New technology in Illinois Digital Ecologies and Learning Laboratory will revolutionize the learning and teaching sciences

The College of Education will host a Sept. 30 event to debut a new research laboratory that enables scholars to study learner interactions with digital technologies in real time while collecting massive amounts of varied data.

The Illinois Digital Ecologies and Learning Laboratory (IDEALL), located on the first floor of the Education Building, enables researchers to create technology-enhanced learning environments and study their impact on student learning. The lab is slated for use by researchers in education as well as other disciplines across campus.

Among many high-tech features, the lab features 55-inch multitouch tabletop screens that facilitate collaborative learning and 80-inch flat-screen TVs, which can be positioned vertically or horizontally and raised or lowered to accommodate student users of various ages.

"It's a blank slate that allows faculty to create and recreate different learning environments and setups for doing this kind of work."
     - Fouad Abd El Khalick, associate dean for research at the College of Education

“The whole lab is a data-collection device, and is set up such that when learners are interacting with the technology, we can capture all their movements and discussions, and store it so it becomes data that can be analyzed,” said Fouad Abd El Khalick, associate dean for research in the college. “It’s a blank slate that allows faculty to create and recreate different learning environments and different setups for doing this kind of work.”

Read the full article by education editor Sharita Forrest of the Illinois News Bureau.