Heather Wehner, Author at EduTec Science

Sep292026 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

Dr. Fabíola Gonçalves Joins the EduTec Group as Research Fellow

Team

We warmly welcome Dr. Fabíola Gonçalves as a new member of our EduTec team at DIPF. Dr. Fabíola is a postdoctoral researcher and has recently been awarded a CAPES-Humboldt Research Fellowship. Her project “AI-Supported Co-Design for Personalized Feedback and Teaching Enhancement” will be supervised by Prof. Hendrik Drachsler and focuses on the analysis, investigation and integration of AI support to enhance teaching and learning practices. Dr. Fabíola completed her PhD in Computer Science at the University of Oldenburg, Germany, in cooperation with the Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil. From 2013 to 2025, she worked as a professor and researcher at the Federal Institute Goiano, Brazil, contributing to teaching, student supervision and scientific projects in secondary and higher education contexts. Dr. Fabíola’s areas of expertise include Software Engineering, System Specification and Design, Project Management and Human-Computer Interaction. Currently, her research focus includes human-centered approaches, particularly in Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED), Learning Analytics and the use of Large Language…

Sep252026 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New Pub: Implementation of AI-based Feedback and Assessment – IMPACT Project Evaluation Report

Artificial Intelligence, Feedback, Higher Education, Learning Analytics, Publication, Report

How can universities provide individual feedback and useful support systems to every student when class sizes continue to grow and learner needs become increasingly diverse? Artificial intelligence offers promising opportunities to provide personalized learning and teaching support on a larger scale. Yet as regulations regarding data protection, transparency and the responsible use of AI continue to evolve, institutions face a difficult balancing act between innovation and regulatory compliance. These issues were addressed in the IMPACT project (Implementation of AI-based Feedback and Assessment with Trusted Learning Analytics in Higher Education Institutions), which explored how AI can support students and educators throughout the academic journey. Its goal was to develop AI-based methods for the semi-automated analysis of academic texts, to allow for more effective support in learning, teaching and assessment. A key…

Jul242026 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New Pub: The Dependency Dilemma of Machine Learning Aids

Artificial Intelligence, Journal, New Pub

AI and machine-learning decision aids can be a great support for employees and help them improve their work performance. An overreliance on algorithmic recommendations, on the other hand, may result in a long-term reduction of the employees’ ability to develop and maintain their own decision-making skills. This could be especially problematic when such AI and machine-learning decision aids are not available. Instead of overly relying on such AI-based recommendations, organizations should train their employees to continue developing their critical thinking and decision-making skills. Hendrik Drachsler and his research partners address this problematic dependency on AI tools and the conflict of interests in the workplace in their newly published article “The Dependency Dilemma: How Machine Learning Decision Aids can Undermine Skill Growth”. Using a controlled experiment, the authors found that participants…

Jul162026 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New Pub: Recommendations for Higher Education in the Age of Generative AI

Artificial Intelligence, Higher Education, Publication, Report

Generative AI cannot be treated as just another digital tool that has come along. As it becomes more and more embedded in higher education, universities face the challenge of responsibly navigating the many challenges and opportunities that generative AI brings with it. One central guiding principal for institutions and stakeholders engaged with generative AI is intellectual sovereignty, which the German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat, WR) highlights in its newly published position paper, which was presented in a digital press release on 06.07.2026. Intellectual sovereignty refers to the ability to think independently, exercise critical judgment and maintain autonomy in the creation and evaluation of knowledge. Rather than relying uncritically on AI-generated outputs, this concept encourages students, educators and institutions to actively question, assess and contextualize information. By placing intellectual sovereignty…

Jul22026 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

Congratulations, Dr. Karademir! Turning Data into Pedagogical Action

Alumni, Learning Analytics, PhD defense

On 1 July 2026, Onur Karademir successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at the Goethe-University Frankfurt — and we could not be prouder. Onur joined the EduTec team in February 2021, but his story started even earlier: as a student frustrated by 90-minute maths lectures, he channelled that experience into founding StudyCore, an EdTech startup delivering digital teaching tools to universities and schools. That hands-on instinct — building things that actually reach learners — defined his entire PhD trajectory. His dissertation, Turning Data into Pedagogical Action: Designing the Learning Analytics Cockpit, a Teacher Dashboard for Feedback, tackles one of the most pressing challenges in educational technology: making learning analytics useful in real classrooms. Over three interconnected studies — a proof of concept, a co-design process with secondary school teachers and a…

