Could AI Democratise Education? Socio-Technical Imaginaries of an EdTech Revolution

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education has been said to have the potential for building more personalised curricula, as well as democratising education worldwide and creating a Renaissance of new ways of teaching and learning. Millions of students are already starting to benefit from the use of these technologies, but millions more around the world are not. If this trend continues, the first delivery of AI in Education could be greater educational inequality, along with a global misallocation of educational resources motivated by the current technological determinism narrative. In this paper, we focus on speculating and posing questions around the future of AI in Education, with the aim of starting the pressing conversation that would set the right foundations for the new generation of education that is permeated by technology. This paper starts by synthesising how AI might change how we learn and teach, focusing specifically on the case of personalised learning companions, and then move to discuss some socio-technical features that will be crucial for avoiding the perils of these AI systems worldwide (and perhaps ensuring their success). This paper also discusses the potential of using AI together with free, participatory and democratic resources, such as Wikipedia, Open Educational Resources and open-source tools. We also emphasise the need for collectively designing human-centered, transparent, interactive and collaborative AI-based algorithms that empower and give complete agency to stakeholders, as well as support new emerging pedagogies. Finally, we ask what would it take for this educational revolution to provide egalitarian and empowering access to education, beyond any political, cultural, language, geographical and learning ability barriers

Power to the Learner: Towards Human-Intuitive and Integrative Recommendations with Open Educational Resources

Educational recommenders have received much less attention in comparison with e-commerce- and entertainment-related recommenders, even though efficient intelligent tutors could have potential to improve learning gains and enable advances in education that are essential to achieving the world’s sustainability agenda. Through this work, we make foundational advances towards building a state-aware, integrative educational recommender. The proposed recommender accounts for the learners’ interests and knowledge at the same time as content novelty and popularity, with the end goal of improving predictions of learner engagement in a lifelong-learning educational video platform. Towards achieving this goal, we (i) formulate and evaluate multiple probabilistic graphical models to capture learner interest; (ii) identify and experiment with multiple probabilistic and ensemble approaches to combine interest, novelty, and knowledge representations together; and (iii) identify and experiment with different hybrid recommender approaches to fuse population-based engagement prediction to address the cold-start problem, i.e., the scarcity of data in the early stages of a user session, a common challenge in recommendation systems. Our experiments with an in-the-wild interaction dataset of more than 20,000 learners show clear performance advantages by integrating content popularity, learner interest, novelty, and knowledge aspects in an informational recommender system, while preserving scalability. Our recommendation system integrates a human-intuitive representation at its core, and we argue that this transparency will prove important in efforts to give agency to the learner in interacting, collaborating, and governing their own educational algorithms

Opening up the interpretation process in an open learner model

Opening a model of the learner is a potentially complex operation. There are many aspects of the learner that can be modelled, and many of these aspects may need to be opened in different ways. In addition, there may be complicated interactions between these aspects which raise questions both about the accuracy of the underlying model and the methods for representing a holistic view of the model. There can also be complex processes involved in inferring the learner's state, and opening up views onto these processes - which leads to the issues that are the main focus of this paper: namely, how can we open up the process of interpreting the learner's behaviour in such a manner that the learner can both understand the process and challenge the interpretation in a meaningful manner. The paper provides a description of the design and implementation of an open learner model (termed the xOLM) which features an approach to breaking free from the limitations of "black box" interpretation. This approach is based on a Toulmin-like argumentation structure together with a form of data fusion based on an adaptation of Dempster-Shafer. However, the approach is not without its problems. The paper ends with a discussion of the possible ways in which open learner models might open up the interpretation process even more effectively

