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CENTRE
REPORT
2018
DE.ED.AC.UK
2
CONTENTS
IN BRIEF
03 THE CENTRE
05 PEOPLE
IN DEPTH
09 DIGITAL CULTURES
14 CHILDREN & TECHNOLOGY
17 DATA SOCIETY
21 DOCTORAL RESEARCH
23 FUNDING
25 CONSULTANCY WORK
26 KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE
EVENTS
27 SEMINAR PROGRAMME
DE.ED.AC.UK
3 IN BRIEF
THE CENTRE
The Centre for Research in Digital Education
launched in November 2015, bringing together
research within the Moray House School of
Education that spanned digital pedagogy, com-
putational and data cultures within education
and the impact of digital technology on children
and childhood. The Centre now brings together
this work under three themes: Digital Cultures;
Children & Technology; and Data Society.
Our work looks at how education is shaping,
and is shaped by, technological change.
We have an international reputation and are unusual in
the cross-disciplinary approach we take to this research.
Academics and students within the Centre come from
many backgrounds: sociology, literature, computing
science, psychology, media and cultural studies,
and philosophy.
We are also committed to our teaching: we run a highly
successful distance postgraduate programme in Digital
Education, teach across several other programmes in
the School of Education and have collectively authored
the well-known Manifesto for Teaching Online.
In the first section – ‘In brief’ – we offer a series of
visualisations and an overview of our academic staff,
with the detail of our research strands, example
projects, grants and impact in the ‘In-depth’ section
that follows.
General enquiries: DEresearch@ed.ac.uk
Director: sian.bayne@ed.ac.uk
@eddiged
de.ed.ac.uk
CENTRE REPORT 2018
IN BRIEF 4
GRANTS PROJECTS SEMINARS
Digital Education has benefited from 19 funded projects since 2016. Since 2016 we have arranged 39 seminars.
£960,561 in external grant funding To date, we have had over 1100 enrolments
during the period 2016–2018. on our seminar programme.
From left to right MALTA 1 RWANDA 1
MEXICO 1 FRANCE 3 CYPRUS 1
U.S.A. 9 BELGIUM 2 BAHRAIN 2
CANADA 8 NETHERLANDS 3 ISRAEL 1
URUGUAY 1 DENMARK 2 PAKISTAN 2
SOUTHERN IRELAND 7 SWITZERLAND 2 INDIA 2
STUDENTS
NORTHERN IRELAND 2 GERMANY 5 HONG KONG 1
Current taught MSc students
UK SCOTLAND 37 AUSTRIA 1 SINGAPORE 1
by country of residence
WALES 1 POLAND 1 TAIWAN 2
172 Students in total
UK ENGLAND 53 NIGERIA 1 AUSTRALIA 13
32 Countries
PORTUGAL 1 SOUTH AFRICA 4 NEW ZEALAND 2
DE.ED.AC.UK
5 IN BRIEF
PEOPLE
The Centre for Research in Digital Education is Professor Dragan Gašević, left the Centre to join
made up of a core team of academic staff along Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, but main-
with a group of international associates whom tains strong links as one of our Associates.
support our work in a variety of ways; as advisors;
as visiting scholars; as seminar speakers; to Dr Hamish McLeod retired in 2017, but continues to
promote research and knowledge exchange. teach with us.
Since 2016 there have been a number of core staff We have also been joined by some excellent visiting
arrivals and departures: scholars: Professor Nicole Durisch Gauthier from
La Haute école pédagogique in Lausanne, Dr Yeqin
Dr Philippa Sheail joined us as a Lecturer in Digital Kang from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Education. Professor Jeff Haywood and Professor Professor Peter Rich from Brigham Young University
Sir Tim O’Shea joined us as Professors Emeritus. in Utah, Dr Rafael Morales Gamboa from the University
of Guadalajara in Mexico, Bjarke Lindsø Anderson
Dr Zayba Ghazali-Mohammed, Dr Michael Gallagher, (PhD student) from Aarhus University in Denmark,
Niklas Berliner, Dr Yi-Shan Tsai, Dr Yuchen Wang and Professor Petar Jandric from the University of Zagreb
Dr Anna Wood joined us as Research Associates. in Croatia, and Dr Sergi Roura Planas from Rovira
Virgili University in Spain.
Dr Claire Sowton joined us as Project and Communi-
cations Manager.
Professor Sian Bayne Niklas Berliner Dr Peter Evans
Professor of Digital Education, Research Assistant Senior Teaching Fellow
Director of the Centre for Research Niklas Berliner is a Research Assistant Peter Evans is course organiser for ‘Digital
in Digital Education, working part-time on the Data Bodies Education: strategy and policy’, and teaches
Assistant Principal Digital Education in the Library project led by Dr Philippa on ‘Introduction to Digital Environments
sian.bayne@ed.ac.uk | @sbayne Sheail. for Learning’ and ‘Course design for digital
niklas.berliner@ed.ac.uk environments’. His research interests are
in social media and workplace learning.
peter.evans@ed.ac.uk
CENTRE REPORT 2018
IN BRIEF 6
Dr Rory Ewins Dr Michael Gallagher Dr Zayba
Lecturer Research Associate
Ghazali-Mohammed
Rory Ewins leads on the course ‘Digital Michael Gallagher is the Research Associate Research Associate
education in global context’ and leads/ on the Near Future Teaching project led Zayba is a Research Associate on the
co-tutors on ‘An introduction to digital by Professor Sian Bayne. His research focus Move2Learn project led by Dr Andrew
environments for learning’. His interests is on digital education and mobile learning, Manches. Her main research interests
include online identity and its implications mobilities theory, as well as mapping the include cognitive development of young
for academics, the effect of university impact of mobility and mobile technology children’s scientific understanding, the
and government IT policies on academic on open spaces, built environments, and role of executive functions and other
practice, e-learning and intellectual prop- urban spaces. domain-general capabilities on conceptual
erty, and e-learning in developing countries. michaelseangallagher.org progression, naïve theories of learning,
speedysnail.com Michael.S.Gallagher@ed.ac.uk
and how developing language can influence
r.ewins@ed.ac.uk
scientific understanding.
