Keynote Speakers 2021

23 August 2021 (NLASI 2021)

Dragan Gasevic

Learning Analytics in the Age of AI: Opportunities and Challenges

Bio: Dragan Gašević is Professor of Learning Analytics in the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence of the Faculty of Information Technology and the Director of the Centre for Learning Analytics  at Monash University. He is a founder and served as the President (2015-2017) of the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR). He has also held several honorary appointments in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. In 2019 and 2020, he was recognized as the national field leader in educational technology in The Australian’s Research Magazine. He led the EU-funded SHEILA project that received the Best Research Project of the Year Award (2019) from the Association for Learning Technology. Dragan’s research interests center around the development of computational methods that advance understanding of self-regulated and collaborative learning.

Abstract: The unprecedented opportunities to collect data about learning and contexts in which learning occurs has attracted much attention in education. The use of techniques from artificial intelligence have offered much promise to address many relevant questions in education. The talk initially first outlines the major achievements in learning analytics and open research challenges. The talk will then discuss how learning analytics in the future can benefit from the developments in related fields that have strong roots in recent developments in artificial intelligence. The talk will use examples from numerous empirical studies that looked at self-regulated learning, learning strategy, problem solving in solo and group activities, and second language learning.

Jannie Jeppesen

Challenges and opportunities for data driven innovation in education, Jannie Jeppesen

Bio: Jannie Jeppesen has extensive experience as a consultant of digital competence and pedagogy development methods in Swedish schools and municipalities, both as an educator and a principal. Today she is the CEO of Swedish Edtech Industry, the trade association for edtech companies operating in Sweden.

Abstract: Learning analytics has enormous potential and can provide educators and learners with insights that might improve learning processes and teaching practice by employing data mining, machine learning, natural language processing, visualization, and human-computer interaction. Sweden has one of the most digitalized school systems in the world, but the absence of a national digital strategy have left us with gaps in our infrastructure for exchange of information in the digital ecosystem and we have a need for international or Nordic standards in order to be able to harness the potential of learning analytics. The lecture will give a brief overview of Sweden’s journey from the 80s up until now, identify “holes” in the ecosystems that need to be fixed and present the initiatives on a national level. The Swedish Edtech Industry is also involved in a Nordic and European network addressing the need for aligning standards and increased Public Private Partnerships, a key for digital innovation in the public sector.

Jan Gulliksen

The new ”new normal” – Digitalization, digital skills and the transformation of the society

Bio: Jan Gulliksenis Professor in Human Computer Interaction at KTH since 2009 and Vice President for Digitalization at KTH. Before this he was a Professor in Human Computer Interaction from Uppsala university, where he did his Master in Engineering Physics and his PhD in Systems Analysis.

Gulliksen was a Guest Professor at Uppsala university and he has been a Visiting Professor at INSEAD. He served as the Dean of the School of Computer Science and Communication (CSC) 2011-2017. Between 2012 and 2016 Gulliksen served as chairman of the Swedish Committee for Digitalization belonging to the Ministry of the Enterprise. Now he is a member of the Digitalization Council. He is also the Digital Champion of Sweden serving the European Commission.

He chaired the Nordic collaboration in Human Computer Interaction, NordiCHI from its start in 2000-2020, that is in charge of the NordiCHI conference series. He also chaired IFIP TC 13 on Human Computer Interaction, 2010-2016, who is in charge of the INTERACT conference series. Gulliksen now serves as vice chair for outreach in IFIP TC13. I am also the Swedish representative in the IFIP General Assembly.

He conducts practice-oriented action research on usability, accessibility and user-centered systems design, particularly focusing on improving the digital work environments for everybody.

Abstract: Digitalization refers to the societal transformation that happens as new technology are used in completely new ways. It changes the way we work, live and learn from early childhood to an active aging life. Digital technologies opens up new opportunities for higher education and for life-long learning and universities need to face the challenges and opportunities that the digitalization entails. The business of education will inevitably change as digital teaching and learning will permeate all of our societal activities. Additionally the Corona Covid-19 pandemic has meant a quicker digitalization than anyone had anticipated and we are now facing the challenges and opportunities of using what we have experienced and learned during this pandemic to continue to develop and make better use of digital teaching and learning as a vehicle in the development of the society.

