Reflecting on the 8th National AI in Schools Conference: Transforming Teaching and Learning

Reflecting on the 8th National AI in Schools Conference: Transforming Teaching and Learning

Artificial Intelligence, Conference, Event, Feedback, Invited talk, Keynote, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, Project, School, Transfer Activity
The 8th National Conference on AI in Schools, held in Berlin, was a momentous event that gathered experts, policy-makers, and educators to discuss the current landscape and future prospects of AI in education. If there’s one word to describe the atmosphere at the 8th National Conference on AI in Schools, it would be “transformative“. The conference was not only setting high standards on political representatives, researchers in the field of educational & computer science, but also charged with representatives school supervisory boards, state institutes, and offices for teacher education in all 16 federal states. Overall, there was a palpable spirit of collaboration, optimism, and let”s get things done. Politicians, researchers, and practitioners were engaged and committed, staying until the very end of the event, signalling an overwhelming willingness to bring…
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Reflecting on the 10th German Learning Analytics Workshop at DELFI 2023: A Decade of Insights and Lessons Introduction

Reflecting on the 10th German Learning Analytics Workshop at DELFI 2023: A Decade of Insights and Lessons Introduction

Conference, Higher Education, Learning Analytics, School, Workshop
On September 11, 2023, the 10th Learning Analytics Workshop took place during the DELFI’23 and HDI’23 conferences in Aachen, Germany. This year marked a special milestone for the workshop as it celebrated "Ten years of learning analytics in German-speaking space: Success, failure and lessons learned." Co-organized by Ioana Jivet and featuring Hendrik Drachsler as a panelist, the workshop aimed to provide a comprehensive platform for sharing experiences, discussing research, and contemplating the future of learning analytics. A decade in review learning analytics has come a long way since its inception. Initially a niche area, it has now become an integral part of e-learning research, gaining prominence at international conferences like LAK and EDM. The recent pandemic-induced digitization in educational institutions has only accelerated this trend, making LA more visible and…
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Podium Royal’s’ Citizen Dialogue: AI – Fantastic Tool or Future Nightmare?

Podium Royal’s’ Citizen Dialogue: AI – Fantastic Tool or Future Nightmare?

Artificial Intelligence, Citizens science, Invited talk, Learning Analytics, Transfer Activity
A Reflective Look at 'Podium Royal's' Citizen Dialogue: AI - Fantastic Tool or Future Nightmare? On 5th September 2023, Heerlen's Royal Cinema had become more than just a movie house. It transformed into a dynamic platform for critical exchange, housing the latest 'Podium Royal.' This monthly meeting place had entertained a lively debate, scrutinizing AI's escalating prominence in our lives. The quaint interiors of the Royal Cinema echoed with the contemplations of concerned citizens. Artificial Intelligence or AI's omnipresence was the crux of the discussion. Visible in everyday activities, from supermarket self-scanners to self-driving cars, from online shopping algorithms to medical software detecting breast cancer – the omnipresence of AI was universally acknowledged. But this prevalence has also raised several unsettling thoughts - are we aligning with more totalitarian governments…
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New research program: Towards Highly Informative Learning Analytics

New research program: Towards Highly Informative Learning Analytics

Artificial Intelligence, Assessment, Book, Computational Psychometrics, Computer-supported collaborative learning, Feedback, Further Education, Higher Education, Keynote, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, Research Methods, School
On May 12, 2023, the Highly Informative Learning Analytics (HILA) research program of the EduTec@DIPF, studiumdigitale@Goethe University Frankfurt and the Open Learning and Instruction group@Open Universiteit was presented by Hendrik Drachsler at the main campus of the Open University of the Netherlands. The release of the HILA research program marks a significant milestone for the collaboration in the field of learning analytics between of the Dutch-German research collective.  The HILA research program is focused on developing new tools and methods to collect, analyze, and interpret data that can help educational institutions to understand the learning process better. As part of the program's launch, a keynote by Ioana Jivet on student-facing learning analytics was provided. Ioana reported on two empirical studies investigating the effect of data-driven feedback on students. [pdf-embedder url="https://edutec.science/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023_05-Keynote-Symposium-Hendrik.pdf"…
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HILA Keynote @ CEL annual meeting

HILA Keynote @ CEL annual meeting

Conference, Feedback, Higher Education, Invited talk, Keynote, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, Transfer Activity
Hendrik Drachsler gave a keynote @ the LDE CEL Annual Meeting under the theme ‘Developing a Culture of Learning Analytics'. Hendrik summarized the achievements of the Highly Informative and Learning Analytics (HILA) research program, that is the successor of the Trusted Learning Analytics research program conducted in Frankfurt, Germany.  After two years of digital annual meetings, finally CEL could invite again to their annual meeting 2022 at the CEL Teaching Lab. Among keynotes from Simon Buckingham Shum (University of Technology Sydney), and Alyssa Friend Wise (New York University), Hendrik presented the latest research outcomes on Highly Informative and Learning Analytics (HILA) research program. Highly informative and competency-based feedback is costly and can be best given in small teacher-to-learner settings. According to research, feedback has a powerful effect on learning success;…
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New Pub: Untangling connections between challenges in the adoption of learning analytics in higher education

