our workshop "How do you feel? Sampling of experiences within a mobile field trip support system" has been accepted for this year's Joint European Summer School on Technology Enhanced Learning. Together with my colleague Bernardo Tabuenca I plan to offer a hands-on session on our open source application platform for mobile learning ARLearn.

In the context of the weSPOT project we plan to gain some insights on how to make use of ARLearn to collect data as part of an inquiry-based learning process. We are especially interested in implementing the experience sampling method (Larson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1983) together with the workshop participants. More information on the summer school and the workshops offered can be found at http://www.prolearn-academy.org/Events/summer-school-2013/

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Larson, R., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1983). "The experience sampling method". New Directions for Methodology of Social and Behavioral Science, 15, 41-56.

25 predictions for the next 25 years

2012-06-05T12:06:57Z

In his WMUTE special keynote on A Perspective on Wearable and Ubiquitous Computing: How Does It Impact on Daily Life? Prof. Masahiko Tsukamoto from the University in Kobe came up with 25 predictions for the next 25 years. Although he insisted that innovations can not be predicted, but should be started by us, his predictions are an inspiring starting point of discussion. So here it goes:

1. E-books will eradicate paper media in 2 or 3 years

2. HMD market rises within 1 or 2 years (everybody will come to use)

3. Street information distribution will spread in 1 or 2 years and AR will become a standard platform of computers

4. Wearable game machines permeate various generations in 2 years

5. The mega market of wearable sensing will rise in 3 years and it will become impossible for people to part with sensors

6. Air conditioning wear will be developed explosively in 3 years and air conditioning of a room will disappear in 5 years

7. Cleaning robots will become multifunctional in 3 years as a moving home server

8. IC tags will be embedded at all daily things in 5 years and will be used in various purposes

9. "Flying computers" appear in 5 years, and their use range spreads from indoor to outdoors

10. Mobile Phone disappears in 10 years

11. Twitter and Facebook are soon out of use

12. Smart Phones will disappear in several years

13. iPad will disappear after a while

14. Digital signage will not become popular

15. from OTAKU (inside freak) to OSOTO (outside freak) > from digital activities to physical activities

16. Home camera will rapidly grow this year

17. Motion is in fashion next year

18. See-through HMD is in fashion in 2 years

19. Smart phone going to be fixedly used at specific places in 3 years

20. Magical stick rod is in fashion in 3 years

21. Car audio and car navigation will disappear in 5 years

22. Standardization of the physical law of AR contents progresses in 5 years

23. BMI (brain machine interface) becomes major in 7 years

24. Signboards in a town will disappear in 10 years

25. Paper and pens will disappear ten years later

WMUTE Conference Report 3

2012-04-11T09:05:42Z

The last day of the WMUTE conference was dedicated to a session on Evaluation and Analysis in Mobile Learning and thus one of the great challenges in this research field. The session included the presentation and discussion of a multimodal analysis of spatial characteristics of a realworld learning field, the case of a mobile business game, the evaluation of interaction with mobile devices in mobile inquiry-based learning, and the support of place/space based patterns of citywide mobile learning through a multi-agent framework. Finally Prof. Masahiko Tsukamoto from the University in Kobe concluded the conference with his special keynote on A Perspective on Wearable and Ubiquitous Computing: How Does It Impact on Daily Life?

Notably the presentation on the mobile business game by the University of Auckland illustrated nicely the complete workflow from developing an idea, over the actual implementation, to the prototype evaluation. The game uses location-based anchors to augment business cases with real-world interactions and also includes an authoring environment. The whole approach reminded me a bit of the EMERGO toolkit, almost like a possible mobile extension. Another interesting presentation dealt with an offen neglected aspect of mobile learning - the evaluation of the interaction with mobile devices. Within the mVisible Outdoor Activity project the researchers developed an interaction evaluation framework that can be used to refine activities and tasks given.

If you are interested in one of the presentations or would like to have some more information, please do not hesitateto contact me.

WMUTE Conference Report 2

2012-04-04T09:34:59Z

Throughout the week at the WMUTE conference a range of presenters from different international universities and institutes presented their research on mobile and ubiquitous learning in sessions on Context-aware and Personalized Learning Approaches, Mobile Human-Computer Interaction, as well as Mobile Social Media and Emerging Mobile Technologies in Education.

In the first session the prototypes [MY]story and hi[STORY] were presented. Both mobile digital storytelling systems were developed with the overall goal to facilitate new media literacy as key competence and promote creative collaborative learning. More technically oriented the Open Device Control (OpenDC) framework for interactive applications in ubiquitous environments, an architecture for supporting heterogeneous multi-device learning environments, and the concept of a decentralized and self-adaptive system for mobile learning applications were introduced.

