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4th International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies A Thematic Affiliated Conference of HCI International 2017 Co-chairs: Panayiotis Zaphiris and Andri Ioannou Cyprus Interaction Lab, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus In the today’s knowledge society, learning and collaboration are two fundamental and strictly interrelated aspects of knowledge acquisition and creation. Learning technology is the broad range of communication, information and related technologies that can be used to support learning, teaching, and assessment, often in a collaborative way. Collaboration technology, on the other hand, is targeted to support individuals working in teams, towards a common goal, which may be an educational one,by providing tools that aid communication, the management of activities as well as the process of problem solving. In this context, interactive technologies do not only affect and improve the existing educational system, but become a transformative force that can generate radically new ways of knowing, learning and collaborating. This …

Με γνώμονα την ενθάρρυνση μικρών και μεγάλων να εμπλακούν στον συναρπαστικό κόσμο της της ψηφιακής τεχνολογίας και να καταρρίψουν τα στερεότυπα σχετικά με τον ρόλο της γυναίκας στον κλάδο της πληροφορικής και της ψηφιακής τεχνολογίας, το Cyprus Interaction Lab και το ACM-Women Cyprus, με την υποστήριξη του Fulbright και του Association forComputing Machinery on Women (ACM-W), πραγματοποιεί στο Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου ανοικτό σεμινάριο με θέμα την υποστήριξη και ενδυνάμωση των γυναικών για την επαγγελματική τους πορεία στους τομείς της ψηφιακής τεχνολογίας. Το σεμινάριο θα πραγματοποιηθεί την Τετάρτη 16 Νοεμβρίου 2016 στο Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου. Το σεμινάριο περιλαμβάνει ομιλίες, συζητήσεις με ευκαιρίες δικτύωσης, καθώς και πρακτικά εργαστήρια που αφορούν την ανάπτυξη δεξιοτήτων επιχειρηματικότητας, δημιουργία βιογραφικού σημειώματος, προετοιμασία για συνέντευξη εργασίας και άλλα. Δείτε το πλήρες πρόγραμμα του σεμιναρίου εδώ: https://womenpowersymposium.wordpress.com/ Εγραφές: https://womenpowersymposium.wordpress.com/register/

One (1) post in the area of “Social Computing” and specifically in the areas of: ● Technology-enhanced learning ● Advanced Technologies for Learning ● Social aspects of computing Candidates for this post should possess: ● Postgraduate Degree of Master’s level from accredited Universities in Education, Computer Science, Educational Technology or any related field. ● Very good knowledge of English language. ● Ability to organize and carry out research work independently. ● Prior experience in submitting research proposals or participating in research programs will be considered as an additional qualification. The successful candidates will be assigned to the “Cyprus Interaction Lab” of Cyprus University of Technology. In parallel with their studies the successful candidates may be employed in currently active research programs and will be assigned teaching-related duties at the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts with appropriate reimbursement. In addition the successful candidates may have the opportunity to carry out …

Womenpower Symposium 2016 (WeMe2016) and World Usability Day is a full-day event with invited talks, panel discussions, and visual poster presentations. The event will bring together female faculty, students, researchers and professionals for an opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and learn from each other. For more information: https://womenpowersymposium.wordpress.com/ Register: https://womenpowersymposium.wordpress.com/register/

On Saturday, October 22nd, 2016, a closing gathering for the project took place. More than 20 special educators, psychologists and therapists from 6 schools in Cyprus returned at the premises of the Cyprus University of Technology to share their thoughts and experiences about using the innovative Kinems approach and its interactive Kinect games. Findings from the project were presented by researchers at the Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Cyprus University of Technology coordinating this effort, with the support of Microsoft Cyprus. Overall the project was a great success, demonstrating the effectiveness of Kinems for children with special educational needs and multiple learning disabilities. Findings revealed that students improve not only their emotional state but also their academic performance in mathematics and language. The Kinems games based on motion capture technology have helped enriched the participants’ vocabulary, visual perception, motor skills and attention and concentration across intervention sessions. See demo video …

Μαθαίνω Προγραμματισμό με τους Γονείς μου http://codingourfuture.org/ On Sunday, October 23rd, the Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Cyprus University of Technology celebrated the week of code with tens of students and their parents at the Elementary School Agios Spyridonas. Three workshops were conducted: Α4: Δεξιά, Προχώρα, Στρίψε & Ακολούθησε! Ο κόσμος της ρομποτικής & η δύναμη του προγραμαμτισμού (ηλικίες: 10) Β5: Δεξιά, Προχώρα, Στρίψε & Ακολούθησε! Ο κόσμος της ρομποτικής & η δύναμη του προγραμαμτισμού (ηλικίες: 11) Γ5: Αλγοριθμική σκέψη σε ρομποτική κίνηση: η δύναμη του προγραμματισμού! (ηλικίες: 12) Thanks for the opportunity Alexandre! (Alexandros Kofteros) and thanks to the participating students and their parents!