AI as a Methodology for Supporting Educational Praxis and Teacher Metacognition

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is of critical importance in education where emphasis is placed on the need to equip educators with an ability to independently generate and reflect on evidence of their practices in situ – a process also known as praxis. This paper examines existing research related to teachers’ metacognitive skills and, using two exemplar projects, it discusses the utility and relevance of AI methods of knowledge representation and knowledge elicitation as methodologies for supporting EBP. Research related to technology-enhanced communities of practice as a means for teachers to share and compare their knowledge with others is also examined. Suggestions for the key considerations in supporting teachers’ metacognition in praxis are made based on the review of literature and discussion of the specific projects, with the aim to highlight potential future research directions for AIEd. A proposal is made that a crucial part of AIEd’s future resides in its curating the role of AI as a methodology for supporting teacher training and continuous professional development, especially as relates to their developing metacognitive skills in relation to their practices

Using learning analytics to understand esports students

Electronic sports (esports) has advanced to become a media giant and an arena for competitions and career development. Due to this growth, more focus has been given to esports research, implementation of esports throughout the world, and development of esports curriculum. Introducing esports into schools has created huge opportunities for deeper analysis of esport and learning data to provide insight into the learning processes. By applying learning analytics methods, this research analyzes data that originate from students (N=149) in Swedish high schools. The data was divided between activity data and performance data. The analysis is guided by the learning theory concept self-regulation to analyze differences between user groups. Through exploratory analysis, multiple user groups were identified and then compared in their trends and results to measure the impact of self-regulated learning concepts. Furthermore, the student data was used in the design of a mid-fidelity prototype for a student-facing dashboard to provide feedback and recommendations. Findings reveal that concepts of self-regulated learning have a positive impact in terms of higher curriculum interaction, and also higher performance results in game matches. While the research finds that focus on features promoting self-regulated learning concepts is important, it is challenging to generalize the findings to recommend actions such as suggested session lengths. Future work should include a larger population sample and focus on the implementation of a student-facing dashboard tool to test its reception and usage.Masteroppgave i informasjonsvitenskapINFO390MASV-INF

Establishing a New Teachership through Interactive Radio Instruction:Evaluating the impact of IRI on teachers’ practices in Malawian primary schools

Abstract This evaluation research study is concerned with the quality of support and in-service development for Malawian primary teachers through the medium of radio. The study aims to evaluate the influence that the current United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded interactive radio instruction (IRI) programme has on teachers’ behaviours, with the aim of proposing some guidelines for the development of a model of continuing professional development (CPD), appropriate to the Malawian context, using IRI. It identifies the teacher as a critical entity in raising levels of learners’ achievement within the primary school and posits that through improved teacher support and development, higher levels of learner achievement can be attained. The study identifies the potential that communication technology in the form of interactive radio instruction (IRI) offers in improving CPD of teachers at a cost that could be affordable to disadvantaged school communities in the country. The study takes place in a context where the Malawi government has been challenged to provide quality universal primary education after introducing free primary education (FPE) in 1994, which resulted in a massive expansion of primary schools, resulting in acute shortages of teachers. The study has drawn on aspects of practice theory and in particular the work of Giddens (1984), Bourdieu (1977, 1978), Shatzki et al (2001) and Reckwitz (2002a) in an attempt to emphasise the role of artefacts, such as interactive radio, as part of social practice. A practice theoretic perspective has been used to highlight the contentious role played by learning-objects in teacher practice and the need for flexibility and innovation in employing learning-objects like interactive radio as part of teaching practice. To carry out a critical exploration of the issues of teacher learning and practice, a longitudinal qualitative research approach was proposed for the evaluation of the existing IRI programme in Malawi. As the researcher was also actively involved in the planning of the Malawi IRI programme from onset, he therefore maintained a dual role of researcher and co-founder throughout the research process. The empirical evidence employed within this research was elicited through three main processes: interview survey, participant observation and focus groups in order to achieve validity through methodical triangulation. The analysis of this evidence shows the considerable difficulties faced by classroom teachers in attempting to adopt interactive radio and therefore be able to use interactive/active learner-centred instruction as part of their ongoing teaching practice. The analysis, however, also highlights the possibility of exploiting interactive radio for provision of an integrated, sustainable CPD of teachers in educationally deprived school communities. Overall, the research study puts emphasis on the need for paying attention to the social practices (contextually specific) within which the use of educational technologies (such as interactive radio), are enmeshed. There is need to explicate the details of such practices (instead of adopting a narrow, technical, focus on attributes of interactive radio itself) in order to improve the efficacy of using interactive radio

