EdTech Winter School: Emerging trends and new horizons in the study of education and technology
Institutions/Research team
The 1st EdTech Winter School “Emerging trends and new horizons in the study of education and technology” was an event organized by Ceibal Foundation with the support of ANII (Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación), Departamento de Comunicación, Departamento de Educación (Universidad Católica del Uruguay), Universidad ORT, FLACSO Uruguay, Universidad de Montevideo and Facultad de Ingeniería (Universidad de la República).
The open day “Educación y Tecnología. Dialogos de Inovación eduactiva” was organized by Ceibal Foundation and Antel with the support of the Consejo de Formación Docente, and the Red Global de Aprendizajes.
The Winter School gathered postgraduate students and early career academics from the main higher educational institutions in the country and the Latin American region.
Project background and objectives
The Winter School offered an exciting opportunity for postgraduate students and early career faculties to present and discuss relevant EdTech policies and research for studying the future of education and technology, innovation and inclusion in the coming decade.
Objetives
- To create a collaborative environment of discussion and analysis involving keynote speakers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT, the Oxford Internet Institute, Berkmam Klein Center -Harvard University, Tel Aviv University and the Deakin University –, along with early-career scholars and students. This is an opportunity for learning about novel research methodologies and scientific perspectives enabling capacity-building and knowledge transfer in areas of common interest.
- To present and exchange national and international research-based case studies in the five academic areas of the Winter school: Social uses of ICT and Digital Culture; Resources and Platforms; New Ways of Knowing, Learning, Teaching and Evaluate; Extended learning achievements and Educators in the Digital Age.
- To create a long-term international academic network of excellence in education and technology (EdTech) based on multidisciplinary studies with different methodological perspectives. The academic network aims to enable international capacity building in the fields of EdTech, innovation and inclusion. This community is a great value for promoting and implementing international research projects, seminars and initiatives in the field.
Winter School participants were also invited to:
- Collaborate in a special publication that will be prepared, which disseminate the results of their studies;
- Explore future collaborations in areas of common interest;
- Become a Ceibal Foundation’s affiliate and participate in collective books publications, dissemination of academic works in the Institutional Repository of Ceibal Foundation, among other scientific initiatives.
Additional information and materials
International Speakers
Taha Yasseri, PhD (Bio). Is a Research Fellow in Computational Social Science at the Oxford Internet Institute, a Faculty Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute for Data Science, and Research Fellow in Humanities and Social Sciences at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. His research has been focused on Big data, human dynamics, peer production, Wikis, online societies, conflict and cooperation, opinion formation, language complexity, collective behaviour, social networks, agent-based modeling, urban computing.
1. Computational Social Science or how physicists try to understand humans:
In this presentation I’ll introduce myself, my background and discipline and I’ll talk about computational social science as an emerging field of research.
2. Mixed methods in understanding MOOC’s:
In this presentation I’ll review some of the projects in which we used mixed methods (large scale data analysis using computational methods and network analysis and qualitative content analysis and interviews) to understand the function of discussion forums in MOOC’s.
Monica Bulger, PhD (Bio). Leads the Enabling Connected Learning initiative at the Data & Society Research Institute. She is a Fellow at the Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society and a Research Associate at the Oxford Internet Institute. She is an educational researcher contributing policy research to multi-national groups such as UNICEF, ECPAT, and the European Commission. Her work focuses on the implications of technology use for youth with a particular focus on learning, safety, and empowerment.
1. The promise of data-driven learning from an equity perspective:
Technology holds many promises for improving learning environments. A main hope for emerging data-driven learning practices is that they will equalize opportunities for students, particularly the poor and vulnerable. Drawing upon one year of collecting news events as part of a collaboration between Data & Society and the Youth and Media Team at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, we find benefits for equity in three areas.
- Reducing dropout rates, improving graduation levels and retention
- Improving outreach and interventions for underserved populations
- Making injustices more visible
With these potential benefits come potential risks. In this talk, I explore trade-offs and how unintended consequences can be addressed and reduced.
2. Expert interviews to explore emerging questions in fast-changing environments:
What causes a $100 million educational technology initiative with technical talent and political support to close in just one year? What is the future of big data in commerce and every day life? What are global best practices for safeguarding children on the internet? We often encounter emerging questions for which limited published research literature is available. In this talk, I will describe the benefits of expert interviews in identifying key questions, concerns, and future directions. As a qualitative research method, expert interviews involve mapping a field, identifying thought leaders, and relying on interview participants to recommend other experts. Expert interviews tap into existing communities and knowledge bases and also promote the building of new communities around emerging questions. This talk will use a case study of the legacy of inBloom (funded by Macarthur Foundation), a study on children’s rights in a digital age (funded by UNICEF), and a study of data-driven business models (funded by Research Councils UK) as examples.
