Heather Wehner, Author at EduTec Science

Apr162024 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New Pub: Feedback sources in essay writing: peer-generated or AI-generated feedback?

Artificial Intelligence, Empirical Study, Feedback, Further Education, Journal, Publication

A newly published article discusses the use of peer feedback as a learning strategy, particularly in large classes where teachers face heavy workloads. For complex tasks like writing argumentative essays, peers may struggle to provide high-quality feedback due to the cognitive demands involved. The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, like ChatGPT, raises the question of whether AI can serve as a new feedback source for such tasks. To investigate this, a study compared ChatGPT-generated feedback with peer feedback on argumentative essays written by 74 graduate students from a Dutch university. The study collected essay data, peer feedback and ChatGPT-generated feedback, and then analyzed them using coding schemes. Results showed significant differences between ChatGPT and peer feedback, with ChatGPT offering more descriptive feedback while peers focused on identifying essay problems.…

Mar272024 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

CORE Roundtable in Munich

Assessment, Critical Online Reasoning, Multimodal Learning Analytics, Project, Project meeting

Hendrik Drachsler, Sebastian Gombert and Gianluca Romano participated at the Roundtable in Munich for the CORE project (Critical Online Reasoning in Higher Education) from 04.03.-05.03.2024. In those two days, our team had the chance to recapitulate on how the infrastructure stood strong during the first survey from December 2023 to February 2024, and pave the way for next steps and surveys. In summary, the infrastructure performed well. It dealt with approximately 10Mio. requests per seconds and the majority of hurdles participants reported were out of our authority. Requests from participants were dealt with quickly in a few days on average. Even though we are proud of our achievements there is still a lot to be done for future surveys. For the agenda we split into smaller groups, each of us…

Mar202024 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

Interview in Zeit Online: Cell Phone Bans in Schools

Digitalisation, Press, School

In an interview with Zeit Online, Hendrik Drachsler explains his views on digitalization and cell phone bans in schools. He outlines that the hurdles associated with digitalization should be taken seriously, but that he is also very critical of extreme demands such as a complete ban on digitalization in schools. In his eyes it is important to differentiate between the usage of private devices and devices provided by the schools. Studies show that the use of private devices during the school day can distract students from learning and lower their concentration rates, for example during the private consummation of social media. On the other hand, the usage of tablets and AI during class can bring added value to the teaching process, especially while teaching complex concepts and with the individualization…

Mar202024 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

Didacta Presentation in Cologne: Key Questions to Find Fitting AI Solutions For Student Feedback

Artificial Intelligence, Feedback, General education, Invited talk, School

What are the goals of AI in education for student feedback? How can teachers make sure that their AI-assisted feedback goes beyond simple right/wrong statements and instead provides not only correct solutions, but also possibilities for improvement, hints on competence development and effective learning strategies? To find a fitting AI solution, there are key questions one should know to ask in advance. These questions were outlined by Hendrik Drachsler in his presentation at the didacta 2024 in Cologne on 20.02.2024 titled “Ihr KI-Anbieter-Test - 3 Schlüsselfragen die Sie kennen sollten.” The key questions: Question 1: What indicators does your AI product use to analyze learning outcomes? --> Look for AI products that provide relevant indicators for measuring learning progress and skills acquisition. These indicators are important to accurately assess learning…

Mar192024 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

Podcast “Sitzenbleiben” About AI in Education

Artificial Intelligence, General education, School

In a special edition of the DIPF podcast "Sitzenbleiben", Kai Maaz (Executive Director of DIPF) and Hendrik Drachsler discuss the potentials and hurdles of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into education. The conversation surrounding AI's capabilities and constraints has been rapidly gaining traction. Especially the emergence of large language models like ChatGPT has revolutionized the text creation process, which showcase the vast opportunities that AI technologies can bring to the education sector. Questions abound regarding AI's impact on education: How can AI impact tasks such as homework or exams? How can AI enrich lessons? Which data protection issues need to be considered? How can students and educators receive adequate support in navigating AI's integration into learning environments? These questions serve as focal points which are examined in this newly available podcast…