z.ghazali@ed.ac.uk
Professor Dr Jeremy Knox Dr Andrew Manches
Jeff Haywood Lecturer Senior Lecturer
Jeremy is co-director of the Centre for Dr Andrew Manches is a Senior Lecturer in
Professor Emeritus
Research in Digital Education (Data Society) Learning Sciences and Centre co-director
Jeff conducts research in the area of digital
and a Lecturer in Digital Education at (Children and Technology). He now leads
education policy and strategy, and previously
the University of Edinburgh. His research the UK side of Move2Learn, a $2.4million
led the Policy strand of work for the Centre
interests include critical posthumanism Science Learning+ project with the US.
for Research in Digital Education. For more
and new materialism, and the implications He researches the role of interaction in
information about Jeff’s activities, see his
of such thinking for education and educa- how we think and learn, and the implications
own website:
thinking.is.ed.ac.uk/jeffhaywood/research- tional research, with a specific focus for early learning technologies. He marries
activities on the digital. his academic world with industry as CEO
Jeff.Haywood@ed.ac.uk jeremy.knox@ed.ac.uk of an early learning technology company,
jeremyknox.net Pling Ltd.
a.manches@ed.ac.uk
DE.ED.AC.UK
7 IN BRIEF
Clara O’Shea Professor Professor
Associate Lecturer
Sir Tim O’Shea Lydia Plowman
Clara is an Associate Lecturer teaching on
Professor Emeritus Chair in Education and Technology
the MSc in Digital Education and working
Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea BSc (Sussex), Lydia Plowman is Chair in Education and
towards a PhD on ‘Kinds of learning and
PhD (Leeds), DUniv (Heriot-Watt), Technology in the Moray House School
kinds of play: an exploration of identity
DUniv (Strathclyde), LL.D hc (McGill), D.hc of Education, University of Edinburgh.
development in formal and informal digital
(St. Petersburg HSS), FAcSS, FRSE, was She has gathered more than twenty years’
environments’.
Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the Uni- experience of conducting research with
claraoshea.wordpress.com
Clara.O’Shea@ed.ac.uk
versity of Edinburgh from October 2002 children and digital media, including
– February 2018. Tim’s academic output, several projects funded by the ESRC.
produced mainly in collaboration with She is interested in young children’s
others and on topics relating to computer learning in a range of formal and informal
based learning, artificial intelligence, and settings, particularly in the ways in which
mathematics education, includes 10 books, technology is integrated into family life
22 BBC television programmes and over and used for leisure, work and educa-
100 journal articles. tional purposes in the home.
lydia.plowman@ed.ac.uk
Professor Dr Jen Ross Dr Philippa Sheail
Judy Robertson Senior Lecturer Lecturer
Jen is Centre co-director (Digital Cultures), Phil Sheail is Programme co-director for
Chair in Digital Learning
and Deputy Director of Research and the MSc in Digital Education. Her research
Professor Judy Robertson is Chair in Digital
Knowledge Exchange in the School of interests are interdisciplinary, based in the
Learning at the Moray House School of
Education and Sport. She researches and area of digital and higher education, but
Education. She has been developing edu-
publishes on online and open education, drawing on organisational theory, cultural
cational technology in collaboration with
digital cultural heritage learning, digital geography, and social theories of time.
children and teachers since 1997. She is
cultures and futures, and online reflective Phil is currently developing research in the
interested in computer science education
practices. Recent activity includes convening library sector. Her latest research project
and serious games for children, particularly
the Digital Cultural Heritage Research Net- is Data Bodies in the Library.
game authoring. Her work focuses on how
work, leading the AHRC-funded Artcasting p.sheail@ed.ac.uk
technology can help to solve thorny real
project, partnering in an Edinburgh-Sydney
world problems.
collaboration project, and consultancy
judy.robertson@ed.ac.uk
work with the World Bank and Historic
Environment Scotland.
jen.ross@ed.ac.uk | @jar
CENTRE REPORT 2018
IN BRIEF 8
Dr Christine Sinclair Dr Claire Sowton Dr Yi-Shan Tsai
Lecturer Project and Communications Manager Research Associate
Christine Sinclair is Programme Director Claire Sowton is the Project and Yi-Shan Tsai is a co-investigator of
of the MSc in Digital Education, and a Communications Manager for the Centre a cross-European project – SHEILA
Lecturer in Digital Education. She tutors on for Research in Digital Education and (Supporting Higher Education to Integrate
‘An introduction to digital environments for Project Manager (UoE) for the Move2Learn Learning Analytics) and a member of the
learning’ and leads ‘Course design for digital project. Her recent research has focused on Learning Analytics Policy Task Group at
environments’. She is interested in how digital and mobile approaches to engage- the University of Edinburgh. Her current
students respond to higher education. Her ment and evaluation of cultural experience, research focuses on policy and strategy
research particularly focuses on the effects including the AHRC Artcasting project. formation for learning analytics in higher
of language in changing environments. claire.sowton@ed.ac.uk education. Her other research interests
christine.sinclair@ed.ac.uk include reader response, popular cultural
reading, visual texts and media, learning
and teaching support, and educational
research methods.
yi-shan.tsai@ed.ac.uk
Dr Yuchen Wang Dr Anna Wood
Research Associate Research Associate
Yuchen Wang is a Research Associate on Anna Wood is the Research Associate
‘Lecture Recording for Inclusive Education’ on the ‘Asking the Right Question’ Project,
led by Dr Jeremy Knox. Her research has led by Dr Christine Sinclair. Her research
focused on inclusive education develop- interests focus on the use of technology in
ment and the implications of student voice. flipped, active learning lectures, and on the
She completed her PhD research ‘Imagining dialogues that take place in these lectures,
Inclusive Schooling’ at the University of both between students and between teacher
Edinburgh, which examined disabled chil- and student, and the way in which these
dren’s learning and participation in main- dialogues may support learning. She blogs
stream schools in Shanghai through an at ‘The Science of Scientific Learning’.
