Background
Pervasive computing is recently becoming a new important component for the development of technology-enhanced learning (TEL). From this technological perspective, development efforts lie in the design and support of context-awareness and adaptation features in interactive learning systems. Pervasive computing has the ability to increase our capability to physically move computing tools and services with us and to inquire, detect and explore the surrounding environment in order to obtain information and to dynamically build context models that allow for supporting different aspects of the learning process (e.g., field trip [1] or cultural activities [2]).
At present, the semantic web provides a common framework that allows data to be shared and reused across applications, enterprises, and community boundaries. In the semantic web area, linked data is a term used to describe a method of exposing, sharing, and connecting data on the Web [3][4]. Thus, the web can be viewed as a single global database. Users can perform complex queries against this global database using the SPARQL language. Complex queries are queries over multiples pages / web sites / data sources. This would for instance enable a tutor gathering the results of learners’ activities across multiple sites or permit the recommendation of pertinent resources to a learner taking into account his social network and interests as found in social web applications.
Social media applications including blogs, wikis, rich media sharing and social bookmarking are widespread and have already gained acceptance in learning giving raise to the concepts of e-learning 2.0 [5]. From an educational perspective, these kinds of tools fit well with socio-constructivist learning approaches as they provide spaces for collaborative knowledge building and reflective practices. These social media tools are used in informal learning settings commonly found outside formal and institutional learning environments. Learning Management Systems are a clear example of the type of tools which are more geared towards course organisation and learning resources delivery than those that social media tools and application offer. In some settings, like informal and life long learning, the notion of Personal Learning Environments (PLE) has emerged from the combination of Web 2.0 and social media tools to support learning. These latest trends indicate that there is a need of a new line of work aim at combining the best of both worlds, LMS and PLE, in formal settings to keep pedagogical structure and Web 2.0 richness [6].
The previous technologies and tools presented above can be used to conceptualize and design the next generation of learning landscapes relying on pervasive computing, social media and semantic web standards. A major challenge is to look at these aspects from a global, distributed and open architecture perspective. Such architecture will be composed of social web environments (e.g., blog, social bookmarking, wikis, twitter, facebook, Flickr, etc.), institutional learning environments and personal learning environments exposing, sharing, and connecting data on the Web. In other words, it will be possible to reuse, analyse and manage content across web application sources, to monitor and analyse user activities and content production, to get user traces and to provide guidance and advices according to user activities and needs. Moreover, the combination of all these resources and techniques allow getting contextual data from web environments and sensors, as soon as semantic interoperability is provided. Fulfilling this vision requires to solve a number of technical and pedagogical issues for which we expect contributions from the workshop participants.