“Research on motivation has taken new avenues in order to grasp the dynamics of motivation in multiple contexts and thus get closer to actual practices of today’s learning,” said Kaleidoscope member Sanna Järvelä (University of Oulu, FI). In light of new technological developments and trends in research her recent book (co-edited with Simone Volet of Murdoch University, Australia) Motivation in Learning Contexts seems particularly relevant to Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL). (read)

Kaleidoscope members Christina M. Steiner, Dietrich Albert,(University of Graz, AT) and Jürgen Heller (University of Tübingen, DE), have written a chapter about concept mapping as it applies to eLearning in the recently published book _Advanced Principles of Effective e-Learning_. (read)

The organising committee for the 2007 Kaleidoscope Symposium are delighted to announce that two internationally renowned experts have confirmed they will be giving keynote speeches at the event (read)

Kaleidoscope members J. Schoonenboom (University of Amsterdam, NL), M.Levene
(London Knowledge Lab, UK) J. Heller (University of Graz, AT), K. Keenoy
(London Knowledge Lab, UK) and M. Turcsányi-Szabó (Eötvös Loránd University,
HU) have just published the book Trails in Education: Technologies that
Support Navigational Learning. (read)

The value of memory is obvious in both human and machine learning, but in this viewpoint, Liam Bannon (Interaction Design Centre, University of Limerick, Ireland) explores the necessity of incorporating forgetting into the field of human-computer interaction, and how this could affect the design of ubiquitous computing environments. A fuller paper on the topic has been been published (Bannon, 2006). He will be discussing these issues at a US National Science Foundation workshop to be held at UCLA, on 12-14th April, 2007. Leah Lievrouw, Michael Curry and Jean-François Blanchette have obtained funding from the National Science Foundation’s Human and Social Dynamics program for a proposal, "Designing for Forgetting and Exclusion." Their aim is to investigate the relationship between information technology and the possibility of forgetting, where forgetting is understood as a positive social good, rather than strictly as a failure of memory, technology, or institutions. The meeting will have two main objectives: first, to identify concepts, studies, and debates across a range of fields that have particular relevance to social and technological forgetting, and second, to set a strategic research agenda for understanding, measuring, modeling, evaluating, and designing for forgetting across social and technological settings. (read)

Kaleidoscope member Victor Kaptelinin (Umeå University, Sweden) and Bonnie A. Nardi (UC Irvine, USA) have recently published the book Acting with Technology: Activity Theory and Interaction Design. (read)

Three new case studies are now available on the Kaleidoscope website (read)

The knowledge gap between research and industry is well-documented. To address this serious issue, Kaleidoscope has created Gateway, an initiative connecting leading researchers in Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) with external stakeholders, from end users to teachers and trainers, to industry, right across Europe. (read)