ethnographic approach. learningfrome-learning.blogspot.com
yuchen.wang@ed.ac.uk anna.wood@ed.ac.uk
DE.ED.AC.UK
9 IN DEPTH
DIGITAL CULTURES
“Work in the Digital Cultures The Digital Cultures research theme engages with the
strand sheds new light and cultural contexts of digital education in the broadest
sense including digital higher education, open education
offers critical perspectives and digital cultural heritage.
on some of the most pressing
issues in digital education Drawing on critical perspectives on education, society
today, including openness, and technology, we are actively researching high impact
areas including museum education, massive open online
surveillance, anonymity, courses (MOOCs), teacher automation, internationali-
feedback and dialogue in sation and the ‘data turn’.
higher education, new forms
of engagement and learning r Jen Ross
D
Co-Director for Digital Cultures
in galleries, libraries and jen.ross@ed.ac.uk
museums, and digital futures
for work, informal learning,
and education.”
Dr Jen Ross
PROJECT EXAMPLE
ARTCASTING
Working together with the National Galleries of Scotland, Seminar: Exploring design-led digital education research:
Tate, and the ARTIST ROOMS Research Partnership, developing ‘Artcasting’ to support new approaches to arts
evaluation. Digital Education seminar series, University of
the project team developed a new digital and mobile
Edinburgh, 31 October 2014.
form of evaluation of arts-based engagement, in the
context of ARTIST ROOMS On Tour. The project Workshop: Artcasting and ARTIST ROOMS on Tour:
involved the design, development, piloting and analysis Using mobilities-informed methods to support new approaches
to arts evaluation. Cultural Heritage Communities: Technologies
of an Artcasting methodology and a digital output in and Challenges Workshop, Communities and Technologies 2015.
the form of a mobile app. The mobile app invited visitors 28 June 2015, Ireland.
to select an artwork and create an ‘artcast’ by choosing
Conference presentation: Using mobilities-informed methods
and describing a new location and time for the artwork;
to support creative and innovative approaches to arts eva-
visitors could then encounter or re-encounter artcasts luation. Interweaving Conference, School of Education,
in those locations at a later date. The Artcasting approach University of Edinburgh, 2 September 2015.
generated and measured links and relationships between
Conference presentation: Artcasting: digital and mobile
objects, places and people – simultaneously creating cultural heritage evaluation. Connected Communities
connections and evaluating the intensity of engagement Heritage Network Symposium 2016. University of Lincoln.
with artworks and exhibitions. 14–15 January 2016. A video recording of Claire’s presentation
is available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ8ydVB9lsE.
In total, the team took part in 23 events and engagement
activities throughout the course of the project, including Lightning talk: Artcasting. Digital Cultural Heritage Research
conferences, drop-in sessions, twitter chats, workshops, Network Workshop 1, University of Edinburgh. 29 January 2016.
invited seminar presentations, and demonstrations.
Invited talk: Artcasting – reflections on a new approach to
Principal Investigator: Jen Ross understanding engagement with art, Scottish Network on Digital
Cultural Resources Evaluation, Workshop 3. 31 March 2016.
Team: C
hris Speed, Jeremy Knox, Claire Sowton, Chris Barker
Funder: AHRC New Materialism Training School, Tate, 27–29 May 2016.
Award: £149,542 (total grant value £173,394)
Project dates: May 2015 — June 2016 Conference presentation: Casting a line: hospitality, trajectory
and Artcasting in ARTIST ROOMS co-production. What Does
Website: www.artcastingproject.net
Heritage Change? Association of Critical Heritage Studies,
Montreal, 4–7 June 2016.
CENTRE REPORT 2018
IN DEPTH 10
© Peak15 (Sigrid Schmeisser)
© Peak15 (Sigrid Schmeisser)
Top: Artcasting in the National Galleries of Scotland (ARTIST ROOMS: Roy Lichtenstein) | Bottom: Artcasting app example screens
DE.ED.AC.UK11 IN DEPTH
© Dave Molnar
Left: Two-Way Patch Event | Right: Internet of (Campus) Things Event (Festival of Creative Learning)
PROJECT EXAMPLE
NEAR FUTURE TEACHING
This is a strategic project to co-design the future of “We should cease trying to reproduce the
digital education at Edinburgh with students and staff. conventional classroom and pedagogy in digital space,
How should teaching at The University of Edinburgh and think more radically about what teaching can be.
unfold over the coming decades, as technology, social Starting from scratch, let’s ask how future teaching can
trends, patterns of mobility, new methods and new be magical, instead of a ‘digital equivalent’ of work on
media continue to shift what it means to be at university? the physical campus.”
The Near Future Teaching project, running over the Near Future Teaching Community Padlet
2017/18 academic year, is about working together to co-
design the future of digital education at Edinburgh. Themes emerging from the collected data from the
The project team are gauging views from students Near Future Teaching project include critical takes on
and staff through a series of workshops, talks, think- values, lectures, automation and AI, creativity, distance,
tanks, interviews, one off events, and via social media. and the concept of too much technology, all of which
To date, virtual reality, digital and material design, film- have the capacity to inform future teaching strategy for
making and creative writing have been used to chal- the University of Edinburgh.
lenge, inspire and reimagine teaching for the future.
This reimagining of the future of teaching at the Uni- Project lead: Sian Bayne. Project RA: Michael Sean Gallagher
versity of Edinburgh is now being extended into design Project manager: Jennifer Williams (IAD)
workshops to try to make sure that the ways in which Project dates: Sept 2017 — Aug 2018
we teach and learn are based on a set of values and Website: www.nearfutureteaching.ed.ac.uk
visions we can ascribe to as an academic community.