In the second session a device-free personal response system based on fiducial markers, the mobile applications Lotus, Uz, and Touch & Read for the cognitive support of children with disabilities, and a gesture-based interaction system to support the collaborative exploration of visualizations using Microsoft Kinect were presented. Interestingly the response system utilizes augmented reality (AR) markers in reverse, similar to what we did when implementing our social learning game and the AR business cards. More information on the response system can be found at http://ist.mns.kyutech.ac.jp/miura/awareresponse/index.php. Furthermore the timer based cognitive support applications Lotus and Uz are available for iOS in the App Store.

Finally in the last session new approaches for nomadic inquiry, the recommendation of helpers based on personal connections, and a folksonomy-based indexing for retrieving resources were presented. Furthermore a study on a augmented reality based butterfly ecology learning system and (especially interesting) the utilization of IMS LD to author authentic learning examples in a mobile context were presented. If you are interested in one of the presentations or would like to have some more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

WMUTE Conference Report 1

2012-04-04T09:33:46Z

The first day of the WMUTE conference was opened by a keynote of Prof. David Cavallo from the University of Maryland iSchool and College of Education on Liberating Learning: How Ubiquitous Access to Connected Computational Devices Releases Education from the Tyranny of Information Recall. In his keynote he explained why the focus on mostly trivial information recall is the wrong educational focus for the ubiquitous age and that different approaches are needed. Furthermore he showcased some projects where he guided students to solve real-world problems using open engineering environments to foster their expression, construction, design & collaboration rather than presenting and recalling information.

The following sessions were then devoted to Mobile Learning Activity Design and Mobile Collaborative Learning. In the first session a design for mobile activity support across learning contexts, a scaffolded participatory and collaborative reading application, as well as the results of a survey covering the possibilities and challenges in mobile learning for K-12 teachers were presented. In the second session 3 collaborative system prototypes (i.e., SCROLL a context-aware ubiquitous learning-log system, LETS GO a system to support ecology field work for upper secondary schools, and SMS-HIT an approach to integrate SMS components into CSCL scripts) as well as a conceptual framework towards the support of field and in-class collaborative learning were presented. If you are interested in one of the presentations or would like to have some more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

IEEE International Conference on Wireless, Mobile, and Ubiquitous Technologies in Education (WMUTE)

2012-03-20T15:09:50Z

Next week I will attend the 7th IEEE International Conference on Wireless, Mobile, and Ubiquitous Technologies in Education (WMUTE) in Takamatsu, Japan. Beside some interesting keynotes from Prof. David Cavallo (University of Maryland, USA) and Prof. Masahiko Tsukamoto (Kobe University, Japan) on liberating learning and the impact of ubiquitous computing on the daily life, the conference presents an interesting program with the following workshops and sessions around mobile learning:

Mobile/ubiquitous learning strategies and applications
Scalability and interoperability dimensions for mobile learning
Mobile language learning
Mobile learning activity design
Mobile collaborative learning
Context-aware and personalized learning approaches
Mobile human-computer interaction
Mobile social media and emerging mobile technologies in education
Evaluation and analysis in mobile learning
Mobile learning in formal educational settings

More details about the conference and the complete program can be found here: http://wmute2012.info/

[UPDATE] Young Researcher Special Issue on State-of-the-Art in TEL

2012-03-01T08:54:27Z

Call for Papers for a Young Researcher Special Issue (2012) on

State-of-the-Art in TEL

in the International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning (IJTEL)

Guest Editors:

Peter Kraker, Know-Center / Graz University of Technology, Austria

Moshe Leiba, Tel Aviv University and Levinsky college of Education, Israel

Martina Rau, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Derick Leony, University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain

Israel Gutiérrez Rojas, University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain

Dirk Börner, CELSTEC, Open Universiteit, The Netherlands

Antigoni Parmaxi, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus

Wolfgang Reinhardt, University of Paderborn, Germany

Click here to access the journal homepage

The International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning (IJTEL) invites paper submissions for a special issue targeting young researchers in the community of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL). This call for papers encourages a review of state-of-the-art of TEL topics, topped with a description of the current and future work carried out by the authors doing research on these topics.

IJTEL fosters multidisciplinary discussion and research on TEL including learning at the individual, organisational, national, and global levels. The key objective of the IJTEL is to be the leading scholarly scientific journal for all those interested in researching and contributing to the technology enhanced learning landscape. For this reason, IJTEL delivers research articles, position papers, critical literature reviews, surveys, and case studies with the goal to:

● provide a holistic and multidisciplinary discussion on technology enhanced learning research issues;

● promote international research collaborations and exchange of ideas and know-how on technology enhanced learning;

● investigate strategies on how technology enhanced learning can promote sustainable development.

This special issue is directed to all young researchers such as post-graduate students, PhD. students and post-docs working in topics related to TEL both in academia and industry, and from different disciplines of the community (technologists, educationists, psychologists, etc.).

The purpose of this special issue is manifold: (a) to provide a better overview on TEL research lines; (b) to investigate and expand current TEL research themes; (c) to promote international and multidisciplinary collaboration and exchange of ideas among young researchers; (d) to encourage young researchers to formalise their research questions, topics, and methodologies.

