Evaluation Needs of Webble Technologies in an E-Learning Laboratory Case Study Jun Fujima, Imke Hoppe & Klaus P. Jantke Fraunhofer IDMT, Children’s Media Dept., Hirschlachufer 7, 99084 Erfurt, Germany {jun.fujima|imke.hoppe|klaus.jantke}@idmt.fraunhofer.de Abstract. Webble Technology is an advanced current form of Meme Media on the Web. The authors use Webbles for the implementation of Web-based interactive laboratories. There arises a particular question for the perception of added values which result from peculiarities of Meme Media technologies. This should not be confused with the question for the laboratories’ usability. The focus of the present investigations is on the perception and, perhaps, appreciation of implementing ideas of memetics by different groups of users. 1 Introduction When new technologies enter an application domain, technology providers are always assuming the invention’s beauty and success. However, the proof of the pudding is the eating of the pudding. The authors of the present paper are enganged in a comprehensive endeavor of introducing Meme Media technologies [1] into Web-based applications aiming at learning support at school. The technology of choice is “Webble”. The acronym Webble [ http://www.meme.hokudai.ac.jp/WebbleWorldPortal/ ] abbreviates Web Pebbles, where “Pebble” is short for “Pad Enhanced Building Block Lifelike Entity”. In this descriptional phrase, the term “Pad” again is short for “IntelligentPad” according to [1]. Fig. 1. Screenshot of the Webble-Based Solar Biker One might ruoghly under- stand IntelligentPad as a middleware having a num- ber of quite desirable fea- tures. Those who are more ambitious understand the IntelligentPad approach as a way to implement Meme- like building blocks in- tended to enable knowledge representation and evolu- tion. The concept “Meme”, being intended to resem- ble the words memory and gene, was coined by Richard Dawkins [2]. Yuzuru Tanaka took up the challenge to carry over Richard Dawkins’ ideas to software technology [1]. Susan Blackmore is providing a general perspective at the reach of those ideas and approaches [3]. The authors are using Webble technologies for the implementation of a series of interactive laboratories of which the so-called Solar Biker is a prototypical example. The key question is to what extent the quality of the new technology is accepted.