It is a great honor to welcome you to the LeTTeT '98 (Learning Technology and Telematics in Education and Training) and MaTILDA '98 (Mathematical tools in interactive learning, a digital approach) joint conference in Pori. Both of these conferences have their own history. LeTTeT has been organised earlier by the University of Joensuu in December 1996 and MaTILDA '98 is the successor of MaTILDA '97 organised by RIACA, University of Amsterdam on May 12-13, 1997. It was my pleasure to attend to both of these conferences. As it turned out, both of these conferences were looking for the next organiser and I volunteered for both of them. This is why we meet now on the West coast of Finland, in the city of Pori.
Officially the organiser of this joint conference is the Pori School of Technology and Economics, it is a university unit established by two separate universities, namely the Tampere University of Technology and the Turku School of Economics and Business Administration.
At the Pori School of Technology and Economics there are about 400 students studying for a masters degree on information technology, production management and engineering, accounting and finance. Over 40 students are in a doctorate program in information technology. In addition to the degree studies we have annually over 600 students on continuing education courses, such as language studies and management education.
The Pori School of Technology and Economics is active in many research areas. Software engineering, signal processing and computer communication theory are the core reseach areas. Together they do research in an area that can be described as applications of distributed multimedia, such as distance medicine and modern learning environments.
Recent developments in information technology, e.g. World-Wide-Web, now give the means for making interactive material widely available for education. The successful implementation of modern network based learning environments requires significant knowledge of pedagogical aspects. The goal of the LeTTeT '98 and MaTILDA '98 joint conference is to bring together experts with different backgrounds to share their knowledge of this highly interdisiplinary area.
The main goal of this conference is to present the most recent insights relating to the integration of cognitive tools in interactive learning environments, such as WWW, and to address key research issues, for example Java based applications, next-generation markup languages for WWW and new pedagogical paradigms for network based learning. The conference also aims to present experiences of the educational use of interactive material.
The nature of the LeTTeT '98 and MaTILDA '98 joint conference is
interdiciplinary and it will be an opportunity for fruitful contacts
between researchers from different disciplines: symbolic computation,
mathematics, computer graphics, multimedia and
educational sciences.
The final program of the conference is exciting. We have many papers on tele-learning and web-based learning. We will hear about experments in many courses from mathematics to language learning. Important issues also include such topics as security and ethical problems in telelearning. Our keynote speakers will share with us a global view of the future of Internet-based learning.
The city of Pori has about 76.500 inhabitants and is known for its industry, harbours and active business life. The most important industrial sectors are the metal, mechanical, electrical, plastics and wood processing industries. Pori is a capital of the Satakunta region, which has 250 000 inhabitants. Big industrial plants are characteristic of the town. Pori has always had an active cultural life. The most significant music event is the annual international Jazz Festival held on Kirjurinluoto Island. Altought the jazz arrives in Pori in July, I am sure that you will be able to sense a bit of the of the rythm during your stay at Pori.
The organisers would like to thank all our sponsors, namely Porin Puhelin Oy and SataCom for their support for the conference. Finally, I would like to thank the members of the organising commitee of the Joint Conference for their time and efforts in making this event possible.
I wish you all a pleasant stay in Pori. Please make the most of your time at LeTTeT '98 & MaTILDA '98 and have a good conference.
Jari Multisilta
LeTTeT '98 & MaTILDA '98 conference chairman
Pori, May 1998.