CENTRE REPORT 2018CONSTRUALS AS NEW DIGITAL SKILLS
CON TRUIT
INTERACTIVE OPEN EDUCATION
DIGIT L CULTUR L H RIT G
R RCH N TWORK
RTC TING
MUSEUM LEARNING
ART ENGAGEMENT
R R
EMERGENCY AFTER SHOCK FORECASTING
YIK YAK
LIV PUL
TEACHING, LEARNING & ASSESSMENT13 IN DEPTH
Move2Learn at Glasgow Science Centre
CENTRE REPORT 2018IN DEPTH 14
CHILDREN & TECHNOLOGY
“Digital technology increasingly We explore the role of technology in the everyday
shapes the way young people lives of young children. Whether it’s at home with their
families and other caregivers, in educational settings
live and learn. We believe such as preschools and schools, or in and around their
that a better understanding neighbourhood we think it’s important to know more
of how children interact with about living and learning with technology.
technology not only helps us
We want the outcomes of our research to:
understand its influence, but + contribute to discussions about the place of
also helps inform our role, technology in young children’s lives
in both supporting children’s + create richer learning experiences for children
interaction and informing the and others by informing the design process
+ provide insights that are valuable for parents
design of new technologies.” and teachers
D r Andrew Manches + engage decision-makers in understanding more
about the ways in which technology can support
learning
Dr Andrew Manches
Co-Director for Children & Technology
a.manches@ed.ac.uk
PROJECT EXAMPLE
EMBODIED LEARNING FOR
PRE-SCHOOL SCIENTISTS
(MOVE2LEARN)
Move2Learn will be carried out over 36 months (May
2017-Apr 2020) and examine how interactive museum
exhibits designed to encourage meaningful actions can
help young children express, communicate and develop
their scientific thinking.
The project is a collaboration between the US, funded
by National Science Foundation and led by Dr Judy
Brown, Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science.
The UK is funded by the Wellcome Trust and led by
© Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
CRDE member, Andrew Manches. The Co-PIs in
the UK are Professor Sara Price, UCL and Dr Sharon
Macnab, Glasgow Science Centre.
Principal investigator (UK): Andrew Manches
Team: Z ayba-Ghazali-Mohammed, Claire Sowton,
Alexia Revueltas Roux
Funder: Wellcome Trust
Award: £374,411 (total grant value £701,656)
Project dates: May 2017 — May 2020
Website: www.de.ed.ac.uk/project/move2learn
River of Grass exhibition
(Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science)
DE.ED.AC.UK15 IN DEPTH
PROJECT EXAMPLE
CITY DEAL
In the Digital Education Research Centre, we want all The programme is based on the principles that to be
children and young people across the Edinburgh and effective and inclusive, data education for all requires:
South East Scotland City Region to learn about data to
benefit their personal lives and open up new possibi- 1 a well-designed and coherent curriculum which
lities for interesting and well-paid careers. We propose progresses from nursery to the end of secondary
an ambitious and inclusive programme of Data Education school accompanied by high quality teaching
for All in City Region schools, in which children have materials linked to the curriculum which inspire
the opportunity to excel in data education, regardless and excite children;
of their gender, location or financial circumstances.
To support this, Judy Robertson and Sian Bayne 2 teachers who are confident and competent in data
are working on a business case to be presented to the education;
University Data Driven Innovation Board and the DDI
Skills Gateway in late Spring 2018. 3 productive collaborations between the University
staff and students, City Region schools and local
employers and charities;
4 internationally leading research and knowledge-
sharing to deepen our understanding of how data
impacts society, how we can best teach about
data, and to robustly evaluate the programme and
make recommendations to policy makers.
Project Lead (Schools) on City Deal Data Driven Innovation Skills
Gateway: Judy Robertson
Website: www.ed.ac.uk/local/city-region-deal
CENTRE REPORT 2018IN DEPTH 16
YOUNG CHILDR N’
DIGIT L PL Y
COMPUTING IN CHILDR N’
RLY Y R
PRE-SCHOOL SCIENTISTS
MOV 2L RN
EMBODIED LEARNING
INT R CTION, MBODIM NT
ND T CHNOLOGI IN
RLY L RNING
DE.ED.AC.UK17 IN DEPTH
DATA SOCIETY
“Data Society responds to the Emerging research approaches from outside of edu-
cation – such as software studies, critical data studies,
increasingly important issues critical algorithm studies, and surveillance studies –
raised by the collection and have surfaced crucial insights and challenges related
processing of digital data to the increasing entanglement of data in social life.
in education, and will develop The ‘Data Society’ research theme will allow the Centre
to establish and support education-specific projects
a critical research agenda related to this vital contemporary area of study.
around analytics, ‘big data’,
algorithms, machine learning, The ‘Data Society’ research theme was launched in
and other ‘data intensive’ February 2018, marked by the seminar series ‘Data
Citizenship and Education’, in partnership with the
practices.” Edinburgh Futures Institute.
Dr Jeremy Knox
Dr Jeremy Knox
Co-Director for Data Society
jeremy.knox@ed.ac.uk
PROJECT EXAMPLE
DATA BODIES IN THE LIBRARY
Many university students and researchers make Considering ‘what makes a library?’, the research will
extensive use of one or more research library spaces work with theories of ‘Code/Space’ (Kitchin and Dodge
and services. These library users are often physically 2011), exploring the relationships between software,
visible, as bodies at desks, but they also leave data traces data, physical space, and the library user. The research
through interactions with digital services and resources. addresses issues of making ‘good’ use of library data
These data traces include data on searching, borrowing and considers the wider implications of the code/
and downloading a range of digital and physical materials. space for the cultural industries.
Library users also leave digital traces of entrances and The research will address critical questions, of signifi-
exits through security gates, and interact with library cance to universities, libraries, and the wider cultural
buildings through connections to Wi-Fi hotspots, book sector, about the practical and problematic issues that
check-out machines, automated book returns, and might be associated with making ‘good’ use of user data
digital questionnaire points, as well as moving through while addressing concerns around the increase in user
buildings which respond to such movement – or lack ‘datafication’.
of it – through triggered lighting systems and automatic
door openers. The building audibly responds to inappro- Principal investigator: Philippa Sheail
priate movement with alarm sounders, as tagged and Team: Niklas Berliner
unchecked material inadvertently leaves its approved Funder: Challenge Investment Fund (University of Edinburgh)
boundaries. Award: £11,427
The project focuses on two key research libraries as Project dates: Aug 2017 — Jul 2018
field sites: the University of Edinburgh Library and the Website: www.de.ed.ac.uk/project/data-bodies-library
National Library of Scotland.
