[Xerte] Call for Book Chapter

[Danilo Câmara]

*CALL FOR CHAPTERS*

*Submission Deadline: September 15, 2012*

* *

*Technology Platform Innovations and Forthcoming Trends in Ubiquitous
Learning*

A book edited by Francisco Milton Mendes Neto, Rural Federal University of
the Semi-Arid, Brazil

* *

*Introduction*

Distance Education (DE) is a growing mode of teaching and learning. The
developments of computer networks, the improvement of the processing
capability of personal computers and the advance of multimedia
technologies, among other factors, contributed to the creation of this
scenario. However, despite consisting of an effective teaching method,
distance education still presents some challenges, among which we highlight
the need for a pedagogical and computerized support appropriate to the
characteristics of each person. Through this support is possible to
automate increasingly the process of learning, making the teacher a
facilitator and cease to be the main source of information that drives the
learning process. One of the ways to provide DE is through the use of
mobile devices. This modality is known as Mobile Learning. This way of
providing education allows that students and teachers can take advantage of
the resources offered by mobile technologies. One of these benefits is the
possibility to access, view, and provide content irrespective of time and
location. However, even with the benefits offered by mobile learning, we
should consider the particular characteristics of each student, including
the resources of which he holds. This is necessary not only to provide
content that meets the needs of students, but also to provide content in an
appropriate way to the constraints of mobile devices since they have
distinct and limited resources. In this context, the concept of
context-aware environments arises. This kind of environment fits to the
user, considering information provided by the selfsame user, beyond those
captured dynamically from his interaction with the learning environment.
This learning modality based on context-aware and mobile environments is
called Ubiquitous Learning.

The increasing use and diffusion of Web technologies and the ubiquity of
educational tools have provided breakthroughs in learning environments. It
is known that students should no longer be treated in a homogeneous way. An
ubiquitous learning (or u-learning) environment provides students with a
teaching method that would be not possible to be performed in a
conventional web-based course. An u-learning environment may be understood
as a context-aware mobile learning environment, providing most adaptive
contents for learners. Context awareness describes a paradigm in which the
context of a user is considered to define his profile. There is no
consensus about the definition of "context". This one is specific to the
application and the desired intention, requiring the identification of
functions and properties of the individuals' domains. This book will cover
subjects related to u-learning. The u-learning, generally, refers to
learning supported by technology, performed anytime and anywhere. So,
u-learning occurs when learning does not have a fixed location, or when the
students take advantage of mobile technologies. It is considered by some
authors as an evolution of the concept of mobile learning (m-learning). In
this sense, the idea of ubiquity in the learning process provides valuable
contributions to thinking about invisible learning, which by nature is
dependent of the student context. A major contribution of adoption of ICT
in everyday life is extending the pre-established limits of what is
traditionally known as learning spaces. In other words, technology is
opening new possibilities for converting other spaces in learning spaces.
These new opportunities represent a new educational paradigm, because they
enable anybody to produce and disseminate information so that learning can
occur at any time and space. In other words, learning occurs not only in
the classroom, but also at home, at work, in the courtyard, in the library,
in the museum, at the park, and in daily interactions with others. For
example, through mobile devices, the learner is able to interact with the
environment by capturing images, sounds, videos, and location information
from the environment. That ability to capture information in different
contexts motivates the students to create new learning situations through
interactions with the environment.



*The Overall Objective of the Book*

The proposed book has an overall objective to clarify the new technologies,
applications, and researches in the u-learning area. It intends to help
students, teachers, and researchers to obtain a larger understanding of
both the potential of the related new technologies and the trends that are
being followed to make u-learning more effective. The successful
implementation of u-learning in face of the opportunities provided by new
technologies is not a trivial task. The accumulated experience and know-how
of the researchers in this area, which have invested time and effort in
study in the attempt of solving problems in this area, are, therefore,
important success factors. This book will share this know-how with other
researchers, students, and interested professionals in this area. We will
intend to show the current trends, practices, and challenges faced by
designers of u-learning environments. These can include theoretical
assumptions and empirical researches to practical implementations and case
studies. In the end, the readers should have a clear notion about  the
current stage and the future tendencies in this area.



* *

*The Target Audience*

Computer-supported learning is a genuinely interdisciplinary area that
strives for creating a better comprehension of the requirements of the
learning process that are mediated by a diverse set of computer
technologies. Therefore, this book is addressed to a wide audience,
including researchers and students, and educators and industrial trainers
interested in various disciplines, such as education, cognition, social and
educational psychology, didacticism and, mainly, computer science applied
to education.



*Recommended topics include but are not limited to the following:*

*Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies Applied to U-Learning *

*Mobile and Context-Aware Learning*

*Use of Interactive Digital TV for U-Learning *

*Context-Aware Learning Objects for U-Learning*

*Use of Intelligent and Pedagogical Agents for Improving Collaboration in
U-Learning*

*Game-Based Learning versus U-Learning*

*Modeling technologies for U-Learning systems*

*Advances in design of U-Learning systems*

*Main issues and trends in U-Learning*

*Problems and challenges in U-Learning environments*

*New technologies for surpassing the challenges of U-Learning*

*Developing Technologies for U-Learning*

*Validation and testing technologies for U-Learning systems*

*Mobile Learning versus U-Learning*

*New approaches for developing U-Learning systems*


* *
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit *on or before September
15, 2012*, a 2-5 page manuscript proposal clearly explaining the mission
and concerns of the proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be
notified by *September 30, 2012* about the status of their proposals and
sent chapter organizational guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be
submitted by *Dezember 30, 2012*. The book is scheduled to be published by
Idea Group, Inc., www.idea-group.com, publisher of the Idea Group
Publishing, Information Science Publishing, IRM Press, CyberTech Publishing
and Idea Group Reference imprints, in *2013*.



*Inquiries and Submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document)
to:*
*Francisco Milton Mendes Neto*E-mail: miltonmendes at ufersa.edu.br

-- 
---Danilo Câmara---
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