Young researchers are invited to submit articles with reviews of the state-of-the-art research in any TEL-related area. Each focal area covered in this special issue shall provide an authoritative, timely, accessible, and critical overview on recent developments that are pertinent for TEL. The reviews should not only summarise existing literature, but analyse, synthesise, and interpret the state of the art in a novel framework for thought. For example this can be done:

● by identifying different theories and/or approaches;

● by classifying different research waves (see e.g. Lesk 1995);

● by elaborating different dimensions (see e.g. Sire et al. 2011);

● by developing a taxonomy;

● or by elaborating tensions, disagreements, etc. between the different works of the past.

It is furthermore expected that reviews are written from an interdisciplinary point of view. This means that every article is expected to provide references from at least three disciplines: education, psychology and technology. Furthermore, articles are required to include a section on research challenges that emerge from the state-of-the-art. These challenges must be substantiated by a concrete scenario. Articles that do not follow these basic guidelines will not be considered for publication.

Possible subjects include but are not restricted to the following:

● Effective learning strategies, models and methodologies

● Deployment of ICTs in educational practice

● Web 2.0 and TEL

● Semantic web and TEL

● Computer-supported collaborative learning

● TEL and knowledge management

● Emotional and motivational aspects of TEL

● Adaptive and personalised hypermedia for TEL

● Ubiquitous and pervasive technologies for TEL

● Intelligent Tutoring Systems and automated feedback

● TEL practices in different educational/learning contexts

● Policies for the promotion of TEL in education

● Educational Games

● 3D Virtual Environments

● Augmented Reality in TEL

● Connecting learners through TEL

● Orchestrating TEL

● Interoperability in TEL

● Learning analytics and educational data mining

● Formative assessment and feedback

● Ambient displays and wearable devices

● Visualization techniques for learning

● Awareness and reflection in TEL

All articles submitted for this special issue of the International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning (IJTEL) will be subject to a one-stage review process. Authors should submit a full article which will be subjected to a double blind peer review before publication. Articles must not exceed 15 pages, and in alignment with common standards for literature reviews, they are expected to include 50 or more references.

To submit a paper, authors have to register on TELeurope, login, and join the group "IJTEL Young Researcher Special Issue". This call as well as the submission instructions can then be found on the group’s page "Call for Papers YRSI 2012". Additionally, authors can use the group’s discussion section to outline, discuss, and get feedback on their initial ideas. Interested young researchers are explicitly encouraged to use alternative media (such as SlideShare, YouTube or Prezi) to express their ideas for a contribution in this Special Issue. This forum will be monitored and moderated by the guest editors of this special issue. Furthermore, the clinic provides a platform for furthering cross-fertilisation among authors. Authors who would like to invite co-authors to submit a joint paper can indicate that fact when discussing their ideas. People who are interested in a collaboration, can then express their interest and leave their contact information, so that the proposal's responsible authors can contact them.

Important Dates:

● Submission deadline for full paper: 28/02/2012 extended to 15/03/2012

● Authors notification for full paper: 16/04/2012

● Final papers submission: 05/06/2012

References:

Lesk, M. 1996. The seven ages of information retrieval. UDT Occasional Papers, 5.

Sire, S., Bogdanov, E., Gillet, D., Palmer, M., et al. 2011. Introducing qualitative dimensions to analyse the usefulness of Web 2.0 platforms as PLEs. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 3(1).

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Making things usable

2011-12-15T08:04:19Z

A few weeks ago Jan Borchers, professor of computer science and head of the Media Computing Group at RWTH Aachen, gave an interesting talk at the TEDx conference in Hasselt. In his talk he encapsulates the nine things everybody should know about basic usability:

Simplicity: designing for user, task, and context
Gestalt laws: importance of distance, grouping, similarity, and experience
Visibility and feedback
Natural mappings
The principle of least surprise
Dialog, not monolog
Error tolerance
Vertical design: instead of one (horizontal) layer
Aesthetics

These principles are of course (maybe before anything else) also applicable when designing mobile (learning) apps. Especially the principles of simplicity, gestalt laws, and dialog should get more attention in this context. The entire talk can be watched on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evoa-ULOb0Y

ICCE 2010 Poster Award

2011-02-07T13:33:47Z

At the 18th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE), my poster “A Conceptual Framework for Ambient Learning Displays” has been awarded the Best Work-in-Progress-Poster Presentation. The conference under the slogan “Enhancing and Sustaining New Knowledge through the Use of Digital Technology in Education” took place from November, 29 till December, 3 in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

The Work-in-Progress-Poster session aimed to provide opportunities for poster presenters to showcase well-formulated and innovative ongoing work or late-breaking results. 25 submissions were accepted for the poster presentation after undergoing rigorous reviews by at least two reviewers. Out of these 25 submissions, my poster was considered the best. Many thanks to my supervisor Dr. Marco Kalz and my promoter Prof. Dr. Marcus Specht (who actually presented the poster in Malaysia).

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