New Pub: Untangling connections between challenges in the adoption of learning analytics in higher education

Empirical Study, Higher Education, Journal, Learning Analytics, Publication
[caption id="attachment_4599" align="alignnone" width="967"] Associations of challenges and ethics: (a) none, (b) prep-partial, and (c) full adoption institutions[/caption] Potential benefits of learning analytics (LA) for improving students' performance, predicting students' success, and enhancing teaching and learning practice have increasingly been recognized in higher education. However, the adoption of LA in higher education institutions (HEIs) to date remains sporadic and predominantly small in scale due to several socio-technical challenges. To better understand why HEIs struggle to scale LA adoption, it is needed to untangle adoption challenges and their related factors. This paper presents the findings of a study that sought to investigate the associations of adoption factors with challenges HEIs face in the adoption of LA and how these associations are compared among HEIs at different scopes of adoption. The study…
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New Pub: FoLA2 — A Method for Co-creating Learning Analytics–Supported Learning Design

New Pub: FoLA2 — A Method for Co-creating Learning Analytics–Supported Learning Design

Further Education, General education, Higher Education, Journal, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, Open access, Publication, School
Finally, we have published an article about the FOLA2 method that we have used for over two years frequently to design Learning Analytics supported Learning Designs with teachers of various backgrounds. Learning activities are at the core of every educational design effort. Designing learning activities is a process that benefits from reflecting on previous runs of those activities. One way to measure the behaviour and effects of design choices is to use learning analytics (LA). The challenge, however, lies in the unavailability of an easy-to-use, LA-supported learning design (LD) method. We established a method—the Fellowship of Learning Activities and Analytics (FoLA2)—reinforced by a gameboard and cards to provide structure and inspiration. The method enables several participants with different roles to interact with a set of card decks to create an…
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New Pub: Toward learning progression analytics — Developing learning environments for the automated analysis of learning using evidence-centred design

New Pub: Toward learning progression analytics — Developing learning environments for the automated analysis of learning using evidence-centred design

Computational Psychometrics, Journal, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, Open access, Project, Publication, School
[caption id="attachment_4319" align="alignright" width="450"] A procedure for developing digital learning environments that allow for the automated assessment of learning.[/caption] National educational standards stress the importance of science and mathematics learning for today’s students. However, across disciplines, students frequently struggle to meet learning goals about core concepts like energy. Digital learning environments enhanced with artificial intelligence hold the promise to address this issue by providing individualized instruction and support for students at scale. Scaffolding and feedback, for example, are both most effective when tailored to students’ needs. Providing individualized instruction requires continuous assessment of students’ individual knowledge, abilities, and skills in a way that is meaningful for providing tailored support and planning further instruction. While continuously assessing individual students’ science and mathematics learning is challenging, intelligent tutoring systems show that it…
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Transfer Workshop @ Digitaltag 2022 on highly informative and data-driven feedback with AI in higher education

Transfer Workshop @ Digitaltag 2022 on highly informative and data-driven feedback with AI in higher education

Artificial Intelligence, Conference, Event, Higher Education, Learning Analytics, Open access, School, Transfer Activity, Webinar, Workshop
The third Digitaltag will take place on June 24, 2022. The initiative "Digital for All" is behind the Digitaltag. The alliance of more than 25 organizations from the fields of civil society, culture, science, business, welfare and the public sector unites a common goal: to promote digital participation in Germany. Prof. Dr. Hendrik Drachsler contributes a talk on highly informative and data-driven feedback with AI in higher education. Feedback is a powerful element of all learning processes. However, it is difficult to offer highly informative feedback to large groups of learners. The Educational Technology Collective at Goethe University and the DIPF Leibniz Institute Frankfurt am Main are conducting research on this challenge in a variety of projects. In this talk, Professor Dr. Drachsler will present on designing highly informative feedback…
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Keynote at LERN Jahrestagung 2022

Keynote at LERN Jahrestagung 2022

Computational Psychometrics, Higher Education, Invited talk, Keynote, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, School
On 30 March 2022, Hendrik Drachsler gave an invited keynote at the LERN conference 2022 where he reported on the latest research on data-driven high informative feedback in higher education and schools. The talk focused on the experience of edutec.science research collective that has been gained in the projects DIFA, HIKOF-DL, AFLEK and ALICE. The presentation provided an overview of actionable and supportive feedback to learners as well as the various technical products that the EduTec group has developed. It, therefore, applies web technology to support meta-cognitive and collaborative learning skills with high-informative feedback methods. Hendrik applies validated measurement instruments from the field of psychometrics and investigates to what extent Learning Analytics interventions can reproduce the findings of these instruments. He discussed the lessons learned from implementing TLA systems. He…
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