ABSTRACT
Technology-enhanced event-based learning offers opportunities for participation, collaboration and distributed expertise. The time-bounded nature of an event encourages people to learn together, its local setting supports face-to-face encounters between amateurs and experts and the scale of an event can provide access to resources that would otherwise prove inaccessible. Local events spark national gatherings and these build into international festivals. Having such an event as a focus gives learners something concrete to work towards and to reflect upon afterwards, together with a sense of personal engagement and excitement. The possibilities opened up by the combination of event-based learning and social networking are being explored in a variety of subject areas, including science, computer science, history and literature. Scratch is a free computer programming language, designed for children who are learning to program. There are also media-led learning events in the arts and humanities. Event-based learning does not require engagement with an existing worldwide community.