Online MSc in Interaction Design accepts applications for January 2017 entry. The online MSc in Interaction Design offered by the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology and Tallinn University, Estonia in collaboration also with ITMO University in St Petersburg, Russia allows learners to combine theory with practice towards the design and evaluation of interactive computing systems with a strong emphasis in the human aspects of design (http://idmaster.eu/). We are now recruiting students for January 2017, the deadline for early admissions is the 30th November 2016. The program currently brings together a very international cohort of students. Current students live in Cyprus, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Greece, Singapore, Yemen and Zambia giving an opportunity for a truly global perspective to Interaction Design. The programme is offered fully online in English and targets learning outcomes based on international standards, and builds upon the extensive experience …

We (Cyprus Interaction Lab of Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου – Cyprus University of Technology) are again organizing a Summer School on Research Methods in HCI. This year the summer school is having a special emphasis on Ambient Assisted Living. It mainly targets PhD students, researchers and skilled practitioners. This training event is sponsored by AAPELE, EstCHI, and ACM SIGCHI Cyprus and CroACM (these are local chapters of ACM SIGCHI and ACM) and co-organised by Tallinn University and the Cyprus Interaction Lab (http://www.cyprusinteracitonlab.com) of the Cyprus University of Technology. The two universities also jointly offer an online master program in MSc Interaction Design (http://idmaster.eu). The overarching aim is to improve participants’ understanding of significant research methods commonly or increasingly used in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Such enhanced understanding will enable them to select and combine appropriate research methods for their specificHCI related projects and to contextualise them without unintended impacts …

We (Cyprus Interaction Lab) announce the opening of a PhD position in the area of Online Security and Privacy. Details below. Deadline: 8 May 2016 Applications at: https://sis.cut.ac.cy:80/sap/bc/webdynpro/sap/zcut_wd_st_cr_account?sap-client=300&sap-language=EN# Candidates for this post should possess: Postgraduate Degree of Master’s level from accredited Universities in Computer Science or Multimedia or Internet Studies or Sociology or any related field Ability to organize and carry out research work independently. Very good knowledge of English language. Prior experience in submitting research proposals or participating in research programs will be considered as an additional qualification. The successful candidates will be assigned to the “Cyprus Interaction Lab” (https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com/) and the Social Computing Research Center (SCRC – http://www.socialcomputing.eu/) of Cyprus University of Technology. In parallel with their studies the successful candidates may be employed in currently active research programs and will be assigned teaching-related duties at the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts with appropriate reimbursement. In addition …

The Cyprus Interaction Lab is the only research facility in Cyprus in the areas of Human Computer Interaction and Instructional Technology. We are proud to engage in research that helps unpack the potential of emerging technologies to positively influence our society. We hope you will enjoy reading our newsletter which highlights our major achievements of the year 2016. Cyprus Interaction Lab Annual Review-Newsletter 2016 Cyprus Interaction Lab Annual Review-Newsletter 2015

On Saturday, January 23rd, a training seminar for special educators, psychologists and therapists from 6 schools in Cyprus about how to best use the innovative Kinems approach and its interactive Kinect games, was organised with great success. This seminar was the kick-off event of a pilot research project which aims at exploring the effectiveness of Kinems for children with special educational needs and multiple learning disabilities. The project is coordinated by the Cyprus Interaction Lab at the Cyprus University of Technology with the support of Microsoft Cyprus. and the support of Microsoft Cyprus and Abletools Ltd. The research project has been approved by the Center for Educational Research and Evaluation (KEEA) of the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture and will be completed in May 2016. Six (6) schools of primary education from all over Cyprus – 5 mainstream schools with IEPS and 1 special school – are participating. Special …

[Short Scientific Mission of COST Action LUDI TD1309: Play for Children with Disabilities (LUDI) 2015] In November 2015, Andri Ioannou, Assistant professor in the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) and co-director of the Cyprus Interaction Lab, Anna Andreeva, Assistant professor in the Department of Logopaedics at the South West University Neofit Rilski (Bulgaria), and Yiota Polycarpou, intern at the Cyprus Interaction Lab (CUT) visited the School of Deaf in Nicosia in an attempt to explore the possibility of using NAO with hearing impaired children. Further explorations followed with hearing impaired children from mainstream schools in Limassol. This work is supported by the Short Scientific Mission program of the “Cost Action No TD1309: Play for Children with Disabilities” for which Professor Panayiotis Zaphiris, Dean of School of Fine and Applied Arts of CUT is the Cyprus representative. Anna’s expertise as a speech pathologist, …

Facebook’s Product Designers Jonah Jones and Leo Mancini and Professor Panayiotis Zaphiris, director of Cyprus Interaction Lab gave an interview to INBusiness magazine. The two designers from facebook, traveled to Limassol to be the keynote speakers of the World Usability Day event CIL organized. In the interview they divulged their most memorable experiences working for the social media giant. Read the full text of the interview (in Greek) Watch the interview:

Deadline for applications: 22/11/2015 Two (2) posts in the research area of: «Social Computing and Learning» One (1) post in the topic «Technology and Social Inclusion» One (1) post in the topic «Human Behaviour and Online Social Networking» Please download the PDF file for more information on the PhD applications. Candidates can login and create an account on the applications portal.

