This study reviews empirical research articles published in the field of technology-enhanced learning in the out-of-class contexts in primary schools between the years 2007 and 2016 and explores how the body of research has connected formal and informal learning experiences, referred to in the paper as bridging the gap. The review focuses on 43…

Learning is becoming increasingly self-directed and often occurs away from schools and other formal educational settings. The development of a myriad of new technologies for learning has enabled people to learn anywhere and anytime. Web 2.0 technology allows researchers to shed a new light on the importance and prevalence of informal learning.…

This paper argues that the emphasis on orchestration as a metaphor for teaching in technology-enhanced learning (TEL) environments, featured in recent academic discussions, is an opportunity to broaden the scope of the inquiry into educational technology. Drawing on sociological literature and research that investigated the systemic factors that…

"Under which conditions does ICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning?" This was the leading question of the International EDUsummIT in The Hague, the Netherlands. The bases for the discussion were the scholarly findings of the International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, a synthesis of research…

This paper presents an original approach to designing social media that support informal learning in the digital workplace. It adapts design-based research to take into account the embeddedness of interactions within digitally mediated work-based contexts. The approach is demonstrated through the design, implementation, and evaluation of software…

For the purpose of clarity and consistency, the term e-learning is used throughout the paper to refer to technology-enhanced learning and information technology (IT) in teaching and learning. IT depicts computing and other IT resources. Research into e-learning has changed in focus and breadth over the last four decades as a consequence of…

Two recent emerging trends are that of Web 2.0, where users actively create content and publish it on the Web, and also location awareness, where a digital device utilizes a person's physical location as the context to provide specific services and/or information. This paper examines how these two phenomena can be brought together so that…

Boundaries between formal and informal learning settings are shaped by influences beyond learners' control. This can lead to the proscription of some familiar technologies that learners may like to use from some learning settings. This contested demarcation is not well documented. In this paper, we introduce the term "digital dissonance" to…

There has been increasing interest in informal learning in recent years alongside interest in how such learning can be supported by technology. However, relatively little is known about the extent to which adults make use of their own mobile devices to support informal learning. In this study, a survey was used to investigate whether, and to what…