School Archives - Page 2 of 6

Jul92024 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

Successful PhD Defense: Understanding Self-Regulated Learning in Blended Learning Environments

Learning Analytics, PhD defense, School, Self-Regulation

On the 28th of June Hendrik Drachsler had the honor of being a jury member for the PhD defense of Esteban Villalobos at the University of Toulouse. Esteban successfully defended his thesis titled “Developing a Learning Analytics framework to understand the temporal behavior of students in Blended Learning Environments“. Especially in Blended Learning (BL) settings, Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) is crucial for student success. These environments require students to manage their learning not only in online, but also in traditional in-person activities. Esteban’s thesis advances our understanding of SRL in BL contexts through a comprehensive approach, using Learning Analytics (LA) techniques as well as the latest Sequence Analysis (SA) advancements to examine students’ behaviors via trace data and self-reported measures. One of the main goals of his thesis is the manifestation…

Jul22024 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New pub: Potentials and Challenges of Generative AI in Instruction and Research on Instruction

Artificial Intelligence, Feedback, General education, Journal, New Pub, School

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming such a part of our daily lives that soon it will be almost impossible to imagine life without it. Especially since the emergence of ChatGPT and other Large Language Models, endless new possibilities have arisen for the usage of AI in many areas, especially in educational settings. Currently, the effective use of AI in education, both in teaching and learning, remains largely undefined, as do its limitations. We are also missing clarity regarding the potential benefits of AI for instructional research and the ethical boundaries of its use in this field. The opportunities and challenges associated with integrating AI into educational practices and research are explored in a newly published article from Hendrik Drachsler, Knut Neumann and Jochen Kuhn. In their paper they identify specific…

May92024 by Onur KarademirNo Comments

New Pub: I don’t have time! But keep me in the loop: Co-designing requirements for a learning analytics cockpit with teachers

Empirical Study, Learning Analytics, New Pub, Research Methods, School

Teacher dashboards can help secondary school teachers manage online learning activities and inform instructional decisions by visualising information about class learning. However, when designing teacher dashboards, it is not trivial to choose which information to display, because not all of the vast amount of information retrieved from digital learning environments is useful for teaching. Information elicited from formative assessment (FA), though, is a strong predictor for student performance and can be a useful data source for effective teacher dashboards. Especially in the secondary education context, FA and feedback on FA, have been extensively studied and shown to positively affect student learning outcomes. Moreover, secondary teachers struggle to make sense of the information displayed in dashboards and decide on pedagogical actions, such as providing feedback to students. Objectives: To facilitate the…

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…

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…

Dec142023 by Prof. Dr. Hendrik DrachslerNo Comments

PhD defense on Technological Responses to Distracting Media Multitasking in Digital Learning Environments

Award, Higher Education, Learning Analytics, PhD defense, School, Self-Regulation

Today, we proudly acknowledge the remarkable achievement of our team member, Daniel Biedermann, in successfully defending his PhD thesis to become Dr. Biedermann. Woohoo, congratulations! In our modern world, the reality of digital distractions through the attention economy cannot be denied. Countries like the Netherlands, for instance, are planning to ban mobiles from classrooms starting from 2024. Daniel's PhD work centered on the complex challenges of digital media distraction, a phenomenon that's prevalent largely due to our pervasive use of social media and notification systems on our phones, PCs, and tablets. Presented in his disputation, Daniel argued the need for a context-sensitive system to gain a more profound understanding of digital media distraction. In addition, Daniel addressed the crucial subject of digital self-control tools (DSCTs). His research, which provided a…

Dec12023 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New pub: Measuring Efficacy of ALEKS as a Supportive Instructional Tool in K-12 Math Classroom with Underachieving Students

Assessment, Journal, New Pub, Publication, School

In a recent quasi-experimental research study, the effectiveness of Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS), an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS), took center stage in the realm of 8th-grade mathematics education. The study aimed to determine whether ALEKS could bring a statistically significant improvement in students' mathematics achievement compared to traditional teacher-led instructions. The research involved 158 8th-grade students categorized as 'underachieving students, with 60 in the teacher-led group and 98 in the ALEKS-led group. The study used a non-randomized approach to compare the outcomes of teacher-led instructions to ALEKS-led instructions over two consecutive years. In the first year McGraw's curriculum "Reveal" was used exclusively without ALEKS. In the second year ALEKS was incorporated as a supplemental tool in a math support class. The study incorporated a rigorous methodology, utilizing…