13-14 June 2022 (NLASI 2022)

Tinne De Laet

On the (non)sense of chances of success and predictions in Learning Analytics Dashboards

Bio: Tinne De Laet is associate professor at the Faculty of Engineering Science, KU Leuven. After her degree in mechanical engineering and a PhD in robotic, she obtained a tenure track position, focusing on engineering education and supporting and counselling of students in particular during the transition from secondary to higher education. She is the Head of the Tutorial Services of Engineering Science, providing her with first-hand experience on the transition from secondary to higher education and student advising and tutoring. Her research focuses on using learning analytics, conceptual learning in mechanics, and study success of STEM students and always aims at bridging the gap to educational practice. She has been involved in a coordinated multiple European projects on learning analytics including ABLE and STELA  and LALA. Since 2018 she is chairing the Leuven Engineering and Science Education Center  (LESEC) an the SEFI  working group of engineering education research. She has been involved in the organization of several conferences and acts as the program chair of the EC-TEL 2021 conference .

Abstract: The keynote will provide a “reality check” on Learning Analytics Dashboards. This reality check is based on the experiences from developing, researching, piloting and upscaling dashboards providing support to higher education students and student advisors. I will draw on these experiences to present recommendations for future scalable learning analytics dashboards. Finally, I will elaborate on the new research direction of explainable AI and its potential to bring predictive models to educational practice.

Dirk Ifenthaler

Guiding the Implementation of Learning Analytics for Study Success

Bio: Dirk Ifenthaler is Professor and Chair of Learning, Design and Technology at University of Mannheim, Germany and UNESCO Deputy Chair of Data Science in Higher Education Learning and Teaching at Curtin University, Australia. 

His previous roles include Professor and Director, Centre for Research in Digital Learning at Deakin University, Australia, Manager of Applied Research and Learning Analytics at Open Universities, Australia, and Professor for Applied Teaching and Learning Research at the University of Potsdam, Germany. He was a 2012 Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, at the University of Oklahoma, USA.

Dirk’s research focuses on the intersection of cognitive psychology, educational technology, data analytics, and organisational learning. His research outcomes include numerous co-authored books, book series, book chapters, journal articles, and international conference papers, as well as successful grant funding in Australia, Germany, and USA. 

He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Technology, Knowledge and Learning, Senior Editor of Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Learning Analytics and Artificial Intelligence for Education.

Abstract: Study success includes the successful completion of a first degree in higher education to the largest extent, and the successful completion of individual learning tasks to the smallest extent. Recent developments in learning analytics, which are a socio-technical data mining and analytic practice in educational contexts, show promise to enhance study success in higher education through the analysis of data from learners and learning processes for providing meaningful feedback and scaffolds when needed. 

In a systematic review based on more than 6,000 studies, we identified empirical evidence demonstrating how learning analytics have been successful in facilitating study success in continuation and completion of students’ university courses. However, rigorous evidence on a large scale to support the effectiveness of learning analytics for supporting study success is still lacking.

The presentation will highlight drivers for successful implementation of learning analytics for supporting study success while the implementation of learning analytics at higher education institutions may have broad implications for the organisation and its stakeholders (e.g., students, academic staff, administrators) including changes in learning culture and educational decision-making. Hence, change management seems to be an essential prerequisite when implementing learning analytics, while change management includes approaches to prepare and support organisations and its stakeholders in making sustainable and beneficial organisational change.

Annika Agélii Genlott

Digitalization in education – a national and regional concern,

Bio: Annika Agélii Genlott works at the Swedish Association for Local Regions (SALAR) and was the project manager of the national action plan for the digitalization of education, handed over to the Swedish government in 2019. Annika is also finishing her dissertation on how digitalization within education can be more effectively lead by principal organizers of school in the local regions of Sweden. 

Abstract: Digitalization in education comprises a wide range of areas, comes with both pros and cons and often creates a divide between practitioners within the sphere of education. In October 2017, a digital strategy with overall goals to be reached in 2022 was adopted by the Swedish Government since the non-equivalence between schools, students and teachers all over the country had become both a fact and an increasing problem. In March 2019 a national action plan for the realization of the strategy was handed over from the Swedish Authorities of Local Regions (SALAR) to the Swedish Government. What has happened since then on both a national and regional level? In order to benefit the most from digitalization, technology overall and more specifically the use of learning analytics has to be implemented into pedagogy - only then it can become a lever for sustained transformation of practice and improvement of learning results. This seminar concerns the mutual and necessary leadership of digitalization on both a national and regional level.