CENTRE REPORT 2018IN DEPTH 18
© James Lamb
Author Catalogue
© Michael Gallagher
Internet of (Campus) Things Event (Festival of Creative Learning)
DE.ED.AC.UK19 IN DEPTH
PROJECT EXAMPLE
SUPPORTING HIGHER
EDUCATION TO INTEGRATE
LEARNING ANALYTICS (SHEILA)
To assist European universities to become more mature case studies, using the policy framework to guide the
users and custodians of digital data about their students development, implementation, and evaluation of LA
as they learn online, the SHEILA project will build a policy policy and strategy in four HEIs in different regions
development framework that promotes formative assess- of Europe. The project will use innovative strategies
ment and personalized learning, by taking advantage to disseminate and translate the outputs, and to set
of direct engagement of stakeholders in the develop- up a long term learning analytics policy agenda and
ment process. community among HEIs across Europe.
By merging technical methods for data mining
with current educational theory, research and practice, Principal investigator: Dragan Gašević
Learning Analytics has provided novel and real-time Team: Jeff Haywood, Sian Bayne, Pete Evans,
approaches to assessing critical issues such as student Yi-Shan Tsai, Jeremy Knox
progression and retention, establishment of indicators Funder: European Commission
of 21st century skills acquisition, as well as personalised Award: £136,857 (total grant value €460,612)
and adaptive learning. Project dates: Jun 2015 — Jun 2018
The project will use participatory action research Website: www.sheilaproject.eu
and the Rapid Outcome Mapping Approach (ROMA),
specifically designed for policy making derived from
scientific evidence. The outputs will be validated through
CENTRE REPORT 2018IN DEPTH 20
L RNING N LYTIC
R PORT C RD
H IL
SUPPORTING HIGHER EDUCATION TO
INTEGRATE LEARNING ANALYTICS
WEARABLE
TECHNOLOGIES
PUL
CODE/SPACE
D T BODI IN
TH LIBR RY
TRACES
(RE)CONNECTING CHILDREN WITH
NATURE THROUGH MINECRAFT
DIGIT L/N TUR
DE.ED.AC.UK21 IN DEPTH
DOCTORAL RESEARCH
Four doctoral students have Sharon Boyd Chris Hambley
graduated from the Centre Student-community engagement Sociomaterial reading of learning
since 2016 and our community activities at distance – digital narrative spaces, specifically how people
currently includes 25 more. methods to capture a sense of negotiate power in the context of
“place” in research. transforming an ICT learning centre,
Supervisors: Dr Jen Ross and Dr Beth Christie and how users experience this space
Nora’ayu Ahmad Uzir because of its design patterns.
Learning Analytics, Information Visua- Supervisors: Professor Sian Bayne and
lization and Self-Regulated Learning. Murray Craig Dr Christine Sinclair
Supervisor: Professor Dragan Gašević and Technology-related attitudes, beliefs
Professor Abelardo Pardo and practices of secondary school
(University of South Australia) physical education teachers in Scotland. Nicola Kiernan
Use of technology in STEM
Supervisors: Dr Christine Nash and Dr Jen Ross
Education and learning progressions
Athary Almuhanna
(Chemistry).
The effects of the flipped classroom
model on the learning environment. Noreen Dunnett Supervisors: Dr Andrew Manches and
An exploration of disengagement Dr Michael Seery (School of Chemistry)
Supervisors: Dr Christine Sinclair and
Professor Jeff Haywood from learning as a product of the
socio-material assemblage of the
learning environment – classroom, or James Lamb
Nada Alsayegh the game environment, rather than a How teaching, learning and assess-
The Cultural Implications of Arabic characteristic of the individual human ment are affected by the pedagogic
Massive Open Online Courses in the subject (student). and societal shift to the digital.
Middle East. Funded by ESRC.
Supervisors: Professor Sian Bayne and
Supervisors: Dr Jen Ross and Dr Jeremy Knox Dr Hamish Macleod Supervisors: Professor Sian Bayne and
Dr Jen Ross
Valentia Andries Maureen Finn
Experience edited: mobile pupils Xin Luo
Promoting play in a children’s
and the material environment of the Parents’ voices on WeChat:
hospital: a person-centred approach
school. exploring the modernisation of early
to technology design with families.
years education in China.
Supervisors: Professor Judy Robertson Supervisors: Professor Lydia Plowman and
and Professor Lydia Plowman Dr Jen Ross Supervisors: Professor Lydia Plowman and
Dr Shari Sabeti
Assem Berniyazova Stuart Gray
Investigating the effectiveness of an Wannisa Matcha
Worldwide diffusion of XXI century
active smart-phone game as a tool Beyond data presentation: learning
educational innovations: opportunities
for improving executive function in analytics to uncover learning strategies
and challenges for educational institu-
children. and the influences of feedback.
tions in Kazakhstan.
Supervisor: Professor Judy Robertson Supervisor: Professor Dragan Gašević
Supervisors: Dr Christine Sinclair and
Dr Hamish Macleod
CENTRE REPORT 2018IN DEPTH 22
John Morrison John Saint
Understanding the real and perceived Self-regulated learning and feedback
barriers for participation in higher with learning analytics.
education among care experienced
Supervisors: Professor Dragan Gašević and
individuals. Exploring what value digital Professor Abelardo Pardo (University of South
tools can bring to Jean Rouch’s Australia)
’Shared Anthropology’ approach.
Supervisors: Professor Chris Speed
(Design Informatics) and Dr Jen Ross Sabina Savadova
Exploring parental agency and pre-
school-aged children’s interactions
Clara O’Shea with technology at home:
Kinds of learning and kinds of play: A comparative study of Georgia
an exploration of identity develop- and Azerbaijan.
ment in formal and informal digital Supervisors: Professor Lydia Plowman and
environments. Dr Holly Linklater
Supervisors: Professor Sian Bayne and
Dr Hamish Macleod
Debbie Schachter
Understanding the awareness and
Eder Paula development of critical information
The Impact of Educational Robotics in literacy frameworks for higher
Interest towards Technology Careers education library instruction.
and Technology Skills in Brazilian Supervisors: Dr Pauline Sangster and
Primary and Secondary School Dr Jen Ross The Mobile Campus by James Lamb
Students – a Longitudinal Case Study
Approach.
