PhD defense by Tobias Rohloff: Learning Analytics at Scale Supporting Learning and Teaching in MOOCs with Data-Driven Insights

PhD defense by Tobias Rohloff: Learning Analytics at Scale Supporting Learning and Teaching in MOOCs with Data-Driven Insights

Learning Analytics, Lifelong Learning, PhD defense
Today I had the pleasure to participate in the PhD defense of Tobias Rohloff. The overall aim of this dissertation is to investigate the implementation of LA at the scale of MOOCs and to explore how data-driven technology can support learning and teaching in this context. To this end, several research prototypes have been iteratively developed for the HPI MOOC Platform. Hence, they were tested and evaluated in an authentic real-world learning environment. Most of the results can be applied on a conceptual level to other MOOC platforms as well. The research contribution of this thesis thus provides practical insights beyond what is theoretically possible. In total, four system components were developed and extended: (1) The Learning Analytics Architecture: A technical infrastructure to collect, process, and analyze event-driven learning data based…
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ALICE project workshop

ALICE project workshop

Learning Analytics, Learning Design, School, Workshop
On 12/13 of October the EduTec Team finally hit the road again and met with the ALICE Project partners in Kiel at the IPN for the first post-pandemic f2f Workshop. Wuhuuuuuuuu! The purpose of the 2-day workshop was to work on an instructional model for designing and implementing instructional units in four domains – biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics – and tracking students learning progression with learning analytics during these units.  The units will be hybrid in that they will take place in regular classrooms but will involve students working through instructional activities involving digital media. Instruction will be led by a regular teacher but will have students continuously interact with a (tablet) computer. In order to be able to analyze students learning progression using learning analytics across the four…
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New MMLA Pub: Get your back straight! Learn Pilates with the Pilates Correction App

New MMLA Pub: Get your back straight! Learn Pilates with the Pilates Correction App

Conference, General education, Multimodal Learning Analytics, Open access, Publication
Currently, a vast number of the population faces several barriers like the lack of motivation and guidance that impede them from practicing physical activities. Thus, we developed the Pilates Correction Game (PCG), a gamified application designed to support learners with the practice of Pilates. The PCG is composed of two applications: a smartphone application that tracks the learner’s back posture and a PC game that steers a rocket and calculates a score based on the smartphone's information. In this paper, we present a user experience evaluation on the PCG. Our results show that PCG was positively perceived by participants and in most cases helped them to improve their posture while doing the Pilates exercise. Furthermore, it is also motivating them to continue with the training. Reference: Meik, A., Schneider, J.,…
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New Pub: The Design Cycle for Education (DC4E)

New Pub: The Design Cycle for Education (DC4E)

Conference, General education, Learning Design, Open access, Publication
The need for more and better online and blended education has lately become even more apparent. Many educational institutions had to pivot to emergency remote teaching. While online learning in itself is nothing new, the scope, suddenness and speed of this shift certainly was. However, courses and modules created for face-to-face settings, cannot simply be turned into blended or fully online ones easily. Learning design models can provide guidelines and guidance. Often, however, they are not constructed in a comprehensive way and are mainly conceptual. We thus created a procedural design model enriched with templates, tools, information and design examples to specifically support and facilitate the (re)design of blended and online learning and teaching and to thus provide quality education: the Design Cycle for Education (DC4E). Reference: Scheffel, M., Schmitz,…
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New Pub: A short history, emerging challenges and co-operation structures for Artificial Intelligence in education

New Pub: A short history, emerging challenges and co-operation structures for Artificial Intelligence in education

Artificial Intelligence, Higher Education, Journal, Lifelong Learning, Publication, School
To accompany the special issue in Artificial Intelligence and Education, this article presents a short history of research in the field and summarises emerging challenges. We highlight key paradigm shifts that are becoming possible but also the need to pay attention to theory, implementation and pedagogy while adhering to ethical principles. We conclude by drawing attention to international co-operation structures in the field that can support the interdiscipniary perspectives and methods required to undertake research in the area. Reference: Mavrikis, M., Cukurova, M.,  Di Mitri, D., Schneider, J., & Drachsler, H. (2021). A short history, emerging challenges and co-operation structures for Artificial Intelligence in education. Bildung und Erziehung 2021 74:3, 249-263. https://doi.org/10.13109/buer.2021.74.3.249.
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Ioana Jivet joins the team

