New pub: Lernpfade in adaptiven und künstlich-intelligenten Lernprogramme

New pub: Lernpfade in adaptiven und künstlich-intelligenten Lernprogramme

Artificial Intelligence, Book chapter, Learning Analytics, Research Methods
In this newly published book chapter, the authors delve into the comparison between interactive, adaptive and artificially intelligent learning programs. While adaptive and AI-based applications offer promising potential, they face greater complexity in their development and have yet to fully establish themselves. To evaluate the prospects of these technologies, their respective capabilities are explored. Adaptive learning programs prove effective in skill acquisition, while AI-based solutions shine in cases where an explicit expertise model is challenging to articulate. The didactic and pedagogical challenges that lie ahead for AI-based learning applications are also highlight. By examining these factors, valuable insights are gained into the landscape of advanced learning technologies and their future implications. Reference: Kerres, M., Buntins, K., Buchner, J., Drachsler, H., & Zawacki-Richter, O.. (In Press). Lernpfade in adaptiven und künstlich-intelligenten…
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New pub: Evaluating the Impact of FoLA on Learning Analytics Knowledge Creation

New pub: Evaluating the Impact of FoLA on Learning Analytics Knowledge Creation

Journal, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, Publication, Research Methods, Research topic, Special Issue
Learning analytics provides opportunities to improve the design of learning activities by supplying information on the effects of different learning approaches. Despite the existence of design methods that aim to facilitate the incorporation of learning analytics into learning design, there is a lack of research assessing their efficacy. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the FoLA2 method. In higher education settings, sixty participants utilized the FoLA2 method to develop fourteen learning activities. To gauge the impact, participants completed a technology acceptance test before and after each session. Furthermore, researchers analyzed audio recordings of the sessions using epistemic network analysis to gain insights into the discussions regarding learning analytics and the creation of enhanced learning activities. The results from both the technology acceptance test and the epistemic network analysis…
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New pub: Digitalisierung und Diagnostik in Schulen – Herausforderungen für Bildungspraxis und Bildungsforschung

New pub: Digitalisierung und Diagnostik in Schulen – Herausforderungen für Bildungspraxis und Bildungsforschung

Assessment, Book chapter, Computational Psychometrics, Digitalisation, Learning Analytics, Research Methods, Research topic, School
In the spring of 2020, schools faced an unprecedented challenge as the pandemic disrupted traditional modes of instruction and school development. With on-site learning replaced by digital formats and distance communication, educators had to quickly adapt to the new normal. Amidst these changes, the field of education encountered specific challenges related to digital school management, digital learning, and assessing learning progress. Particularly, computer-aided diagnostics emerged as a valuable tool for gaining insights not only into learning outcomes but also into the learning process itself. Researchers became intrigued by the potential of digital media in shaping learning experiences and how the resulting data could be effectively utilized in educational practice. This paper explores the current challenges and potentials in computer-based, learning-accompanying diagnostics. The primary hurdles involve implementing suitable instruments within schools…
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A Vibrant Week of Exchange Between Brazilian and German LA Researchers

A Vibrant Week of Exchange Between Brazilian and German LA Researchers

Higher Education, Learning Analytics, Multimodal Learning Analytics, Research Methods, Research topic, Workshop
From May 22 to 25, 2023 five esteemed guest researchers from Brazil visited the EduTec team in Frankfurt in the context of the Humboldt Foundation's Connect Program. This productive exchange not only shed light on the current state of Learning Analytics (LA) research in Brazil and Germany but also paved the way for potential collaborative research activities. Status of LA research in Brazil The week began with a discussion of the role of LA in the global South. Rafael Ferreira Mello from the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE) emphasized the importance of adapting LA methodologies to the specific context and needs of Brazil, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility in educational initiatives. Diego Dermeval from the Universidade Federal de Alagoas (UFAL) highlighted the potential of AI and LA in supporting teachers…
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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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New Pub: A checklist to guide the planning, designing, implementation, and evaluation of learning analytics dashboards