The Cyprus Interaction Lab (www.cyprusinteractionlab.com) of the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology and DisruptCyprus.com (www.disruptcyprus.com) invite you to the annual World Usability Day seminar. Keynote Presentation: Riff by Facebook: Lessons Learned from Building a Collaborative Video App Jonah Jones (Product Design Manager) at Facebook, London Leo Mancini (Product Designer) at Facebook, London The event will be conducted in English. Participation is free of charge but prior registration is necessary at: http://tinyurl.com/pp8dwyy For more information please download the invitation in PDF format. Thursday, 12 November 2015, 19.00-20:30 Amphitheater 1, Tassos Papadopoulos Building, Cyprus University of Technology, Themidos & Ifigenias corner, Limassol historical center.

The Cyprus Interaction Lab (CIL) has joined the European Schoolnet’s Future Classroom Lab (FCL) network of learning labs though the Interaction and Technology Lab (EAT) http://fcl.eun.org/eat This is an opportunity for CIL to expand its network of European K-20 educators and schools. Starting in September 2015, CIL will participate in activities of the FCL network and online meetings with educators around world. One of the priorities of CIL is to continue to engage in research and grant-writing relevant to advancements in technology-enhanced learning and design of learning environment for K-20. For further information on the FCL network of learning labs please visit http://fcl.eun.org/fcl-network-labs

The Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Cyprus University of Technology successfully organized the international summer school on “Research Methods in HCI” (https://hcisummer2015.wordpress.com) which took place from the 6th to the 10th of July, 2015. The participants included 50 PhD students from 16 countries (Sweden, Spain, Slovenia, Russia, Romania, Portugal, Poland, Italy, India, Greece, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Estonia, Denmark and Croatia) as well as speakers from leading universities and corporations (like Google and Philips Research) dealing with matters relating to User Centered Design, Human-Computer Interaction and Interaction Design. Talinn University, Estonia was also part of the organizing initiative and the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM), the Cyprus Computer Society and the Cyprus Tourist Organization sponsored of the event. The seminars and workshops took place in the Multimedia and Graphic Arts’ labs in Heroes Square and the participants were offered accommodation in the dormitories of the university in Limassol. The workshop …

RISE is funded by EU through the TEAMING program of HORIZON 2020. The consortium consists of the Municipality of Nicosia-Cyprus, the three public Universities of Cyprus — University of Cyprus, Cyprus University of Technology and Open University of Cyprus — and the prestige research institutes Max Plank Institute for Informatics – Saarbrucken, Germany and University College London (UCL) – UK. The project aims at the establishment of an interdisciplinary Research Centre in Cyprus to integrate research in the Visual Sciences, Human Factors and Design, and Communications and Artificial Intelligence. The grant awarded is 0.5 million EUR for phase 1 with potential funding of 15-20 million EUR in phase 2 of evaluation. More about the project here (in Greek)

The Cyprus Interaction Lab hosted the COST action “Play for Children with Disabilities (LUDI)” in 4-5 June 2015 in Limassol. The meeting was held from 4-5 June 2015, with active involvement of Cyprus Interaction Lab (https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com/) of the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology. The action includes up to two academics from every European country. Cyprus is represented by the dean of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology, Professor Panayiotis Zaphiris. This Action aims at the creation of a novel and autonomous field of research and intervention on play for children with disabilities.The multi-disciplinary cooperation of researchers and practitioners in the fields of psycho-pedagogical sciences, health and rehabilitation sciences, humanities, assistive technologies and robotics as well as the contribution of end-users’ organizations will grant the right to play even for children with disabilities, and finally establish play …

Cyprus Interaction Lab and the Women Power project team (winning project of the Mahallae program – funded by the UNDP) welcomed an audience of 80 people, who attended their successful ‘Womenpower Fair’ last Wednesday, April the 29th. The fair aimed to ‘inspire, empower and link women mentors and mentees’, and focused on the current state of gender-related issues in Cyprus as well as the challenges that women are faced with, in terms of social, career and personal development. The WomenPower team had the privilege to host a number of women in key positions and roles within the Cyprus political, scientific, academic and trade scenes. The event commenced with keynote speaker – former foreign minister Erato Kozakou Marcoullis, who talked about “breaking the glass ceiling in decision-making positions” (view presentation) and continued with a number of notable and inspiring talks with a global appeal to women from different generations and various …