The 15th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2007) is part of a series of annual conferences encompassing a broad range of issues related to using information technology for learning. Being international in participation, the ICCE conferences are hosted in the Asia-Pacific region and are organized under the auspices of the Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education (APSCE). With this 15^th ICCE, it is our pleasure to announce a return to Japan following up on the last ICCE held in Japan in 1999 in Chiba. This year's conference takes place in the city of Hiroshima, a symbolic place for fostering international understanding and peace. The conference will be held during November 5–9, 2007.

As every yearICCE has invited contributions from the various fields of technology enhanced learning. Within this range, the main theme of ICCE 2007 sets a special focus on “supporting learning flow through integrative technologies”. This theme indicates a move from local support of specific learning activities towards supporting learning and teaching processes in a broader context beyond single tools and individual users, considering user/learner groups on different levels of granularity as well as interoperability mechanisms on the system level. The value of integration is primarily characterized by improving the richness and directness of educational interactions. The integration of interactive media and of learning processes can support a smooth and seamless information flow in and between different learning settings. Ubiquitous computing technologies with smart objects and non standard peripherals allow for flexibly embedding support technologies in adequate physical settings and enable the integration of physical and digital support. Similarly, mobile technologies open up new possibilities for integrating learning activities between formal and informal settings. These and other issues will be taken up by the four distinguished keynote talks and by the conference papers and posters throughout ICCE 2007.

This ICCE 2007 Proceedings volume comprises 53 full and 43 short papers which were selected from 229 paper submissions (full paper submissions: 161, short paper submissions: 68) in a careful peer-reviewing process. All full paper submissions and most short paper submissions had three reviews. Accepted papers are to be presented in the main conference sessions. Additionally, these proceedings feature extended abstracts of 8 selected doctoral student papers and the keynote abstracts. In addition, 36 paper submissions were accepted as poster presentations and are published separately in a Poster Notes volume.

As it was expected, many submissions came from the hosting country (Japan: 115 submissions). Other important contributors are Taiwan (26 submissions), China (18 submissions), Singapore (17 submissions), Australia (11 submissions). European contributions are on about the same level as last year (21 submissions). The total number of contributing countries is 23.

The thematic structure of these proceedings and accordingly of the main conference sessions reflects grown areas of research and current trends in the field of technology enhanced learning. It features the themes of computer-supported collaborative learning with 10 papers in two sessions, adaptive interaction (6), teacher education (6), specific learning technologies (6), assessment and evaluation (6), learning management and organization (6), learning platforms and architectures (5), scaffolding and reflection (5), knowledge management (5), specific learning technologies (5), learning games (5), writing skills (5), authoring (4), learning science (4), media-enhanced interaction (4), mobile and ubiquitous learning (4), learning with hand-held devices (4), programming (4), and language learning (3). We believe that this spectrum represents the field in a significant way; especially it provides a sound blend of educationally oriented and empirical papers as well as innovative technical contributions.

The following pages materialize the numerous efforts that contributed to making this conference a success. We thank the program committee and the additional reviewers for their work which is the essential factor to assure quality and continuity. The program co-chairs also would like to thank the organizing committee and the implementation committee. This conference is jointly hosted by Japanese Society for Educational Technology, the Japanese Society for Information and Systems in Education, and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan. Our special thanks go to these hosting organizations.

We look forward to a stimulating and synergetic international meeting in the city of Hiroshima, Japan, November 5–9, 2007.