Arnon Hershkovitz, PhD (Bio). Is a Senior Lecturer in Tel Aviv University – School of Education (Israel). His main research areas are Educational Data Mining, Learning Analytics, one-to-one computing in schools and learning-related aspects of using social media. He holds a PhD in Science Education, a M.A. in Applied Mathematics and a B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science.
1. 1:1 Computing in the Classroom: All About Learning (Except Learning):
This talk will summarize a 4-year EU-funded research of 1:1 computing programs in Israeli elementary- and middle-schools. My main interest lies in the overall effect of such programs on the classroom dynamics and on the teacher’s role, rather than on academic achievements. Different studies conducted under this umbrella-research highlight the benefits of using computers in the classroom, even in cases when their potential is barely utilized.
2. Quantitative Field Observations: The Best of Both Worlds:
This talk will present the use of Quantitative Field Observation (QFO) as a means for collecting fine-grained data in the classroom. Using a dedicated software, data collected by this method is ready for analysis a soon as the observation is over. One can think of this method as a way of producing a log file of classroom behavior. A case study of using this method to analyze teacher-student interactions will be presented.
Luci Pangrazio, PhD. Is a Research Fellow at Deakin University in the Research for Educational Innovation (REDI) centre. Her research focuses on critical digital literacies and the changing nature of digital texts. Currently, she is studying young people’s practices and understandings of personal data. Her work also includes critical theory and creative methodologies in the digital context. Her book Young People’s Literacies in the Digital Age: Continuities, Conflicts and Contradictions in Practice will be published in 2018 by Taylor and Francis.
1. Making meaning in the digital context:
This lecture will provide an overview of my academic work, discussing the key questions and findings that have emerged in recent years. A central concern of my research is understanding how meaning is made in the digital context. In particular, I am interested in how meaning is made both by users, and on behalf of users, through their use of digital technologies, and how educators and researchers might use these insights to cultivate digital literacies. In this lecture, I will focus on two aspects of my research, namely, personal data literacies and critical digital literacies in the era of ‘fake news’. The lecture will conclude by outlining other key questions and concerns for researchers and educators interested in exploring the social and technical issues that arise through using digital technologies.
2. Using creative and critical methods in digital research:
Increasingly, digital technologies are becoming ubiquitous and pervasive. While a seamless interface might improve efficiency and functionality, it also makes the critical questions associated with the digital harder to address. How can the impact of digital technologies be assessed if they cannot be seen or sensed? This lecture will outline how creative and critical methods can be used to uncover and explore the social issues that emerge through using digital technologies. By using these methods, the researcher might initiate critical reflection amongst participants on issues that are often overlooked, obscured or accepted as naturalised practice. The lecture will focus on two specific methods used in my recent research projects, namely, provocation and participatory design. It will conclude by outlining the practical and methodological issues associated with these approaches – in particular the complicated ethics of provoking reflection on topics that might not have otherwise come to the participant’s attention.
Claudia Urrea, PhD (Bio). Is an international referee in the One Laptop per Child organization, currently acting as Associate Director at the Office of Digital Learning of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research has been focused on online learning and assessment, curriculum design, pre-K12 and higher education for developing countries, teacher professional development, educational programming and robotics.
1. The importance of research for education’s innovation and change:
In this presentation, Claudia will use several different examples of educational research and methods to situate research as an important component of education. From basic cognitive science and neuroscience to design-based research, to classroom experiments and random control trials, different methods help build our understanding of how learning happens.
2. Practical experience with design-based research:
Design-based research is a methodology aimed to improve educational practice. It bridges theoretical research and educational practice. Through a group exercise, the participants will understand how theories and hypothesis about teaching and learning can be transformed into effective learning in educational settings.
International Remote Speakers
- Andrés Lombana Bermudez (and team Digitally Connected/Conectados al Sur) Talk title: “Building Networks in Latin America: Digitally Connected/Conectados al Sur”
- Huw Davies Talk title “¿How do we want young people to use digital technology?”
- Simon Buckingham Shum Talk title “Learning Analytics vs. Cognitive Automation” (Video Lecture).
National Speakers
- Cristóbal Cobo. Talk title: “Presentation of Ceibal Foundation”
- Miguel Brechner and Fernando Brum. Talk title: “Social Innovation-oriented public policies in Uruguay”
- Fiorella Haim and Claudia Brovetto. Talk title: “Shaping the future of education in Uruguay (Plan Ceibal and New Pedagogies for Deep Learning in Uruguay)”
- Alejandra Carboni and Juan Valle Lisboa (reading material*). Workshop title: “Scaling up from lab”
(*) The Rise of the Super Experiment.
Winter School Participants
Access to the Winter School 2017 Report (in spanish)