Learner models in online personalized educational experiences: an infrastructure and some experim

Technologies are changing the world around us, and education is not immune from its influence: the field of teaching and learning supported by the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), also known as Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), has witnessed a huge expansion in recent years. This wide adoption happened thanks to the massive diffusion of broadband connections and to the pervasive needs for education, highly connected to the evolution in sciences and technologies. Therefore, it has pushed up the usage of online education (distance and blended methodologies for educational experiences) to, even in lately years, unexpected rates. Alongside with the well known potentialities, digital-based educational tools come with a number of downsides, such as possible disengagement on the part of the learner, absence of the social pressures that normally exist in a classroom environment, difficulty or even inability from the learners to self-regulate and, last but not least, depletion of the stimulus to actively participate and cooperate with lectures and peers. These difficulties impact the teaching process and the outcomes of the educational experience (i.e. learning process), being a serious limit and questioning the broader applicability of TEL solutions. To overcome these issues, there is a need of tools to support the learning process. In the literature, one of the known approach to improve the situation is to rely on a user profile, that collects data during the use of the eLearning platforms or tool. The created profile can be used to adapt the behaviour and the contents proposed to the learner. On top of this model, some researches stressed the positive effects stimulated by the disclosure of the model itself for inspection purposes by the learner. This disclosed model is known as Open Learner Model (OLM). The idea of opening learners' profile and eventually integrate them with external on-line resources is not new and it has the ultimate goal of creating global and long-run indicators of the learner's profile. Also the representation aspect of the learner model plays a role, moving from the more traditional approach based on the textual and analytic/extensive representation to the graphical indicators that are able to summarise and to present one or more of the model characteristics in a way that is considered more effective and natural for the user consumption. Relying on the same learner models, and stressing the different aggregation and representation capabilities, it is possible to either support self-reflection of the learner or to foster the tutoring process to allow proper supervision by the tutor/teacher. Both the objectives can be reached through the graphical representation of the relevant information, presented in different ways. Furthermore, with such an open approach for the learner model, the concepts of personalisation and adaptation acquire a central role in the TEL experience, overcoming the previous limits related to the impossibility to observe and explain to the learner the reasons for such an intervention from the tool itself. As a consequence, the introduction of different tools, platforms, widgets and devices in the learning process, together with the adaptation process based on the learner profiles, can create a personal space for a potential fruitful usage of the rich and widespread amount of resources available to the learner. This work aimed at analysing the way a learner model could be represented in visual presentation to the system users, exploring the effects and performances for learners and teachers. Subsequently, it concentrated in investigating how the adoption of adaptive and social visualisations of OLM could affect the student experience within a TEL context. The motivation was twofold. On one side was to show that the approach of mixing data from heterogeneous and not already related data sources could have a meaningful didactic interpretations, whether on the other one was to measure the perceived impact of the introduction on online experiences of the adaptivity (and of social aspects) in the graphical visualisations produced by such a tool. In order to achieve these objectives, the present work analysed and addressed them through an approach that merged user data in learning platforms, implementing a learner profile. This was accomplished by means of the creation of a tool, named GVIS, to elaborate on the collected user actions in platforms enabling remote teaching. A number of test cases were performed and analysed, adopting the developed tool as the provider to extract, to aggregate and to represent the data for the learners' model. The GVIS tool impact was then estimated with self- evaluation questionnaires, with the analysis of log files and with knowledge quiz results. Dimensions such as the perceived usefulness, the impact on motivation and commitment, the cognitive overload generated, and the impact of social data disclosure were taken into account. The main result found by the application of the developed tool in TEL experiences was to have an impact on the behaviour of online learners when used to provide them with indicators around their activities, especially when enhanced with social capabilities. The effects appear to be amplifies in those cases where the widget usage is as simplified as possible. From the learner side, the results suggested that the learners seem to appreciate the tool and recognise its value. For them the introduction as part of the online learning experience could act as a positive pressure factor, enhanced by the peer comparison functionality. This functionality could also be used to reinforce the student engagement and positive commitment to the educational experience, by transmitting a sense of community and stimulating healthy competition between learners. From the teacher/tutor side, they seemed to be better supported by the presentation of compact, intuitive and just-in-time information (i.e. actions that have an educational interpretation or impact) about the monitored user or group. This gave them a clearer picture of how the class is currently performing and enabled them to address performance issues by adapting the resources and the teaching (and learning) approach accordingly. Although a drawback was identified regarding the cognitive overload, the data collected showed that users generally considered this kind of support useful. There is also indications that further analyses can be interesting to explore the effects introduced in the teaching practices by the availability and usage of such a tool

