Category: Events

CategoriesPresentationsResearch visits

Guest Talk at Monash University

Posted on 11/07/2024by Daniele Di Mitri

During my recent research visit to Australia, I had the privilege of presenting at Monash University, specifically at the Centre for Learning Analytics Monash (COLAM). My talk, titled “The Quest for Automated Feedback,” explored the evolving role of AI in education, particularly in providing meaningful feedback to students.

As generative AI tools like ChatGPT become increasingly popular among students seeking feedback on their essays, a critical question arises: How effective is this feedback? My research delves into the complexities of generating automated feedback, emphasising that it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Feedback is inherently context-dependent, influenced by various factors, including the learner’s needs, the task at hand, and the feedback modality.

The literature on feedback is vast and nuanced. I referenced several foundational models, including Hattie & Timperley (2007) and Winne’s Self-Regulated Learning Model (1996), to highlight that there is no universal definition of what constitutes good feedback. However, specific guidelines can help shape effective feedback practices.

AI’s increasing role in education presents both opportunities and challenges. My ongoing qualitative research sheds light on how AI-generated feedback can be tailored to different levels of detail—task-level, process-level, and self-regulation feedback. This differentiation is crucial for enhancing the learning experience.

I discussed various feedback modalities, such as audio, graphics, and haptic feedback, emphasizing that the choice of modality can significantly impact cognitive load. Additionally, the timing of feedback—whether immediate or delayed—plays a vital role in its effectiveness.

The integration of learning analytics with multimodal data collection is a key focus of my research. By leveraging data from both physical and digital learning environments, we can create richer, more personalized learning experiences. This approach aligns with the concept of embodied cognition, where learning is grounded in both the body and the environment.

My talk at Monash University was not just an opportunity to share my research; it was a chance to engage with fellow academics and practitioners who are equally passionate about the future of education. The discussions that followed my presentation were enlightening, and I left with new insights and collaborations in mind.

CategoriesSummer schools

JTEL Summer School 2024

Posted on 06/13/2024by Daniele Di Mitri

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In May 2024, the European Association of Technology Enhanced Learning's annual summer event, the JTEL summer school 2024, took place in Gabicce Mare, Italy. This year, I helped co-organize the summer school in Italy in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science of the University of Bologna, particularly with the help of Stefano Pio Zingaro and prof Maurizio Gabbrielli.

The event occurred at the Grand Hotel Michelacci in Gabicce. It was attended by over 100 participants at the JTEL summer school, of which more than 70% were PhD candidates in fields related to Technology-enhanced learning, and the rest were instructors or more advanced researchers.

I started going to the JTEL summer school in 2016 when I was just a master's student, and ever since, I have attended all the editions. JTELSS is not a simple academic event; is a relevant moment for community building for the TEL research community in Europe. Reaching its 17th edition, the JTEL summer school has helped generations of TEL PhD researchers escape the isolation they often face during their careers.

Like in previous years, the JTEL summer school provided a rich program that included thematic workshops, methodological workshops for PhD skills development, and interesting international keynotes. Through a Call for Sessions, the program is shaped bottom up, with the PhD candidates proposing workshops around their research or point of expertise. Compared to a classical academic conference, such as the connected mother EC-TEL conference, the JTEL summer school is more informal and certainly more fun. The objective is not only to let the participants present their research work but to spend time together, brainstorm, and develop collaborations and research ideas. This crowdsourcing of intelligence fuels research communities such as the ECTEL community.

I wish there were more events, such as the JTEL. The academia would be much more fun, social, and collaborative.

My contribution

Workshop: A Deep Dive into Multimodal Technologies for Skills Development

Contribution by the PhDs I am supervising (Nina and Stefan)

JTEL workshop: Making Presentable Research

Keynotes

Excursions, Gala Dinner, Demo Session

CategoriesResearch visits

Research visit at the University of Bari

Posted on 03/18/2024by Daniele Di Mitri

In January and February 2024, I pursued a research visit at the University "Aldo Moro" of Bari, Italy, in the Department of Informatics (DIB); at this university, I conducted undergraduate studies in computer science, graduating in 2014 with a thesis in Learning Analytics for Formative assessment. In that department, my interest in education technologies began.

Going into that tall glass building after 10 years as a senior researcher was a strange feeling... 

The visit involved the Department of Informatics of Bari (DIB) and Education, Psychology, and Communication Science (ForPsiCom). My primary reference contact during my stay was Dr Gabriella Casalino, an assistant professor at the DIB. For this reason, I was stationed in the CILAB group, led by Prof Dr Giovanna Castellano, to which Dr Casalino belongs.

The overall scope of the research visit in Italy was to establish multiple bridges between my research institute (the DIPF) and the University “Aldo Moro” of Bari.

The first bridge established with the CILAB, the Computational Intelligence Laboratory, was to hold a presentation about my research. On Monday, 22nd January 2024, I delivered my presentation as part of the seminar on “Information Technology Outlook,” the seminar series part of the PhD programme in Computer Science and Mathematics. My talk was entitled “Intelligent Tutors, Learning Analytics and Multimodal Technologies for Feedback Augmentation.”

The talk emphasised the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in providing personalised and immediate feedback to students in online learning environments, especially when no human experts are available. AI's constant feedback availability facilitates self-paced learning, including cognitive and physical tasks, through immersive technologies such as Augmented and Virtual Reality. The presentation briefly overviewed the speaker's research on AI and Multimodal Learning Analytics (MMLA), focusing on "Multimodal Tutors". It showed how MMLA improves online teaching by providing personalised feedback, using relevant applications that integrate AI and immersive technologies.

The talk sparked some interest in my research from the research group members. In fact, after that, I planned various smaller or individual talks with doctoral students to support them in improving their research design. I also participated in two research events of the CILAB group. The first was the GNCS meeting, gathering researchers from CNR, the University of Bari, and the University of Padua to discuss the results of the joint project on “Computational methods, based on fuzzy logic, for eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)”. Furthermore, I participated in the brainstorming meeting of the CILAB to address the latest and most complicated research challenges the group members face.

The collaboration with ForPsiCom focused on research transfer and exchange with the existing groups in Bari that deal with education technologies, the first led by Prof Beatrice Ligorio, the second led by Prof Loredana Perla and Prof Michele Baldassare.

On the 20th of February 2024, I presented to Prof Ligorio's group. The talk, entitled “Intelligent Tutors, Learning Analytics and Multimodal Technologies for Feedback Augmentation”, had, this time, a much more humanistic focus compared to the one given at the DIB. The presentation lasted 90 minutes, followed by discussions and questions. After the presentation in the afternoon, I attended 4 PhD presentations from the PhD students of Ligorio’s group. I provided PhD candidates with my feedback on their progress and what they could improve in their future steps. Moreover, we discussed a possible involvement in a research project on emotions and learning.

On the 28th of February 2024, I presented at Prof Perla’s and Baldassarre’s group. As preparation for the presentation, I asked the students to listen to a recent podcast I recorded entitled “The Future is Multimodal” as part of the AI_ducation podcast series. The meeting with Perla’s group was particularly successful as it allowed the participants (mostly PhD students) to share their views on AI in education, specifically the support that generative AI and large language models can have in education.