CulTEL 2013 - EC-TEL tutorial on Culturally-aware technology-enhanced learning (CulTEL)

Organisers:
Emmanuel G. Blanchard, Aalborg University at Copenhagen, Denmark
Nick Degens - Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Vania Dimitrova, University of Leeds, UK
Sonia Hetzner, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
Lydia Lau, University of Leeds, UK
Sandy Louchart - Heriot-Watt University, UK
Samuel Mascarenhas - INESC ID, Portugal
Asad Nazir - Heriot-Watt University, UK
Abstract: In today's global society, cultural awareness and tolerance of cultural diversity are paramount. This brings forth an opportunity for TEL, which can provide a broad range of examples with exposure to situations with cultural variations (e.g. in games, simulations, or online communities). However, embedding cultural aspects within TEL is a major challenge as interpretation on cultural issues can be very diverse, fluid and continuously evolving with changes in the society. There is a need to re-examine the underlying architectures and approaches currently adopted in TEL. Furthermore, new technologies (such as social media, mobile and ubiquitous computing) make it easier to share experiences and provide a rich source of cultural diversity. The time is ripe to bring together the different disciplines related to culturally-aware technology enhanced learning environments (e.g. computational modelling, virtual agents, cultural studies, communications, human computer interaction, and pedagogy) in order to shape the next generation culture-aware TEL.