Research

Besides, we focus the responsibility of teachers to provide powerful, motivating and social learning environments. Not only should teachers prepare learners for particular exams, but for being able to develop their character, being open minded and develop own ideas. In other words: teachers should be aware of their responsibility to create learning environments which make sustainable learning likely.

In focusing the sustainability of learning, we mean to highlight learning processes which are meaningful and useful, aware and reflective, focused on higher order skills and deep understanding. Sustainable learning is self-determined and in line with social, global, ecological responsibility, open-minded and a basis for learning across the life span. The concept of sustainability focuses the idea of a system – e.g. an ecosystem – remaining diverse and productive over time. For a psychological system to remain diverse and productive over time, learning is a crucial element. However, it is not understood that learning is sustainable! Often, learning is numb and focused on short term goals. To circumvent this is a challenge for every person involved in researching educational processes!

In sum, we believe that qualitatively ambitious educational research which is carried out in awareness of today's global challenges will contribute to improving teaching and learning by making it more responsible as well as more sustainable.

If you are attending the EARLI 2013 conference to share your research with the community, we encourage you to relate to this general theme of the conference and highlight how your work contributes to it.

Underpinning the conference theme, “The Joy of Learning”, the EDEN 2013 Annual Conference includes three days of keynote speeches, paper presentations introducing high quality scientific research and applied solutions, hands-on interactive workshops often blended with webinars, short on-the-spot poster sessions with visualised practices and project presentations. EDEN's community of members and partners that are driving innovation in TEL, e-learning, open and flexible learning meet every year to discuss the latest developments in this fast growing field.

Prof. Sugata Mitra is Professor of Educational Technology at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University, UK. He is best known for his "Hole in the Wall" experiment, and widely cited in works on literacy and education. Prof. Mitra is a leading proponent of Minimally Invasive Education, a solution that uses the power of collaboration and the natural curiosity of children to catalyze learning. During his most known experiment, 'Hole in the Wall' conducted first in 1999,  a computer was placed in a kiosk created within a wall in a slum at Kalkaji, Delhi and children were allowed to use it freely. The experiment aimed at proving that children could be taught by computers very easily without any formal training. This experiment inspired Vikas Swarup, an Indian diplomat to write Q & A, the novel adapted into the multiple Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire. See his TED talk on the experiment here.

Dr. Bernard Luskin, President-Elect for the American Psychological Association (APA) Media Psychology Division is widely known for his major study 'Media Psychology and New Technology'. Dr Luskin was central to the launch of Jones International University, the first accredited fully online university in the USA and the Mind Extension University, a precursor for many of the online university programs of today, including what are now being called emerging MOOC strategies. Dr. Luskin has received lifetime achievement awards from the UCLA Doctoral Alumni Association, University of Florida, California State University, Los Angeles, Long Beach City College, the Irish Government and European Commission. Read his blog 'The Media Psychology Effect' featured on 'Psychology Today'.

The partnership of the Norwegian Association for Distance and Flexible Education guarantees the smart involvement of the national distance and e-learning community and effective liaison with the Nordic stakeholders.

About EDEN

Established in 1991 as an international educational association and not-for-profit organisation, EDEN is open to institutions and individuals dealing with e-learning, and – more broadly speaking – open and distance education. It’s aim is to share knowledge and improve understanding amongst professionals in the field and to promote policy and practice across the whole of Europe and beyond. With more than 200 institutional members and over 1200 members in the Network of Academics and Professionals (NAP), EDEN assists a wide range of institutions, networks and individuals to become involved in professional information and networking activities. It does so through the organisation of acknowledged European conferences, its publications and information services, and by taking an active role in a wide range of important EU projects. EDEN has also proved successful with thematic activities such as the Open Classroom Working Group (school level distance education), and by contributing to, and promoting, ‘cutting edge’ research in the field. In addition, EDEN has also provided extensive secretarial support to the European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning (EURODL).

Further readings:
EDEN website
Conference Website
EURODL
Hole in the wall official website
The Child-Driven Education, TED talks 2010
'The Media Psychology Effect' blog
Norwegian Association for Distance and Flexible Education
University of Oslo

The research agenda of Creative Learning Lab focuses on the following themes at the moment: playful learning, co-creation, media literacy and user-centric production. But it's not a static agenda: new, relevant subjects will be added where needed.

The Creative Learning Lab is part of the Waag Society, an ICT research foundation working in the social and cultural domain, located in Amsterdam.

To answer questions about the added value of IT and new media for education, the Creative Learning Lab initiates small scale projects in a direct cooperation with end users to develop prototypes and pilots.