Purpose - This paper aims to lay out the goals and challenges in using information for ambitious learning practices. Design/methodology/approach - Through a review of the literature, the authors integrate across learning, information sciences and instructional design to identify challenges and possibilities for information searching and sense-making in ambitious learning practices (ALPs). Findings - Learners face a number of challenges in using information in ALPs such as a problem-based learning. These include searching and sourcing, selecting information and sense-making. Although ALPs can be effective, providing appropriate scaffolding, supports and resources is essential. Originality/value - To make complex ALPs available to a wide range of learners requires considering the information literacy demands and how these can be supported. This requires deep understanding and integration across different research literature areas to move toward solutions.

Narrative and collaboration are two core features of rich interactive learning. Narrative-centered learning environments offer significant potential for supporting student learning. By contextualizing learning within interactive narratives, these environments leverage students' innate facilities for developing understandings through stories. Computer-supported collaborative learning environments offer students rich, collaborative learning experiences in which small groups of students engage in constructing artifacts, addressing disciplinary challenges, and solving problems. Narrative and collaboration have distinct affordances for learning, but combining them poses significant challenges. In this paper, we present initial work on solving this problem by introducing collaborative narrative-centered learning environments. These environments will enable small groups of students to collaboratively solve problems in rich multi-participant storyworlds. We propose a novel framework for designing and developing these environments, which we are using to create a collaborative narrative-centered learning environment for middle school ecosystems education. In the learning environment, students work on problem-solving scenarios centered on how to support optimal fish health in aquatic environments. Results from pilot testing the learning environment with 45 students suggest it supports the creation of engaging and effective collaborative narrative-centered learning experiences.