This research area investigates several aspects related to the design, implementation, use and evaluation of technologies (Internet-based, mobile and other devices) to support learning and teaching processes.
One of the main issues in this line of research is which are the most appropriate technologies and how can they support different pedagogical approaches. This includes the study of the mechanisms and strategies used by learners to communicate and collaborate with peers and tutors in an online learning context. The use of techniques and methodologies from artificial intelligence and machine learning areas for modeling learners' behavior is also considered.
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Business simulations and its impact on ethics, management competences and skills This research seeks to analyse and design environments in which to create and develop suitable personal and professional decision-making skills. The research aims to systematize this knowledge to create, use and disseminate simulations as a tool for better approaching the complexity of decision-making in complex environments, mainly in companies, both as a part of professional learning and in subjects related to management, entrepreneurship and managerial skills. At the doctoral school we offer a maximum of three slots to cover the following subjects:
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Teaching and learning basic skills using complex technology in the school This research line aims to study the process of teaching and learning basic skills in primary and secondary education using complex educational software, including mobile technology. Some conceptual constructs associated with this area are:
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Dr Toni Badia |
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Ethical issuesin ICT
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ICT forlearning about the sciences and engineering
Experimental sciences in general – and physics in particular – are usually a very challenging subject for students and teachers, and even more in an e learning environment. How can a graphic or an idea be shown and explained? How can a question regarding a specific point of a drawing be addressed? How can we perform an experiment? |
Dr Antoni Pérez Navarro | |
Mathematical e-learning The goal is to analyse important aspects related to the online mathematics courses offered in higher education programmes, including: benefits and challenges, universities offering this type of education, methodological considerations, emergent technologies, learning projects and environments, etc. In addition, the key aspects of world-class mathematical e-learning models and their historical evolution are to be analysed. Special attention is paid to mathematical curricula in science and engineering degrees, where a lot of work needs to be done in order to adapt mathematics courses to the continuously changing educational needs of students. |
Dr Laura Calvet (professora EIMT) |
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Technology for learning to read Reading is one of the most important abilities that children learn at school. However, the basis for learning to read are in the development of oral language along the preschool period. The thesis will focus on developing a technology to improve the phonics, phonological awareness, vocabulary and grammar of preschool children at risk of reading disabilities. The thesis will include the design and implementation of the program and a pre-post study in which we will test the benefits of the program. |
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Technology-enhanced assessment (e-assessment) Technology can support many aspects of assessment processes but there is still a lack of tools to provide qualitative and rich feedback in a simple way. E-assessment processes are still based on multiple choice test or just open questions but without a real grade to measure how a competence is being achieved neither providing a formative feedback. In the same line, there is a lack on trustability when an assignment is delivered through the net. Authorship is becoming one of the hot toping when turns into elearning. Thus this research line is focusing, on the one hand, on analysing the wide range of technologies available and ways in which technology can be used to support assessment and feedback. On the other hand is also focusing on analysing and designing tools to enhance and ensure the authorship of a simple submitted assignment. |
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e-Assesment and automatic feedback in online programming courses This research line has the aim to develop new solutions to automatically correct programming. These set of tools will open the possibility to provide better feedback and leverage assessment efforts from tutors in these mass courses. Automatic assessment of algorithmic exercises is a vibrating research line. Research efforts have been focus on assessing the exercises based on the testing of a set of input and compare the obtained outputs with the expected values but little effort has been done in the algorithm structure comparison. This research propose to design new solutions from the pedagogical perspective of teaching by competence using tools like rubrics. |
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Immersive technologies and e-learning Online universities tend to have relatively high dropout rates. It is difficult for a future psychologist to learn about the brain without interacting with the latest Artificial Intelligence technologies, such as a 3D model or educational chatbots. In this sense, future teachers need to learn skills such as interpersonal communication to deal with unmotivated students. This line aims to explore the use of immersive technologies to allow students to live new "first-person perspective" learning experiences in adapted learning systems, which can increase personalization, improve efficiency, and increase motivation and participation in learning. |
Dr Laura Calvet
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