Supervisors: Dr Judy Robertson and Arabella Sinclair
Dr Jeremy Knox Language complexity discourse-
based language learning.
Supervisors: Professor Dragan Gašević and
Alexia Revueltas Roux Dr Maria Wolters (Informatics)
Exploring the cognitive neurocorre-
lates that could influence embodied
science learning and how scientific Sarah Treloar
thinking develops in early childhood How online social network sites
through interactive exhibits at science are being used for informal language
centres/museums. Funded through learning.
Wellcome Trust and Mexico’s National Supervisors: Dr Jen Ross and Dr Maria Dasli
Council of Science and Technology
(CONACYT).
Supervisors: Dr Andrew Manches, Paul Udofia
ProfessorJudy Robertson, Dr Josie Booth Designing, developing and implemen-
ting an effective e-learning model for
senior secondary school mathematics
in Nigeria. Exploration of disengagement from learning
by Noreen Dunnett
Supervisors: Dr Christine Sinclair and
Dr Rory Ewins
DE.ED.AC.UK23 IN DEPTH
EXTERNAL FUNDING
Digital Education has benefited
from £960,561 in external grant
funding during the period
2016–2018.
Interaction, Embodiment and Supporting Higher Education to Research for Emergency Aftershock
Technologies in early learning Integrate Learning Analytics Forecasting (REAR)
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
(SHEILA) CO-INVESTIGATOR:
Dr Andrew Manches PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Professor Sian Bayne
TIMELINE:
Professor Dragan Gašević TIMELINE:
01 Sep 2013 – 30 Sep 2016 TIMELINE: 01 Nov 2016 – 30 Jun 2017
FUNDING:
01 Jan 2015 – 30 Jun 2018 FUNDING:
ESRC Future Research Leaders FUNDING: Natural Environment Research
AWARD:
European Commission Council (Global Challenges Research
£204,045 AWARD:
Fund) with University of Edinburgh School of
£136,857 Total grant value: €460,612 Geosciences
AWARD:
£35,832 Total grant value: £200,516
The role of embodied cognition Artcasting Young Children’s Digital Play
in computing education PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr Jen Ross Professor Lydia Plowman
Dr Andrew Manches TIMELINE: TIMELINE:
TIMELINE: 01 May 2015 – 30 Jun 2016 07 Nov 2016 – 30 May 2017
1 Jan 2016 – 30 June 2016 FUNDING: FUNDING
FUNDING: Arts and Humanities Research ESRC Impact Grant
Carnegie Trust for the Council AWARD:
Universities of Scotland AWARD: £18,930
AWARD: £149,542 Total grant value: £173,394
£7,257 Total grant value: £14,177
Construit: Making construals as a Computing in Children’s Early Years Move2Learn: Embodied learning
new digital skill for creating inter- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
for pre-school scientists
active open educational resources Dr Andrew Manches PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
UOE LEAD RESEARCHER:
TIMELINE:
Dr Andrew Manches
Dr Hamish Macleod 01 Aug 2016 – 31 Oct 2016 TIMELINE:
TIMELINE:
FUNDING
01 May 2017 – 01 May 2020
01 Sep 2014 – 31 Aug 2017 ESRC Impact Accelerator Grant FUNDING:
FUNDING:
AWARD:
Wellcome Trust
Erasmus+ £4,870 AWARD:
AWARD: £374,411 Total grant value: £701,656
£28,817 Total grant value: €418,160
CENTRE REPORT 2018IN DEPTH 24
INTERNAL FUNDING
Digital Education has benefited
from £108,107 in funding from
The University of Edinburgh.
Digital/Nature: (re)connecting children Lecture Recording for Inclusive Methodological innovations for
with nature through Minecraft Education assessing learning in digital spaces
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: UOE RESEARCH TEAM:
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Dr Jeremy Knox Dr Jeremy Knox Professor Dragan Gašević,
DATE:
Dr Jen Ross
TIMELINE:
01 Jul 2015 – 30 Jun 2016 08 Jan 2018 TIMELINE:
FUNDING:
01 July 2017 – 30 Apr 2018
FUNDING:
College of Humanities and Social Principal’s Teaching Award Scheme FUNDING:
Sciences Stramash ‘transformations’ AWARD:
University of Edinburgh and
funding £14,397 University of Sydney Partnership
Collaboration Award
AWARD:
AWARD:
£9,450
£10,950
Artcasting at the Edinburgh Art Pulse Data Bodies in the library
Festival PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATOR: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr Jeremy Knox Dr Philippa Sheail
Dr Jen Ross TIMELINE: TIMELINE:
TIMELINE: 01 Sep 2016 – 31 Aug 2017 01 Aug 2017 – 31 Jul 2018
09 May 2016 – 16 Sep 2016 FUNDING: FUNDING:
FUNDING: Challenge Investment Fund (UoE) Challenge Investment Fund (UoE)
College of Humanities and Social AWARD: AWARD:
Sciences Knowledge Exchange £12,483 £11,427
and Impact Grant
AWARD:
£4,400
Academic Networking Fund (UoE) “A Live Pulse”: Yik Yak for
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
understanding teaching, learning
Dr Jen Ross and assessment at Edinburgh
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
DATE:
01 Jan 2016 Professor Sian Bayne
TIMELINE:
FUNDING:
Digital Cultural Heritage 01 Sep 2016 – 31 Aug 2017
Research Network FUNDING:
AWARD:
Principal’s Teaching Award Scheme
£3,400 (UoE)
AWARD:
£15,000
Learning Analytics Report Card Asking the Right Question
PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATOR: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Dr Jeremy Knox Dr Christine Sinclair
TIMELINE: TIMELINE:
01 Sep 2015 – 31 Aug 2016 01 Jan 2017 – 31 Dec 2017
FUNDING: FUNDING:
Principal’s Teaching Award Scheme Principal’s Teaching Award Scheme
and IS Innovations Fund (UoE)
AWARD: AWARD:
£21,600 £5,000
DE.ED.AC.UK25 IN DEPTH
CONSULTANCY WORK
We acknowledge the importance of consultancy
work and value industry engagement for the
opportunities it presents to contribute social,
cultural and economic benefit through collabo-
ration and knowledge exchange.