Making Sense of Long-Term Physical Activity Tracker Data: The challenge of Incompleteness

Millions of people have already collected weeks, months and even years of data about their own health and physical activity levels. The potential is enormous for use in personal applications as well as for public health analysis of large populations at low cost. However, the reality is many people fail to wear their tracker and record data all day every day especially over the long-term. The resulting incompleteness in data poses an important challenge for interpreting long-term tracker data, in terms of both making sense of it and in dealing with the uncertainty of inferences based on it. Surprisingly, there has been little work into defining the problem, its extent and how it should be measured and addressed. This thesis tackles this key challenge and we demonstrate the need for a term to describe and quantify this challenge. We introduce the term, adherence, which quantifies the completeness in such data. We also offer interface designs that accounted for adherence to support self-monitoring and reflection. Bringing these together, we provide broader definitions and guidelines for incorporating adherence when making sense of long-term physical activity tracker data, both in personal applications and in public health research results. This thesis is based on three studies. First is a semester-long study of tracker use by 237 University students. Second is a study of 21 existing long-term physical activity trackers and provided the first richly qualitative exploration of physical activity and adherence of such users. It also evaluated the iStuckWithIt, a long-term physical activity data user interface, and reported on insights gained within and as aided by a tutorial and reflection scaffolding. In the final study, we drew on 12 diverse datasets, for 753 users, with over 77,000 days with data and 73,000 days missing to explore the impact of different definitions of adherence and methods for dealing with its implications

A critical ethnography of teacher development and change in a collaborative group setting to improve practice

The research study provided a cultural description and interpretation of how Teachers Network Learning Circle’s participants related, worked and learned with each other, and how they developed and changed within a predominantly symmetrical or consensual power relationship. The participants, consisting of six Singapore primary teachers at grade 4, were engaged in group discussions that were spread over a period of one year to complete an action research project which is integrated in day-to-day work. Teachers Network Learning Circle, a formal professional development platform, employs distinctive tools for dialogue and inquiry based on the principles of voluntary participation, reflection, change and trust. The fundamental reason for choosing this site is its potential to empower and emancipate teachers evident from not only the principles and practices it espouses, but also its vision and mission that is consistent with its motto “For Teachers, By Teachers”. The literature on education change and reforms has point towards teacher empowerment for successful education change. In this regard, investing in teacher professional development and professionalism is important. The literature also point towards embracing a sociological perspective evident in the notions of community and socio-cultural theory, and bringing to bear emotions, values and identity in teacher learning – and thus investing in the ‘whole person’ (Day, 1997). As power underlies all social relations and activities including teachers’ learning, the research study took into consideration the perspectives of critical theory of Habermas, Brookfield and Mezirow. The findings of the study found that symmetrical power relation contributed to teacher development and change. First, it had contributed to a collegial collaborative relationship that took into account of emotions, moral, identity development and group solidarity. Second, it had contributed to the consciousness, critique and co-construction of professional knowledge. Third, it had empowered participants insofar as it built participants’ capacities to act successfully within an existing system and structures of power. The symmetrical power relation was undergirded by rules and principles of democratic participation as outlined by Habermas’ discourse ethics. The findings also revealed the importance of support given by the school principal and Teachers Network personnel in protecting democratic spaces, or Habermas’ concept of the lifeworld, from the system imperatives of power and money.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo