Interactive Media and Learning (IML), Department of Applied Educational Science, Umeå University

Postal address: Institutionen för tillämpad utbildningsvetenskap, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå
Visiting address: Naturvetarhuset, Johan Bures väg
Web page: http://www.edusci.umu.se/english/

Contact person: Associate Professor  Pär Segerbrant, phone: +46 (0)90 786 9391

The Department of Applied Educational Science was formed  as a result of a merger between the former departments of Child and Youth education, Special Education and Counseling (BUSV), Interactive Media and Learning (IML), Applied Educational Science/ Department of Educational Measurement (BVM) and Umeå Centre for Evaluation Research (UCER).

Within the Department of Applied Educational Science studies are being conducted on conditions for learning in social, cultural and institutional settings, the contribution to and effects of digital technology on learning as well as measurement, assessment and evaluation.
The department has three strong research areas: Interactive Media and Learning, Measurement and Evaluation and Youth education, career development and welfare.

South Asia related activities

In 2009, Pär Segerbrant (photo) initiated an educational exchange project between IML and the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is based on experiences from a project on E-learning that has been supported for several years through the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (SPIDER), and was being coordinated by the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. The programme involved the supervision of a ‘split’ PhD study into assessment practices for Srilankan PhD candidates on a large distance education BSc programme in Information Technology at diferent Swedish universities, and other Swedish-Srilankan collaboration projects. Professor Brian Hudson was involved in these projects that were carried out in collaboration with the National E-learning Centre of Sri Lanka (based at the University of Colombo School of Computing, UCSC). More information.

In March 2009, the Swedish International Programme Office for Education and Training decided upon the ninth round of Linnaeus Palme Exchange Programme grants, for the period 1 July 2009 – 30 June 2010. See a list of the South Asia related projects given support. One of the new projects for that year was the collaboration between IML, UCSC and the Dept. of Computer Science, Umeå University. In 2011 the project has received continued funding for the period 2011-12. More information about the South Asia related Linnaeus Palme projects for 2011-12.

The aim is to build a long term exchange of teachers and most important students around the subject area of pedagogy of computer science with the following special strands: – Pedagogical issues in computer science education; – ICT-education in upper secondary school and teacher education; – Distance education in computer science education at undergraduate and master level; and – Joint degrees or coordinated courses at all levels of education.
In Umeå, Asociate Professor Leif Marklund is also involved in the exchange programme, and he will spend time in Sri Lanka during the spring 2012, teaching a course entitled ”Videogames and learning 1”. 

The contact person on the Srilankan side is Dr. Ruvan Weerasinghe at the University of Colombo School of Computing. He has served on various committees and boards at the University Grants Commission, Ministry of Education and the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka in this capacity over the years. He was also part of the original group involved in introducing Internet and email connectivity to the universities and the country as a whole through the Lanka Education And Research Network and the former Council for Information Technology.

Another teacher at Colombo School of Engineering that is directly involved in the exchange activities is Senior Lecturer Anuja Dharmaratne.

IML already had a strong connection to UCSC. This is partly due to a Srilankan guest researcher Hakim Usoof, who completed his doctoral studies on ”Unsupervised summative e assessment for higher order skills of students in large groups?” at Umeå University. In 2008, Hakim Usoof was involved with a workshop focusing on the topic of ”Designing the student experience for e-learning 2.0?”, in connection with the 9th International IT Conference held in Colombo.

The department also has had a Sri Lanka Study Group involved in the e-Jump 2.0 project working across three courses and engaged in a process of conducting action research. This involves several staff members and doctoral students from UCSC and also the Swedish coordinator for SPIDER based at DSV/KTH, with Hakim Usoof acting as a local pedagogical study supervisor. There are over 120 participants and about 20 tutors from West and East Europe, Central Asia, the Far East and China involved in this project and the ELGG-based social networking community environment is working in interesting ways. More information.