Interactions Between Cognitive Psychology, Educational Technology, and Computing in the Digital Age

Abstract

The Internet has been a revolution for the modern information society and many areas of everyday life. Digital learning is emerging and being adopted at an increasing rate. New Internet applications are introduced on an hourly basis and their use for learning and instruction quickly follows the general introduction to the Web community. Advantages for learning and instruction via the Internet include the freedom of learning anywhere and anytime, the flexibility of creating individualized learning environments for self-paced learning as well as individual learning preferences. Other advantages include the possibility for fostering interaction between students and facilitators, and the availability of help and feedback from peer learners and facilitators as well as the accessibility of nearly endless open educational resources (Ifenthaler et al. 2011, 2015; Isaias et al. 2012, 2015; Sampson et al. 2013, 2014; Spector et al. 2010). Hence, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are playing a prominent role in the planning, design and implementation of digital learning systems and environments. Moreover, ICTs, along with changing pedagogical approaches, create new challenges for teachers, instructional designers, and educational leaders. Therefore, theoretical foundations, empirical research and technological advances at the intersection of cognitive science, instructional design, and educational technology are the underpinnings of the Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA); see http://www.celdaconf.org conference series. Articles in this special section of Technology, Knowledge and Learning stem from this interdisciplinary group of researchers, who are envisioning to