Mar192024 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

Celebrating Ioana Jivet’s New Adventure at Catalpa: A Farewell and Congratulations

Alumni, Team

In the midst of our busy lives between scholarly discourse and the clatter of keyboards, there are moments that stand out, moments of transition and reflection. In this blog post today, we bid farewell to a cherished colleague, Dr. Ioana Jivet, as she embarks on a new chapter of her journey as a Professor at CATALPA - Center of Advanced Technology for Assisted Learning and Predictive Analytics at the FernUniversität in Hagen. For nearly a decade, Ioana has been an integral part of our team, bringing not only her expertise but also her warmth and dedication. As analytics scientists we like diving into the numbers: from the start of Ioana’s time with us on June 1, 2021, until her your new start at CATALPA on March 1st, 2024, we've had…

Mar152024 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New Pub: AI program doesn’t make kids better at math, but it makes them more independent

Assessment, Journal, Publication, School

Students who receive math tutoring from an artificial intelligence (AI) program perform no better than students who are taught by a "real" teacher. These students do, however, need less help learning. This is the conclusion of Rashmi Khazanchi from the Open University of the Netherlands together with Hendrik Drachsler and Daniele Di Mitri. Math Lessons with AI The researchers examined the effectiveness of the Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS) tutoring program, called Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). Previous studies have shown that students learn math better using software than traditional teaching methods. Previous studies on ALEKS have also shown that, thanks to this program, students memorize more knowledge, perform better, experience more engagement in mathematics and drop out less. The advantage of an ITS like ALEKS is that it…

Jan312024 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

SWK-Talk: Large Language Models and their potential in the education system

Artificial Intelligence, Event, School

In the SWK Talk Special "Large Language Models and their potential in the education system" on 18.01.2024, the SWK (Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs) presented its impulse paper on Large Language Models. For the impulse paper, the SWK consulted external experts, including members of the EduTec Team, on teaching and learning with AI and LLM. The aim was to contribute to the current debate on the potential of LLM in the education system. The key conclusion is that the German education system currently faces the task of trying to utilize the potentials of generative AI technologies such as LLM, while at the same time recognizing their limitations and finding a way to responsibly deal with their restrictions. The paper also emphasizes the importance of a…

Dec212023 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

2023 in a Nutshell: A year of unbridled discovery, innovation, and collaboration, and a little help of AI.

Team

What made this year special? Is it possible to reduce this year to just a few essential words? With all the people in our group, the many projects we worked on, the many publications we have written, and the events we have participated in, a lot has happened in 2023. Let’s take a closer look at some of the highlights: Projects and Conferences At EduTec.science, just like every year, we're committed to enhancing our understanding of education and exploring the potential impact of technology interventions. Our primary focus is on executing research projects, collecting solid data sets, conducting rigorous analysis of the effects of technology on learning and teaching, and publishing our results in accordance with the highest quality standards. The significant advancements in generative AI and the transformative…

Dec72023 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

Exciting New BildungPLUS Podcast: Learning Analytics in the Age of AI

Artificial Intelligence, Learning Analytics

The studiumdigitale Podcast BildungPLUS invites listeners on a riveting journey into the dynamic world of educational research in the new episode titled “Learning Analytics in the Age of AI”. Prof. Dr. Hendrik Drachsler, Prof. Dr. Bart Rienties and Dr. Eyal Rabin unveil their recent experiences in Learning Analytics, sharing firsthand accounts of breakthroughs and challenges. With a keen focus on AI, the episode delves into anticipations surrounding artificial intelligence's transformative role in shaping personalized learning experiences. Stay tuned for a brief but insightful exploration of the future of education through the lens of Learning Analytics research and innovative AI applications. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5MMqdLhJoJcnwy9jSFDIN2?si=0d64ada4b61e4017&nd=1&dlsi=44dc68d0ceb445fa