Since 2016, the centre has generated £67,879 in
consultancy funding, working with BBC CBeebies,
Historic Environment Scotland, the Phillip and
Patricia Frost Museum of Science, the National
Library of Scotland, Sage Publishing, and
World Bank.
As an example of our consultancy work, the Phillip
and Patricia Frost Museum of Science pilot brought
together researchers from the University of Illinois
and the University of Edinburgh with informal learning
practitioners and cognitive scientists from the US and
UK. The planning phase culminated in the develop-
ment of a research plan for investigating how applying
the principles of embodied cognition to the design
of informal learning environments can support young
children’s (ages 2-6) engagement with, and under-
standing of, science topics and concepts. This initial
consultancy work led on to a successful Wellcome
Trust funding application in 2012 for the Embodied
learning for preschool scientists (Move2Learn)
project worth £374,411 (total grant value: £701,656).
Phil Sheail and Jen Ross, with Rob Robinson Heritage
Consulting, were appointed as consultants in early 2018
for the National Library of Scotland (NLS):
‘Here is where you are: cultural heritage connections
for the 21st century’ study. They developed a first-stage
feasibility study to enhance NLS engagement with
audiences across Scotland, looking particularly beyond
the Central Belt and other large urban centres. Drawing
on their experience in digital education and work with
cultural heritage organisations, including galleries,
© Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
libraries, archives and museums, the consultancy team
made a series of recommendations for new engage-
ment activities and approaches, framed around the
theme of ‘mobilities’.
Through our previous work engaging with the crea-
tive industries, cultural heritage, finance, development,
telecommunications and pharmaceuticals industries
we now have established links across a broad range
of sectors ensuring we are well-positioned to continue
attracting consultancy funding.
Top: Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
Middle and bottom: Water table and River of Grass exhibits
(Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science)
CENTRE REPORT 2018IN DEPTH 26
KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE EVENTS
Through knowledge exchange activities we promote
our research and share findings with students,
peers, members of the public and practitioners.
We do this through workshops, conferences,
networking and seminar events.
In 2016, we hosted two major international conferences.
Hundreds of digital education researchers came to
Edinburgh in April 2016 for Learning at Scale, chaired
by Jeff Haywood, covering interdisciplinary research at
the intersection of the learning sciences and computer
science. Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK), was
co-chaired by Dragan Gasevic and run in partnership
with the Society for Learning Analytics.
Andrew Manches, Judy Robertson, Lydia Plowman
and other colleagues and students working in Children
and Technology ran a workshop at the Edinburgh
International Science Festival in May 2016. They gave
children and parents an opportunity to get hands-on
with recent technologies designed for young children
and to and share thoughts and experiences of tech-
nology in children’s lives.
© James Lamb
In June of the same year, drawing on findings from
the Learning Analytics Report Card project (L.A.R.C.),
Jeremy Knox ran a ‘Practical strategies for … playing
with student data’ workshop for students exploring ‘Wondering about the city: making meaning in Edinburgh’s Old Town’
how to make good use of their own data gathered
through learning analytics. Twelve academic staff and masters students, led by
In November, Jeremy Knox and James Lamb hosted Yi-Shan Tsai, held a family event at Ocean Terminal
a workshop titled ‘Wondering about the city: making to invite children and parents to join a critical discourse
meaning in Edinburgh’s Old Town’. As participant- of teaching automation through a series of fun activities
researchers they gathered visual, aural and other digital (storytelling, mind mapping, drawing, Lego building,
data with a view to investigating how we experience AI applications, and vox pops). 140 participants shared
and understand our urban surroundings. their hopes and worries about the future of teaching,
With funding from The University Academic Net- with helpful classroom assistants on the one hand and
working Fund Jen Ross lead the creation of the Digital a loss of emotional engagement and interaction on the
Cultural Heritage Research Network, bringing together other. These and other ideas helped the researchers
representatives of the cultural heritage sector with and families engage in conversations about what digital
an interdisciplinary group of University of Edinburgh futures we might want for our schools and challenge
researchers. Workshops were held in January, March assumptions about what automation can and should
and May in order to share research, practice and do for us. This event marks a success in engaging the
foster new research relationships. Two further DCHRN public with issues around the adoption of automation
events took place in April 2017 (‘Working with the technology in education.
public’) and February 2018 (Professor Melissa Terras, In December, the Children and Technology group
‘Wandering through OpenGlam’). organised a successful workshop titled ‘Children &
In 2017, the Centre hosted a conference titled Technology: towards interdisciplinary collaboration’,
‘Computational thinking in primary schools’, a free one funded by the Scottish Informatics Computer Science
day event to learn about the new computing curriculum Alliance (SICSA). The event attracted people from the
for Scottish schools. children’s technology industry, academia, museums,
We participated in the ESRC Festival of Social Science and beyond to share their research and develop wider
on 11 November with “Help! My Teacher Is a Robot!”. networks.