New Pub: A checklist to guide the planning, designing, implementation, and evaluation of learning analytics dashboards

Journal, Learning Analytics, Publication
Higher education institutions are moving to design and implement teacher-facing learning analytics (LA) dashboards with the hope that instructors can extract deep insights about student learning and make informed decisions to improve their teaching. While much attention has been paid to developing teacher-facing dashboards, less is known about how they are designed, implemented and evaluated. This paper presents a systematic literature review of existing studies reporting on teacher-facing LA dashboards. Out of the 1968 articles retrieved from several databases, 50 articles were included in the final analysis. Guided by several frameworks, articles were coded based on the following dimensions: purpose, theoretical grounding, stakeholder involvement, ethics and privacy, design, implementation, and evaluation criteria. The findings show that most dashboards are designed to increase teachers’ awareness but with limited actionable insights to…
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Visit from Sasha Poquet

Visit from Sasha Poquet

Digitalisation, Higher Education, Invited talk, Learning Analytics, Research topic
On April 13th, we had the pleasure of welcoming Prof. Dr. Oleksandra (Sasha) Poquet, professor in learning analytics at the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology at the Technical University of Munich, to our EduTec group in Frankfurt. The visit provided a valuable opportunity for the EduTec group to learn from Sasha's research experience and explore the future of educational technology. The visit began with an introduction by Hendrik Drachsler, who provided an overview of our current research and ongoing projects. This was followed by a presentation by Oleksandra Poquet, who discussed her current, present and future research. In the past, Sasha's research focused on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the impact of homophily on university course enrollment. She also discussed her work on Modelling Digital Networks with…
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Reelection in the Executive Committee of SoLAR

Reelection in the Executive Committee of SoLAR

Learning Analytics, Team
Ioana Jivet has been reelected to the Executive Committee of the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) for another mandate of two years 2023-2025. The Executive committee governs the society's work and meets regularly to decide on matters of policy, general business, the tabling of reports from any Committee and any other matter that requires the Executive’s decision-making powers. The Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) is an inter-disciplinary network of leading international researchers who are exploring the role and impact of analytics on teaching, learning, training and development. SoLAR has been active in organizing the International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge (LAK) and the Learning Analytics Summer Institute (LASI), launching multiple initiatives to support collaborative and open research around learning analytics, promoting the publication and dissemination of learning analytics research, and advising and…
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Highly Informative LA Workshop at LAK23

Highly Informative LA Workshop at LAK23

Conference, Higher Education, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, Workshop
On the 13th of March 2023, as part of the LAK23 conference, five EduTec team members (Daniele Di Mitri, Ioana Jivet, Sebastian Gombert, Atezaz Ahmad and Hendrik Drachsler) organised a full-day workshop on Highly Informative Learning Analytics with Marcel Schmitz from Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands. In this workshop, we investigated the concept of highly informative learning analytics and proposed a methodology for designing an environment that delivers highly informative learning analytics. The workshop is intended as a hands-on, interactive session that allows participants to test the methodology’s potential in a realistic use case. The proposed approach is based on the four-stage process of the Design Cycle for Education (DC4E). We exemplify practical tools that were designed in-house for each stage, including a tool to support teachers while…
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Best Short Paper Award Nomination @LAK23

Best Short Paper Award Nomination @LAK23

Award, Conference, Conference, Higher Education, Learning Analytics
The protection of students’ privacy in learning analytics (LA) applications is critical for cultivating trust and effective implementations of LA in educational environments around the world. However, students’ privacy concerns and how they may vary along demographic dimensions that historically influence these concerns have yet to be studied in higher education. Gender differences, in particular, are known to be associated with people's information privacy concerns, including in educational settings. Building on an empirically validated model and survey instrument for student privacy concerns, their antecedents and their behavioral outcomes, we investigate the presence of gender differences in students’ privacy concerns about LA. We conducted a survey study of students in higher education across five countries (N = 762): Germany, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United States. Using multiple regression analysis,…
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