Jun102026 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New Pub: Competent Usage of AI and Digital Technology in Education

Artificial Intelligence, New Pub, Publication

[caption id="attachment_8403" align="alignright" width="300"] Modified TPACK model as Level 2 of the AIEDTEC-CDM. Note. TPK = technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), TCK = technological content knowledge, PCK = pedagogical content knowledge, TPCK = technological pedagogical content knowledge.[/caption] How can teachers and learners use AI and digital technology competently, critically and safely in education? Simply using AI tools and digital technology in educational settings does not necessarily mean that learners will profit from these tools. Some tools may have a positive effect on learning, while others may not. A newly published paper addresses this issue and formulates a theoretical framework for the “Competence to Use Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology in Educational Processes” (AIEDTEC competence). Combining insights from psychology and computer science, it aims to provide a theoretical definition of the competent…

May122026 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

Hendrik Drachsler Receives Outstanding Community Work Award from SoLAR

Award, Conference, Team

In recognition of his outstanding dedication to the Learning Analytics community, Hendrik Drachsler was presented with the Outstanding Community Work Award by the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) at the 16th International Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (LAK26) on 30 April 2026 in Bergen, Norway. 🏆 The award recognises Hendrik’s long-standing commitment to strengthening the SoLAR community and supporting the development of Learning Analytics as an international research field. In her laudatio, SoLAR President Prof. Blaženka Divjak highlighted Hendrik’s continuous engagement with the Society for Learning Analytics Research since its early years. He has contributed to the community in many roles, including as a SoLAR Executive Committee member and Local Chair of LAK20. He has also helped create spaces for exchange and collaboration by organising and supporting workshops that…

Dec182025 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

A Year Full of Delights

Team

In December, I always take the time to sit down and reflect on the past year and on what my team and I have accomplished. As I now sit at my desk and review the past year’s events, I am interrupted by my stomach, which is growling. And on my desk before me is a nicely wrapped bag of mixed Christmas cookies. Every year around this time, local schools, kindergartens, sports clubs, etc. have bake sales to collect money for a good cause. I am always happy to help with such efforts, and so, of course, I bought a package. And here it is right in front of me, while my stomach is growling … Maybe just a peek inside my stomach tells me ... Maybe try a cookie ...…

Dec42025 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New Collaborative Research Center [in:just]

Artificial Intelligence, Project

We are excited to announce that we will be part of the newly launched Collaborative Research Centre [in:just]. This center is special as it will be the first such center in the field of educational sciences and will focus on justice and participation in the educational system. Its goal is to study why inequality in Germany’s educational system continues to exist and what factors contribute to this. The spokespersons are Prof. Merle Hummrich and Prof. Vera Moser, both of whom work in the Department of Educational Sciences at Goethe University. The first phase of the Collaborative Research Centre [in:just] will be funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) from 2026 – 2029. A team of 31 researchers from fields such as education, sociology, philosophy, political science, law, geography and computer…

Dec22025 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

Moving Education Towards Didactical Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence, Event, Invited talk, Learning Analytics

ChatGPT and other GenAI tools are said to be good for learning. But does their usage really empower learners, or does it overwhelm them instead? Studies from Highly- Informative Learning Analytics (HILA) programs show how complex the effects of such AI-tools can be. While dashboards can potentially improve students’ learning outcomes, AI feedback can sometimes be helpful and sometimes be demotivating for students, depending on their feedback literacy. In a recent presentation at IWM Lectures Hendrik Drachsler argues that we need more research into Didactical Intelligence – a framework for understanding when, how and for whom AI and Learning Analytics truly improves learning and when not. Technology alone doesn’t guarantee better outcomes; its success depends on thoughtful integration into pedagogy. He therefore presented the Highly-Informative Learning Analytics research platform. This…