New Pub: Memorizing Plans With an App

New Pub: Memorizing Plans With an App

Journal, Learning Analytics, Publication, School, Self-Regulation
Mobile phones and devices are an integral part of the daily lives of students, and educators are increasingly trying to take advantage of this day-to-day usage for educational purposes. But how can mobile technologies, like app-based learning activities, be designed to effectively help students in the learning process? [caption id="attachment_7331" align="alignright" width="500"] Screenshots of the reading (A), puzzle (B), and emoji (C) activity[/caption] A newly published study from Daniel Biedermann, Jasmin Breitwieser, Lea Nobbe, Hendrik Drachsler and Garvin Brod tries to answer this question. Using the PROMT app, the team compared three types of learning activities used by children aged 9 to 14 years to memorize one learning plan per day over the course of 27 days. The activities varied in their planned level of cognitive engagement based on the…
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New Pub: The Student Feedback Literacy Instrument (SFLI)

New Pub: The Student Feedback Literacy Instrument (SFLI)

Feedback, Further Education, Journal, New Pub
In the context of higher education, feedback plays an especially important role in the learning process. For students it is not only important to receive feedback, but also to be able to understand and process this feedback in a manner which helps them make learning progress. The knowledge, skills and attitudes students need to navigate the feedback process successfully are referred to as feedback literacy. A recently published study presents a refined version of the Student Feedback Literacy Instrument (SFLI), which offers a powerful tool to measure feedback literacy construct across multiple languages and cultures. The SFLI aims to measure feedback literacy across two key dimensions: feedback attitudes and feedback practices. The full-length version of the instrument was recently refined and tested, alongside a short-form version (SFLI-S), in a multilingual…
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Its a Wonderful (EduTec) Life: Reflecting 2024.

Its a Wonderful (EduTec) Life: Reflecting 2024.

Alumni, Higher Education, School, Team
Near Christmas time, many people traditionally watch the movie classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” about a man named George, who loses his courage to face life on Christmas night due to a series of difficulties and ends up being saved by an angel who shows him how life would be for the people around him if he had never been born. Poor George has let himself get so caught up in the troubles of everyday life that he has lost sight of all the positive things that he has achieved and the impact he has on those around him. This movie reminds us that we are like George sometimes: we tend to focus on the negative things in daily life and sometimes lose our view of the bigger picture and…
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PhD Defense: A Bridge between Learning Analytics and Learning Design

PhD Defense: A Bridge between Learning Analytics and Learning Design

Book, Event, Higher Education, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, Multimodal Learning Analytics, PhD defense, Publication, School
We warmly congratulate our esteemed associate partner, DR. Marcel Schmitz, on successfully defending his PhD thesis on November 29, 2024. Marcel is a senior lecturer and researcher in Data Intelligence and the Applied Data Science & Artificial Intelligence program at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences. In his dissertation, titled “Towards Learning Analytics-Supported Learning Design”, he focused on how education can be better personalized by incorporating learning analytics already in the design and course planning. His dissertation was supervised by Prof. Dr. Hendrik Drachsler (DIPF | Leibniz Institute & Goethe University Frankfurt), with co-supervisors Prof. Dr. Maren Scheffel (Ruhr University Bochum) and Dr. Roger Bemelmans (Zuyd University of Applied Sciences). Marcel's dissertation provides actionable strategies not only for higher education but also for other educational sectors. His work envisions a future…
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New Pub: Impact of Artificial Intelligence Based Systems to Improve Mathematics Achievement in Rural Schools

New Pub: Impact of Artificial Intelligence Based Systems to Improve Mathematics Achievement in Rural Schools

Artificial Intelligence, Journal, New Pub, School
Poor mathematics achievement, especially in rural areas, remains a persistent challenge. Schools in rural areas often struggle to attract and retain highly qualified mathematics teachers, and the teacher shortage across the United States further amplifies this issue. Numerous studies indicate that AI-based systems can enhance mathematics achievement and improve test scores on both standardized and non-standardized tests in K-12 and higher education. These systems offer adaptive and personalized education tailored to the unique needs of each student. By creating learning pathways based on students' current knowledge and offering real-time feedback and support, AI-based systems have the potential to improve learning outcomes across the P-20 educational spectrum. Despite the increasing adoption of AI-based tools, there is limited research on its impact on K-12 classrooms within rural contexts, especially among socioeconomically disadvantaged…
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New Pub: Understanding Learning Engagement in Asynchronous Online Settings

