FLEXible

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.

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.

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.

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/

***************************************************************************

1st International Workshop on Enhancing Learning with Ambient Displays and Visualization Techniques (ADVTEL-2011)

http://sites.google.com/site/advtel2011/

Held at the 6th European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL11) in Palermo, Italy, September 20, 2011

***************************************************************************

RATIONALE

Visualization techniques have been researched as a way to help people deal with the abundance of information. It makes use of the principles in Gestalt Theory that explains the human visual capacity, such as proximity, similarity, continuity, symmetry, closure and relative size. They rely on the design of effective and efficient interactive visual representations that users can manipulate to solve specific tasks themselves. This approach is especially useful when a person does not know what questions to ask about the data or when (s)he wants to ask better, more meaningful questions. At the same time displays have become a pervasive part of our environment in various manifestations. While they were traditionally used to (mainly visually) present information they also become more and more important as interfaces to access and interact with digital information. Following these developments, researchers have recently started to exploit the potential of ambient displays for learning purposes, research cognitive effects, and promote the interaction of learners with their environment.

In this workshop, we are looking for contributions in the intersection of Technology Enhanced Learning and

# Information visualization; that concentrates on the use of interactive visual representations of abstract data to amplify cognition.

# Visual analytics; that aims to support analytical reasoning by interactive visual interfaces.

# Knowledge visualization; that uses visual representations to improve the transfer and creation of knowledge between people.

# Ambient Display Design; that supports individual and collaborative learning processes, problem solving and sense making.

***************************************************************************

TOPICS OF INTEREST:

We believe that the intersection of both fields – i.e. visualization and Technology Enhanced Learning – can provoke exploration, insight and understanding. Therefore, suggested topics for contributions to our workshop include the use of existing and novel visualization techniques to the following, not limited list of application domains in TEL:

# Personalization, user modeling and adaptation,

# Science 2.0,

# Learning analytics,

# Self-reflected learning,

# Recommendation techniques,

# Mobile technologies,

# Tabletop technologies,

# Learning Object Repositories and its federations,

# Evaluation methods for visualization techniques,

# Social awareness,

# Practices of diverse Technology Enhanced Learning disciplines, and how visualization techniques can influence them,

# Exploration and exploratory search

# Design dimensions and patterns

# Theoretical approaches for embedding ambient learning displays in educational environments

# Evaluation methodologies

# Prototypical Implementations

# Experimental validations of ambient learning displays

# Sense making scenarios

# Problem Solving scenarios

# Information Awareness

# Personalization and Contextualization

# Feedback and changes in behavior

# Distributed Interaction

# Embodiment (into the physical environment)

# Ambient Intelligence

# Design guidelines

# Ambient Information Channel

***************************************************************************

WORKSHOP FORMAT

Prior to the workshop, a dedicated group on TEL Europe (http://teleurope.eu/) will be opened to: facilitate discussions among participants before and after the conference; post submitted papers for an open peer review; post access to prototypes and applications; publish information and news about the workshop; collect reactions through social media on the workshop; create a special interest group that can be used after the workshop to collect ideas, evaluation subjects, etc.

Each presenter will be linked to related papers from other presenters and will be asked to compare how the works of others relate to their own work. We encourage the presentation of the work by giving a live demo to provoke true interactions within the workshop in an attempt to get away from the mini-conference format.

The results and discussions from the workshop will be summarized and analyzed in a short paper. Podcasts of the presentations will be disseminated through STELLAR.

***************************************************************************

SUBMISSIONS

Authors are invited to submit original unpublished work. The following types of contributions will be possible:

# Short papers (3-5 pages) that state the position of the authors within the scope of the workshop and describe solution concepts, prototypes and work in progress, even when in very early and not yet mature state.

# Full papers: (8-12 pages) that describe problems, needs, novel approaches and frameworks within the scope of the workshop. In this category, empirical evaluation papers and industrial experience reports are welcome for submission.

The presentation of unfinished ideas, tools under development and especially failures is explicitly encouraged. This includes the presentation and discussion of tools and their real-world usability.

