About

Wearable technologies – such as smart watches, smart glasses, smart objects, smart earbuds, or smart garments – are breaking the established ground and offer new opportunities. These devices are body-worn, equipped with sensors and conveniently integrate into leisure and work-related activities including physical movements of their users. According to the recent forecasts (e.g. Cisco, Gardner, Deloitte) for 2018, portable technologies, including mobile and wearable devices, will form the basis of personal communications with the global wearable device data traffic increasing by over 60%.

Wearable user interfaces are just starting to transform user experience, improving integration of technologies into everyday life, education, and work. Since wearable technologies are likely to shape the future relationship between humans and computers, it is essential to look beyond the still mostly desktop-driven, narrow perspective of how technologies may enhance learning. We think that the Wearable-technology Enhanced Learning (WELL) is beginning to emerge as one of the earmarks of the transition from the desktop age through the mobile age to the age of wearable, ubiquitous computing.

SIG Chairs

The Chairs bring expertise in wearable-technology enhanced learning from a number of research and innovation projects.

Ilona Buchem

Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Germany

As a Professor of Media and Communication at Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Dr. Ilona Buchem teaches courses in bachelor’s and master’s programs, both on campus and online, including Digital Business (BSc.) and Media Informatics (MSc.). As the head of the Communications Lab, Ilona Buchem leads a number […]

Fridolin Wild

The Open University, United Kingdom

Dr Fridolin Wild is a Professor at the Open University, leading the Performance Augmentation Lab. With the research and development of the lab, Fridolin seeks to close the dissociative gap between abstract knowledge and its practical application, researching radically new forms of linking directly from knowing something ‘in principle’ to applying that knowledge ‘in practice’ […]

Ralf Klamma

RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Ralf Klamma leads the research group “Advanced Community Information Systems” (ACIS) at the Information Systems chair, RWTH Aachen University (Germany). He is known for his work in major EU and national funded projects for Technology Enhanced Learning (PROLEARN, GALA, ROLE, Learning Layers, TELMAP, Tellnet, CUELC, SAGE, BOOST, VIRTUS, WEKIT, tech4comp, MILKI-PSY and MyEduLife). Ralf organized […]

Mikhail Fominykh

Mikhail Fominykh

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

Mikhail Fominykh is a researcher, developer and enthusiast in the area of technology-enhanced learning. Mikhail is serving as a Secretary and as the Education chair in the executive board of EATEL from 2021 to 2025. Mikhail holds a researcher position in the IMTEL research group at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology – NTNU, […]

Join

Join the Google Group to keep up to date (EA-TEL membership recommended, but not required): https://groups.google.com/d/forum/sig-well

Goals and Activities

This Special Interest Group will stimulate common research on wearable-technology enhanced learning in the area of TEL. The special interest group especially aims to establish a dialogue between education and training organisations, vendors of TEL solutions, and research organisations in order to proactively promote the use of learning technologies and adequate methodologies in diverse environments (such as education, manufacturing, health). The SIG will seek to bring the different stakeholders together in order to enhance knowledge exchange, sharing and cooperation in this area. 

This will include the organisation of an annual workshop involving actors from computer sciences, educational sciences, social sciences, life sciences, and industry. Moreover, the SIG aims to maintain a directory of services and service providers, to ease uptake and upgrading of up- and re-skilling techniques and technologies. The annual workshop will be attached to leading events in the area, such as wearable technologies conferences and consumer electronics conferences. 

Moreover, the SIG will create a web space to share new research and collaboration ideas, e.g. Google and Google+ group, and a series of thematic live events, e.g. wearables at the workplace, wearables for healthy living, which will be carried out in form of web meetings, e.g. Google Hangouts. The members of the SIG will receive regular communication with the summary of current trends, research, events and initiatives.

These activities will contribute to the growth of the WELL community and increased awareness of the wearable-technology enhanced learning in the TEL research community. Joining the SIG will be possible by Members of the SIG will contribute to the advancement of TEL and to the dissemination of EATEL activities.

Supported By:

WEKIT Logo

SIG WELL in 2019

SIG WELL in 2016

SIG WELL at I-KNOW 2016

Participants of the Human Computer Interaction for Industry 4.0 Workshop at the I-KNOW 2016, Graz, Austria

SIG WELL at EC-TEL 2016

SIG WELL Workshop "Call for Makers: Prototypes and Experiences with Wearable Enhanced Learning" at the EC-TEL 2016, Lyon, France

SIG WELL in 2015

SIG WELL at EC-TEL 2015

The SIG-WELL group at EC-TEL 2015 in Toledo, Spain

SIG WELL at iLrn 2015

SIG-WELL 2015
Group photo of the SIG WELL community at iLrn 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic

SIG WELL at I-KNOW 2015

SIG WELL - SIG PROLEARN Workshop
Participants of the joint workshop on Industry 4.0 of SIG WELL and SIG at the I-KNOW 2015 in Graz, Austria.