DE.ED.AC.UK27 IN DEPTH
SEMINAR PROGRAMME
Since 2016 we have arranged JUNE MARCH
39 seminars, a full list of which The difference between human and More than Just Words: Education
can be found below. To date, we posthuman learning and research in the age of visual
have had over 1100 enrolments Professor Cathrine Hasse cultures
University of Aarhus, Denmark (June 2016)
on our seminar programme. Dr Peter Jandric
Zagreb University of Applied Sciences
Rhythms of academic mobility
2016 2016/17 Dr Judith Enriquez-Gibson
Liverpool John Moores University
OCTOBER
JANUARY
Quantitative Ethnography Automating Education and
Problem spaces: interface methods
Professor David Williamson Shaffer Teaching Machines
and compositional methodology
University of Wisconsin, Madison Audrey Watters
Professor Celia Lury Hack Education
University of Warwick
Designing Play: young children’s
Nasty Women, Private Servers,
FEBRUARY play and communication practices
and Digital Purity Myths
Code, methods and the production in relation to designers’ intentions
Dr Liz Losh
of educational data for their toy Associate Professor of English and American Studies,
Dr Cormack O’Keeffe Dr Dylan Yamada-Rice William and Mary University (May 2017)
YES ’N’ YOU, Paris Dubit
Presented in collaboration with College of Arts,
APRIL NOVEMBER Humanities and Social Sciences Digital
Scholarship Office; Digital Education; and
Creating Living Knowledge: Appropriation, Affordance and Digital Sociology.
Understanding interdisciplinary and Minecraft: What the methods people
community-engaged research in the use to navigate Minecraft tell us
arts, humanities and social sciences about approaches to technology use APRIL
Professor Keri Facer Dr Tom Flint Surprises & confirmations in large-
University of Bristol Edinburgh Napier University
scale learning analytics research
@Blackboard
Can Education Scale? DECEMBER
Dr. John Whitmer
Professor John C Mitchell
Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning Making Bananas: Design Pedagogy Analytics and Research Director at Blackboard
Stanford University (April 2016) and Social Learning at a Distance
Derek Jones Authority relations behind
MAY Lecturer in Design at The Open University
the scenes of online education –
Long-term and actionable processes of erosion and
JANUARY
prediction of student outcomes sedimentation
using automated detectors of Digitalised Dialogues Across Bjarke Lindso Anderson
engagement and affect the Curriculum (DiDiAC): Aarhus University
Dr Ryan Baker Enhancing classroom dialogue by
Columbia University using Talkwall to ‘Think Together’ Standard setting in national
Dr Louis Major examinations: what are exam
University of Cambridge standards?
Exciting times require exciting
Professor Jo-Anne Baird
actions: Opportunities for learning Director of the Department of Education,
FEBRUARY
analytics in higher education University of Oxford
Professor George Siemens The Labour of Digital Scholarship
Professor and Executive Director of the Learning Dr Karen Gregory MAY
Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab University of Edinburgh
at University of Texas
The Interplay of Discussion,
Dr Mark Milliron FEBRUARY Cognition and Instruction in
Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer of Civitas Learning “it should be necessary to start”: Computer-Supported Collaborative
critical digital pedagogy for troubled Learning Environments
political times – an American Professor Frank Fischer
The global educational data scientist:
perspective Chair of Education and Educational Psychology at the
Pearson plc and digital methods University of Munich (LMU)
Dr Amy Collier
Dr Ben Williamson Associate Provost for Digital Learning
University of Stirling Middlebury College, Vermont
CENTRE REPORT 2018IN DEPTH 28
Towards a radical digital citizenship
in digital education
Dr Karen Gregory (Chair)
University of Edinburgh
Dr Akwugo Emejulu
University of Warwick
Dr Callum McGregor
University of Edinburgh
Dr Huw Davies
Oxford Internet Institute and Convener of the BSA’s
Digital Sociology study group
Dr Emma Dowling
Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Postgrowth
Societies Research Group
This seminar was jointly organised by
colleagues in Education, Digital Education
and Digital Sociology, with funding from the
University of Edinburgh’s Global Justice and
Global Development Academies’ Innovation
Initiative Fund. OCTOBER JANUARY
Virtual Internships: Figuring the future: from the
JUNE From MOOCs to MACROSIMs geographies, materialities and
Emerging participatory culture: Professor David Williamson Shaffer
cultures of rural South Africa to
Making sense of social media use Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Learning the technocracy and continuing
Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
for learning in, across and with coloniality of higher education
Higher Education and the cultural Dr Sue Timmis
University of Bristol
heritage sector What was enhanced?
Dr Narelle Lemon Three cases of Technology Enhanced
Swinburne University of Technology, Australia Learning research projects and their FEBRUARY
unexpected outcomes Schooling data citizens
Open Education and the Dr Mark Gaved Dr Giovanna Mascheroni
IET, The Open University Università Cattolica of Milan
Unenlightenment
Professor Judy Robertson
Professor Martin Weller University of Edinburgh
Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University NOVEMBER
Dr Ben Williamson
Creators and Copyright: University of Stirling
Voices from the field
Robots, virtual environments
and developmental disorders: Dr Smita Kheria Supporting learning of social-
School of Law, University of Edinburgh
technology advancement needs emotional competencies with
neurodiversity technology
Dr Thusha Rajendran DECEMBER
Dr Petr Slovak
Director of the Developmental Psychology TTM: Using Micro Learning and University College London
in Action Lab based in the Department of
Psychology, Heriot-Watt University Learning Analytics to Improve
Student Self-Reflection
MARCH
Dr Christopher Cheong
School of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT Beyond Computing and 21st
2017/18 University, Melbourne, Australia
Century Skills. What’s missing?
Dr Peter Rich
SEPTEMBER Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah
Doing Speculative Research:
Patterns, approaches and systems Knives, Nature and an Ecology
to support teachers in designing for of Futures APRIL
technology-enhanced collaborative Professor Mike Michael
Analytics: The Datafication of
learning Department of Sociology, Philosophy and
Anthropology, University of Exeter (December 2017) Higher Education and Work
Seminar with Professor Yannis Dimitriadis
Director of GSIC/EMIC Research Group, University of Dr Jeremy Knox
Valladolid, Spain (September 2017) University of Edinburgh
Providing personalized student sup- Dr Terrie Lynn Thompson, Dr Anna Wilson
and Professor Cate Watson
port in flipped classrooms at scale University of Stirling
Professor Abelardo Pardo
Dr Karen Gregory
The University of Sydney (December 2017)
University of Edinburgh
DE.ED.AC.UKGeneral enquiries: DEresearch@ed.ac.uk Director: sian.bayne@ed.ac.uk @EDDIGED DE.ED.AC.UK
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