Call for papers: "Evidence- and User-based Technology Enhanced Learning"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning.

The design of accessible, usable and pedagogically effective technology enhanced learning (TEL) products requires solid empirical evidence and the involvement of real users. This special issue seeks contributions that describe how existing empirical evidence or the involvement of real users in the design process allows TEL researchers to produce accessible, usable and pedagogically effective TEL products.

For instance, the issue seeks contributions that describe TEL interventions, the efficacy of which rests on empirical evidence analysed by domain experts, as well as contributions that report on accessible and usable TEL solutions designed with and for specific types of users, e.g. users with special needs.

Particularly welcome are contributions that use design methodologies from evidence-based design (EBD) as well as human-computer interaction (HCI), which focus on empirical evidence and involve real users in the design process.

The issue will bring together contributions concerning TEL systems with success stories and best practices that educators, education stakeholders or education psychologists can use to improve their students' learning experience, specifically including work with students with special needs (e.g. poor/slow readers, students living in impoverished communities or families).

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the 2nd International Workshop on evidenced-based Technology Enhanced Learning, but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in the workshop to submit articles for this call.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Evidence- and user-based personalisation, user modelling and adaptation in TEL
• Evidence- and user-based games and game learning for TEL
• Knowledge representation and reasoning for evidence-based TEL
• Knowledge management and evidence and user-based TEL
• Natural language processing and evidence- and user-based TEL
• Semantic web and evidence- and user-based TEL
• Web 2.0 and social learning environments for evidence- and user-based TEL
• Sharing and interoperability between evidence- and user-based TEL systems
• Effective teaching techniques and strategies for learning
• Evidence- and user-based design case studies;
• Evaluation guidelines, methodologies and methods for evidence- and user-based TEL
• Usability guidelines, methodologies and methods for evidence- and user-based TEL
• Accessibility guidelines, methodologies and methods for evidence- and user-based TEL
• Evidence- and user-based TEL for users with special needs

Important Dates

Deadline for paper submission: 15 July, 2013

Completion of first review: 15 September, 2013

Revisions due (first round): 15 October, 2013

Final decision notification: 30 October, 2013