Ioana Jivet joins the team

Artificial Intelligence, Higher Education, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, Team
Ioana Jivet is Associate Researcher at EduTech group at DIPF Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education. Ioana obtained her Masters degree in Computer Science in 2016 from the TU Delft and then pursued a PhD at the Open University of the Netherlands which she obtained in March 2021 Cum Laude. Her research focused on designing learner-facing learning analytics dashboards that foster the development of self-regulated learning skills. Over the past years, she has contributed to Competen-SEA, a capacity building project in South-East Asia around MOOCs, and SHEILA, a research project that investigated the adoption of learning analytics in European higher education institutions and built a policy development framework for HEIs to facilitate adoption. At the moment, Ioana is serving on the Executive Committee of the Society of Learning…
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QE Webinar series moderated by DIPF

QE Webinar series moderated by DIPF

Further Education, General education, Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, School, Webinar
The monthly QE Webinar Series showcases emerging research and exciting new developments in Quantitative Ethnography. These one-hour events begin with a 30-minute presentation by scholars from the QE community, followed by 30 minutes of moderated discussion. Attendance is free and open to anyone who is interested! The DIPF is currently moderating a series of webinars of the Quantified Ethnography (QE) community as pre-events to the QE conference taking place in October. So far we have been discussing the following topics and the recording can be watched back: Putting the E in QE: How Quantitative Ethnography can Enrich Qualitative Analyses Yotam Hod University of Haifa QE Data ChallengeField Report: Reflecting on the benefits of multidisciplinary research teams Daniel Spikol University of Copenhagen, DK Barbara Wasson University of Bergen, Norway Stefano Schiavetto…
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New Pub: Literature Review on Co-Located Collaboration Modeling Using Multimodal Learning Analytics—Can We Go the Whole Nine Yards?

New Pub: Literature Review on Co-Located Collaboration Modeling Using Multimodal Learning Analytics—Can We Go the Whole Nine Yards?

General education, Journal, Literature review, Multimodal Learning Analytics, Open access, Publication
Collaboration is one of the important 21st-century skills. It can take place in remote or co-located settings. Co-located collaboration (CC) is a very complex process that involves subtle human interactions that can be described with indicators like eye gaze, speaking time, pitch, and social skills from different modalities. With the advent of sensors, multimodal learning analytics has gained momentum to detect CC quality. Indicators (or low-level events) can be used to detect CC quality with the help of measurable markers (i.e., indexes composed of one or more indicators) which give the high-level collaboration process definition. However, this understanding is incomplete without considering the scenarios (such as problem solving or meetings) of CC. The scenario of CC affects the set of indicators considered: for instance, in collaborative programming, grabbing the mouse…
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Telekom Report AI@School – Teaching and Learning with Artificial Intelligence

Telekom Report AI@School – Teaching and Learning with Artificial Intelligence

Project, Publication, Report
Many modern educational technologies already contain aspects of artificial intelligence (AI) - in applications for school organisation as well as for teaching and testing and for learning and practising. Examples are learning platforms or learning apps that adapt the task programme to the learner's competence profile But where do AI-supported, learning-promoting applications currently stand in their development? What already exists? What are the potentials, challenges and risks in this field? How far along are other countries in their development? The Deutsche Telekom Foundation and its partners are investigating these questions. For example, the mmb Institute, in cooperation with the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and the Leibniz Institute for Human Development and Educational Information (DIPF), has prepared a market and trend analysis. For this purpose, the study's authors…
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SoLAR webinar on: Investigating persistent and new challenges of learning analytics

SoLAR webinar on: Investigating persistent and new challenges of learning analytics

Artificial Intelligence, Computational Psychometrics, Higher Education, Keynote, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, Multimodal Learning Analytics, School, Workshop
On 29 June 2021, Hendrik Drachsler gave an invited webinar for the SoLAR webinar channel where he reflected the process of applying learning analytics solutions within higher education settings and schools, its implications, and the critical lessons learned in the Trusted Learning Research Program. The talk focused on the experience of edutec.science research collective consisting of researchers from the Netherlands and Germany that contribute to the Trusted Learning Analytics (TLA) research program. The TLA program aims to provide actionable and supportive feedback to students and stands in the tradition of human-centred learning analytics concepts.  It, therefore, applies sensor technology to support psychomotor as well as web technology to support meta-cognitive and collaborative learning skills with high-informative feedback methods. Hendrik applies validated measurement instruments from the field of psychometric and investigates…
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