This article originated from a working group on "Learning beyond formal schooling through human--computer--human interaction (HCHI)" convened at the UNESCO EDUSummIT 2023 in Kyoto (Japan). A polylogue approach was adopted by engaging eight co-authors whose diverse perspectives culminated in propositions that addressed the pivotal…

Complexity Theory (CT) provides a useful framework for understanding Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Using an ecological model, CT studies the dynamic processes of change and emergent outcomes over time, tracing back how trajectories may have been affected by changes in and interactions among multiple variables and subsystems. Language learners…

Mobile-assisted language learning has expanded beyond relatively humble beginnings of replicating computer-based activities assigned in formal language learning contexts, and it now often consists of a complex mix of formal and informal learning activities that take place at different times and places throughout learners' daily lives. Decisions…

The rapid developments today in artificial intelligence (AI), supported by massive language data collection, are resulting in ever better digital language assistance/translation. Advances in the capabilities of intelligent services lead naturally to envisioning a future where there might be a quite different context for second language (L2) use…

Exploring the Solar System in the elementary school curriculum has traditionally involved activities, such as building scale models, to help students visualize the vastness of space and the relative size of the planets and their orbits. Today, numerous websites provide a wealth of information about the sun and the planets, combining text, photos,…

Social and mobile technologies offer users unprecedented opportunities for communicating, interacting, sharing, meaning-making, content and context generation. And, these affordances are in constant flux driven by a powerful interplay between technological innovation and emerging cultural practices. Significantly, also, they are starting to…

Geospatial and Robotics Technologies for the 21st Century (GEAR-Tech-21), teaches science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through robotics, global positioning systems (GPS), and geographic information systems (GIS) activities for youth in grades 5-8. Participants use a robotics kit, handheld GPS devices, and GIS technology to…

The process of developing innovative mobile approaches to informal and formal learning is challenging, not least in needing to satisfy stakeholders with diverse interests in the technology, the pedagogy and the overall system. Some approaches to evaluation may focus on examining the nature and quality of learning that occurs, while other methods…

Clinical research in expressive therapies, psychodrama in particular, offer education researchers and software designers descriptive analyses and evidence-based impact studies on attitudinal shifts and enhanced problem solving abilities for patients and students who participate in psychodrama role-play. Gaming environments and virtual worlds that…

In this article, the authors argue that online learning conversations need to go beyond the common "information exchange" to a deeper level of interaction in order to help learners build situated knowledge that is useful in their local contexts. The article begins by looking at the commonly-used framework of a Community of Practice (CoP) and, in…

Presents overview of recently developed computer software which is based on an understanding of how learning happens informally in the home and designed to be fun. Programs developed by The Learning Company, Children's Television Workshop, Spinnaker Software, and Capital Children's Museum are highlighted. Producers and distributors of software are…

Experiences with computer education at the Bank of America suggest that, when educating nontechnical people to use computers, formal learning environments are not as effective as informal learning environments. It has become increasingly necessary to use informal training to educate the approximately 4,000 people who need the training because of…