Playing and Learning has a varied group of researchers, ranging from hardware and software engineers to cognitive scientists, experts in human-computer interaction, developmental psychologists, sound specialists and interaction designers.

Such diversity of expertise reflects both the research strategies and the ideals of Digital Play. The traditional PC has migrated from the workplace into the school, bringing its associated values. But shouldn't learning be fun? Shouldn't it be playful?

Playing and Learning is attempting to break free from the constraints of deskbound computer-supported learning in schools. The emergence of new ubiquitous technologies allows us to get away from an idea of computing that imagines people interacting individually with computers while sitting at a desk. Ubiquitous computing offers the possibility of using computers while working in groups in the office or classroom but also outside, in the countryside and in public spaces. By furthering such technologies we hope to make education more intriguing, flexible and mobile. We use immersive environments, mixed reality environments and tangible-mediated learning (both indoors and outdoors). It sounds complex, and it is - conceptually and technically.

However, our central goal remains simple: to foster the imagination, that creative space where play merges with learning. Without imaginative engagement, acquiring information is merely a chore. More importantly, it is through the development of their imaginations that children put in place the structures that allow them to learn.