Commercial digital drawing pens have incorporated color sensing capabilities to improve the interactive experience of drawing. However, despite these improvements, it remains unclear whether color sensing and picking functions improve drawing learning performance. This study observed third and fourth grade elementary school students, who were in the “dawning realism” stage of artistic development, to determine how using a digital drawing pen with a color sensing function affected their color perception and feature detection abilities. This study analyzed quantitative data on color choice, with some students directly picking colors from the surface of an object and other students choosing colors from the app's default palette. This study also interviewed a focus group of experts who compared between the two aforementioned methods of choosing colors, as used in drawings. The results revealed the following advantages of using a digital drawing pen to directly pick colors off object surfaces: (1) children better utilize and depict the color gradient; (2) children interact with and observe objects and their shapes more thoroughly; (3) children draw objects' shapes and colors more precisely; and (4) children, being in the dawning realism stage, are better able to satisfy their need to perceive the colors and features of objects.

Recently, many research groups have dedicated their efforts to the development of Weblog (or Blog) tools to facilitate cooperative learning. However, these tools were mainly for young students in regular courses at schools. For adult learners, especially elderly people, lifelong learning is also important in their everyday life. Therefore, it is valuable to study the possible development of these tools for such a user group in the future. The objective of this research is to study the effects of knowledge sources and learning styles of the elders on their motivations to use Weblog tools for lifelong learning. Field studies and questionnaire surveys were conducted to elicit their requirements. The results showed that both knowledge sources and learning styles had significant effects on the willingness to use Blogs as the platform to exchange their knowledge and experience.

Recent trend in the development of mobile devices, wireless communications, sensor technologies, weblogs, and peer-to-peer communications have prompted a new design opportunity for enhancing social interactions. This paper introduces our preliminary experiences in designing a prototype utilizing the aforementioned technologies to share life experience. Users equipped with camera phones coupled with short-range communication technology, such as RFID, can capture life experience and share it as weblogs to other people. However, in reality, this is easier said than done. The success of weblogs relies on the active participation and willingness of people to contribute. To encourage active participations, a ranking system, AgreeRank, is specifically developed to get them motivated.