NordicLeaf

The network is aiming at reaching the following targets:

1. to support research training through the joint organization of scientific seminars and workshops  for PhD students and young researchers. More specifically:
   • create a network of PhD students investigating TEL related research issues
   • promote the mobility of post docs
   • -support an infrastructure for the training of the PhD supervision
2. to contribute to the development of high-standard research, informed by already present scientific knowledge and expertise at different already connected research groups
3. to establish a high-profile Nordic research in the field of TEL (especially in the area of mobile learning) by co-ordinating the work of local projects and adding synergy to already established contacts;
4. to conduct high qualitative research training in the Nordic region aiming at positioning Scandinavia as one of the leading research regions in the world in the field of Technology enhanced learning.
5. to make the Nordic region a potentially leading area in the field of Technology enhanced learning able to compete with other European and U.S centers.
6. to develop international communication and dialogue with European, Asian and American partners;
7. to further the knowledge and understanding of future school development and future learning models in Nordic countries

The aim of this network is to strengthen interdisciplinary high-quality research and further develop an on-going research effort supported by a seed money grant from NordForsk in the field of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL). The Learning Ecosystems and Activities of the Future (LEAF) is a research initiative that brings together eight research groups from four Nordic countries (Sweden Finland, Norway and Denmark). These groups encompass an area of scientific research related to the interdisciplinary field of Technology Enhanced Learning with special emphasis on two disciplines, namely Learning Sciences and Human Computer Interaction.

The overall aims of the LEAF initiative are to establish a solid scientific ground in order to consolidate research and training efforts in the field of TEL through the creation of a Nordic research network of senior scientists, young researchers and PhD students. In particular, Ph D students in the Nordic countries find it difficult to get supervision covering different areas of expertise in the complex landscape of studying and developing mobile devices for learning Expertise about learning sciences, education technology, computer sciences, human computer interaction and more specifically, competence in the design of pedagogical activities, prototypes, scenarios, social media, qualitative and quantitative methodological  expertise, social software, social and conceptual collaboration, architectures, sensors, sema codes, image, sound, animation are needed.

Today’s large penetration of information and communication technologies in society places new requests on the education sector. One of the objectives of the research area  called “Technology-Enhanced Learning” (TEL),  is  to gain  understanding about the types of knowledge and competence, individuals as well as organizations need to develop in accordance with the impact of  technologies on our working and social practices. One emerging and interdisciplinary research field within TEL, deals with the question of adoption and design of mobile and ubiquitous technologies for learning (cf. Mobile learning). This emerging field of research seeks to understand the nature of learning when supported by handheld and mobile devices and to develop theories, methods and artefacts able to support conceptual, social, psychological and physical aspects of learning anytime, anywhere. Mobile and wireless technologies due to its large penetration in children and teenagers’ communication practices are of particular interest by TEL. The rapid development of these technologies combined with access to content in a wide variety of settings, allows learners to experience new learning situations beyond the school’s walls. This offers the potential for a new phase in the evolution of technology-enhanced learning, marked by a continuity of the learning experience across different contexts.
Research conducted in the field of Mobile Learning is interdisciplinary. Scholars working in this field of research come from different disciplines : educational technology, learning sciences, computer sciences and human-computer interaction. Although each of these disciplines presents their own focus, methods and theoretical frameworks, they all share a common research objective: to find out how to design the use of mobile technologies in order to support a teaching practice that promotes deeper learning across different contexts.

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The aim of network is to strengthen interdisciplinary high-quality research and further develop an on-going research effort supported by a seed money grant from NordForsk in the field of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL). The Learning Ecosystems and Activities of the Future (LEAF) is a research initiative that brings together eight research groups from four Nordic countries (Sweden Finland, Norway and Denmark). These groups encompass an area of scientific research related to the interdisciplinary field of Technology Enhanced Learning with special emphasis on mobile technologies and the fields of Learning sciences and Human computer interaction. These fields focus strongly on both rethinking pedagogic curricula from the opportunities that mobile technologies bring up to education and, redesigning mobile technologies taking account of specific learning and social goals defined in educational curricula.