The ‘Learning Innovation Lab' is part of the faculty Educational Sciences. It strives for three main goals:
Facilitate research
To enable researchers to investigate processes underlying learning with new technology, we provide different forms of hardware, such as eye trackers, biofeedback sensors, or mobile devices. This part of the labs aims at internal and external cooperation on joint research works. Recent cooperations include:
- Eye tracking studies for research and usability
- Bio-Sensor research studies
Maintain an open innovation environment
With this environment we stimulate joint pilots and studies based on the customization of existing software solutions or open source software that has been developed by us. Therefore we maintain a lab environment in which we can realize and test different education scenarios with flexible hardware (Personal Computers, Interactive Whiteboards, Ambient Displays, Tablets and Smartphones, Specific Sensors and Self-Build Hardware based on Arduino) as also the necessary software components, including specific commercial software, as also self-developed open source software frameworks which can be customized and developed further for your specific pilot studies and evaluations. Furthermore we also do technology scouting as recently has been showcased with glassware for Google glass and how this can be used support technology enhanced learning.
- Cloud-based solutions for classrooms
- Mobile application development in education
- Serious games in high education
Dissemination of our expertise and it's use for practitioners
This involves that we make our software developments available as open source formats, but also use them in commercial activities as workshops and trainings. Within these activities we offer workshops on the use of specific hardware(e.g., eye tracking), but also about specific methods and technologies in the context of technology enhanced learning in formal and informal learning (e.g., mobile learning, serious gaming). Moreover, we offer development of specific software for technology enhanced learning scenarios (e.g., Apps) or consultation packages (e.g., on how to set-up an eye tracking study). Recent Workshop and Training Modules include:
- Social Media in Education
- Using Twitter and Facebook in and outside the Classroom
- Personal Learning Environment, How to use them and when not? - Mobile Media in Education
- Developing Mobile Games in Mixed Reality based on ARLearn
- Mobile Learning what does it help? Best Practices and Methods
- Inquiry-based learning support - Serious Gaming
- Best Practices in Serious Gaming
- Developing serious games based on the EMERGO Framework