Pervasive elearning is well-suited to teaching complex ideas that can't ordinarily be addressed in typical classroom or elearning scenarios. However, there is very little practical information available to help anyone who is interested in designing a pervasive learning space to do so. This paper takes an important first step towards theorizing the pervasive learning space in a practical and useful way. First, it presents a working model of pervasive learning that can be used to help design, develop, and evaluate pervasive learning experiences. It then goes on to explain the philosophical underpinnings of the model by outlining 13 principles of effective pervasive learning derived from real-life pervasive learning projects.