New Pub: Understanding Learning Engagement in Asynchronous Online Settings

Higher Education, Journal, Learning Analytics, Publication
A newly published study illustrates the complexities of learning engagement (LE) in asynchronous online settings (AOSs) for university students. For university students it can be difficult to learn in such environments since these lack real-time interactions. This also makes it difficult for teachers to measure how engaged students actually are with their study materials. Through trace data, learning analytics can be used as a foundation to analyze students’ learning methods and LE. The study investigates whether LE can be characterized by the sub-dimensions: effort, attention and content interest. The study also explores the question of which trace data from student behavior within AOSs can best represent these factors of LE in self-reports. The research involved 764 university students and utilized best-subset regression analysis to determine which indicators most reliably represent…
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New Pub: How Can Learning Analytics Dashboards Help Improve Students’ Self-Regulated Learning?

New Pub: How Can Learning Analytics Dashboards Help Improve Students’ Self-Regulated Learning?

Conference, Empirical Study, Learning Analytics, Publication, School, Self-Regulation
Learning Analytics Dashboards (LADs) are important and widely-used tools used to give feedback to students and to aid them in their self-regulating learning process. Much has been done to investigate the design of LADs, but there is still a lack of knowledge regarding how students interpret the information shown on LADs and how they actually use these tools while learning. In a newly published study, we try to fill this gap. In an experimental study, we compared two groups of students. One group was given personalized self-regulared learning (SRL) feedback on their interactions and learning advances. The control group was only given minimal feedback calculated from the average class scores. After reviewing their feedback, students submitted written reflections on how they would adjust their study behavior. The researchers then analyzed…
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New Pub: Conceptual Map Assessment Through Structure Classification

New Pub: Conceptual Map Assessment Through Structure Classification

Assessment, Conference, Feedback, Publication, School
In educational settings concept maps are often chosen as a tool to help knowledge constructions be visualized. While mapping out concepts and their relationships, students are able to show how well (or not well) they understand certain subjects. A newly published study, which was presented at the AIED 2024 in Recife, Brazil, takes their usage a step further, examining the structural patterns in concept maps and developing an automated system to classify them. The researchers categorized 511 different concept maps into three key structures: spoke, network and chain. Each structure type can provide its own insight about the deepness of students’ understanding. For example, a "spoke" structure may indicate a surface-level understanding, while a "network" might reflect a more complex comprehension. The researchers trained multiclass classification models using statistical data…
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New Pub: Learning At and From a Virtual Conference

New Pub: Learning At and From a Virtual Conference

Higher Education, Journal, New Pub
In light of the COVID pandemic and the climate crisis, many academic conferences have switched from face-to-face to virtual or hybrid conferences. The advantages of completely virtual conferences are clear. The organizers don’t need to look for physical rooms to book or need to organize food or drinks for participants. For the participants, this form of conferences can also be advantageous because there are no travel expenses and no travel time. Those participating from other countries can even take part in the conference despite being in different time zones or continents. The advantages go hand in hand with the disadvantages of limited personal interaction: no scientific (or leisurely) discussions during a coffee break or a chance to get to know fellow researchers seated nearby before a session begins. With all…
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EduTec consults the Federal Ministry of Education on upcoming research funding lines

EduTec consults the Federal Ministry of Education on upcoming research funding lines

School, Workshop
[caption id="attachment_6986" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The building of the Ministry of Education in Berlin where the meeting took place.[/caption]   On the 27th of September, DIPF researcher and EduTec member Dr Daniele Di Mitri was invited to attend a high-level expert consultation. This consultation, set up by the German Federal Ministry of Education (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung - BMBF) in collaboration with the project entity German Space Agency (DLR), aimed to gather experts' opinions on the upcoming research funding line for studying the impact of Artificial Intelligence in schools. Dr Di Mitri's participation in this collaborative event, alongside other experts, reflects the inclusive nature of the discussion on AI in education. The upcoming call for project funding aims to support research projects that research more profound into the pedagogical, didactical,…
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