The recommended format for the contributions is Springer LNCS. Contributions should be submitted through EASY-CHAIR: http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=advtel2011

We aim to publish workshop proceedings through CEUR-WS.org

***************************************************************************

IMPORTANT DATES

* Paper Submission: July 20th, 2011

* Results Notification: August 17th, 2011

* Camera Ready Submission: September 1st, 2011

* Workshop Date: September 20th, 2011

***************************************************************************

PROGRAMME COMMITTEE (to be confirmed)

# Katrien Verbert, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

# Andrew Vande Moere, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

# Boris Müller, FH Potsdam, Germany

# Moritz Stefaner, Germany

# Wolfgang Reinhardt, Universität Paderborn, Germany

# Nikos Manouselis, AgroKnow, Greece

# Xavier Ochoa, ESPOL, Ecuador

# Martin Wolpers, FIT, Germany

# Dan Suthers, University of Hawaii, USA

# Mark van t’ Hooft, Kent State University, USA

# Chee-Kit Looi, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

# Albrecht Schmidt, University Duisburg-Essen, Germany (tbc)

# Hiroaki Ogata, Tokushima University, Japan

# Tom Gross, University of Bamberg, Germany

# Ulrich Hoppe, University Duisburg-Essen, Germany

***************************************************************************

ORGANISERS

# Joris Klerkx, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

# Erik Duval, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

# Eelco Herder, L3S

# Ralf Klamma, RWTH Aachen

# Fridolin Wild, KMi, The Open University

# Till Nagel, FH Potsdam

# Marcus Specht, Open Universiteit Nederland

# Marco Kalz, Open Universiteit Nederland

# Dirk Börner, Open Universiteit Nederland

***************************************************************************

ABOUT EC-TEL 11

EC-TEL is a unique setting for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in Technology Enhanced Learning from Europe and other continents to meet together and exchange on the current challenges and advances in the field. At EC-TEL, experts and young researchers in Computer Science, Education, Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Social Science, as well as entrepreneurs have the opportunity to establish collaborations, strengthen their links and cross-fertilize their core disciplines.

EC-TEL 2011 will push further the Ubiquitous Learning paradigm by not only tackling the challenges of exploiting new trendy devices in various contexts, but also by investigating ways to meet and support formally and informally the learners in their learning playgrounds and social environments thanks to innovative scenarios. See http://www.ec-tel.eu/ for details.

***************************************************************************

MORE INFORMATION

http://sites.google.com/site/advtel2011/

Contact: joris.klerkx@cs.kuleuven.be

One of the starting points to foster ubiquitous learning support is the determination of the environmental and personal context of the learning process. A promising way to get there is the use of sensors to measure relevant metrics in situ. Such sensors can be roughly clustered into 2 categories distinguished by the contextual information they convey:

(1) Sensors determining personal context information are usually installed as closely as possible to the measured entity. The most popular ones in this category are currently without a doubt location sensors, e.g. built-in GPS receivers in modern smartphones. These sensors continuously requests the location of the device and thus under certain conditions also the location of the device owner, respectively the learner.

(2) The range of available environmental sensors is wide, starting from sensors measuring the outdoor temperature to indoor motion detectors. An increasing number of these sensors is embedded in the environment in such a way that the collected data can be easily used to determine what is happening in the surrounding, exposing contextual information about the learning environment.

Eventually it becomes interesting when the gathered sensor data from both categories are combined to map the personal and environmental context into one another and thus deduce relevant information to support the learning process. However, a drawback when dealing with different sensors is the complex and non-uniform data they produce. The challenge is to turn each sensor into a valuable independent information source and then ease the aggregation and utilization of the gathered data. Technically this is where concepts like sensor network and information fusion come into play, depicting the integration of sensors into a manageable and extensible network offering the possibility to combine multiple data sources, while still obtaining valuable refined information.

Talking about if and how to build up such a sensor network in the Medialab, we noticed that we already have a couple of sensors in place. Most of them emerged either as integral part or just as side product of our research and development activity. A good example is the use of the built-in location and orientation sensors (compass, accelerometer) for the developed mobile augmented reality prototypes (ARLearn and Locatory) running on Android. There the personal context information is required to map the existing virtual information correctly into the environment surrounding the person using the mobile device. The other way round in my currently running experiment with ambient information displays we make use of motn and a face detection to recognize users in the proximity of the display as well as their interest in the display. Both sensors are implemented in Processing making use of the display’s built-in webcam. The motion detector simply calculates the difference between the single image frames, while the face detector makes use of the open source computer vision library OpenCV for Processing to detect faces within the image.

Back to the envisioned sensor network, we finally decided to start setting up a sensor room within the Medialab, assembling all our available sensors in one place. In addition to that we are currently collecting requirements for a reliable and scaleable backend solution and we started to explore the possibilities of platforms like Arduino, development environments like Processing, tool libraries like openFrameworks, as well as communication specifications like ZigBee. So there is still a lot of interesting work to do and more blog posts to come reporting about the developments towards an ambient sensor network…