CIRCL News: Cyberlearning 2019 – October 3-4
Happy New Year! Please hold the date for Cyberlearning 2019, which will be held October 3-4, 2019 in Alexandria, Virginia. A call for participation will be issued in March, and newsletter subscribers will receive an email as soon as it is available. Please also consider participating in the NSF Ideas Lab related to Harnessing the Data Revolution; see details below. And there’s an exciting set of cyberlearning workshops looking for participants.
Our featured perspective shares Janice Gobert’s story of founding a company to bring her Inquiry Intelligent Tutoring System to schools. Related to this perspective, we highlight opportunities in the SBIR and I-Corps programs to engage with small businesses — one proven pathway from your research ideas to broader impact.
What’s our New Year’s Resolution for 2019? To make the Rapid Community Report Series a successful new publication venue. We’ll be working on this with the International Society of the Learning Sciences. If you’ve got some research insights or designs that don’t fit a standard journal, reach out to us at circl@digitalpromise.org — we’d love to hear from you.
CIRCL Webinar: Neuroscience & Cyberlearning – A Convergence Conversation
Register now for the next free CIRCL Webinar: Neuroscience and Cyberlearning – A Convergence Conversation on February 19, 2019 from 12-1 PT / 3-4 ET. In this webinar, Jodi Asbell-Clarke and Judi Fusco will facilitate a discussion about the convergence of emergent neuroscience and decades of learning science with a panel of researchers including Adam Green, Ibrahim Dahlstrom-Hakki, and Terry Jernigan. Panelists will discuss their own work, along with questions including: What opportunities does educational neuroscience have for impacting learning and teaching in the classroom? How can the learning and teaching practices inform neurological models? What are the exciting opportunities and questions that lie ahead at the convergence of neuroscience and educational research? What ethical and logistical considerations must we keep in mind while designing a research agenda in this area? Register for this webinar.
Featured Perspective: Janice Gobert
Janice Gobert is a Professor of Learning Sciences and Educational Psychology at Rutgers Graduate School of Education, and the Founding CEO of Apprendis. At Apprendis, she and her colleagues created the Inquiry Intelligent Tutoring System (Inq-ITS, funded by the US Dept of Education and the NSF). A companion tool to Inq-ITS, Inq-Blotter (funded by the NSF and the US Dept of Education), sends real-time information about students’ competencies on the NGSS inquiry practices to the phones or tablets of teachers.
How did your research lead into starting a company?
It’s kind of a complicated story to tell. We developed the initial microworlds for physical science on an NSF DRK12 grant (in 2007) and then we were funded by the US Department of Ed for he Life and Earth Science microworlds. NSF and the Department of Education then funded parallel projects, so we could develop a pedagogical agent to help students conduct inquiry for each of the content areas. Then we (Apprendis) won two SBIR grants (PI: Mike Sao Pedro) to develop Blotter, our teacher dashboard, so that student data from Inq-ITS can inform instructional practices. The NSF Cyberlearning program also funded research on Blotter to better understand teacher-student discourse that occurs when feedback is provided via Inq-Blotter. The research grants and the work development work on Inq-Blotter are like pieces of a puzzle that fit together. Read more of Janice’s perspective.
NSF Opportunities: Ideas Labs, Workforce, Teaching & Learning
A new NSF Ideas Lab Initiative supporting HDR invites proposals for Ideas Labs on Data-Intensive Research in Science and Engineering (DIRSE) as part of the Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR) Institutes activity. These Ideas Labs represent one path of a conceptualization phase aimed at developing Institutes as part of the NSF investment in the HDR Big Idea. Proposals due January 28, 2019.
NSF DCL: STEM Workforce Development Utilizing Flexible Personal Learning Environments seeks new proposals and supplemental funding requests to existing awards that support flexible personalized learning to prepare the STEM workforce of the future. Proposals responding to this DCL should be made through one of the existing NSF programs listed in the DCL.
NSF DCL: Research to Improve STEM Teaching and Learning, and Workforce Development for Persons with Disabilities identifies opportunities for research and development through several NSF programs, in both formal and informal contexts, from the earliest developmental stages of life through participation in the workforce. Proposals responding to this DCL should be submitted by the due date of the relevant NSF programs listed in the DCL.
Small Business & Innovation Opportunities: SBIR, I-Corps, America’s Seed Fund
The 2019 ED/IES SBIR Phase I program solicitation is expected to be released in mid-January, 2019, with a due date 45 days later. For updates on the timing of the release of the IES program solicitations, sign up for the IES Newsflash and follow ED/IES SBIR on twitter @IESResearch.
The NSF I-Corps program prepares scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the university laboratory and accelerates the economic and societal benefits of NSF-funded, basic-research projects that are ready to move toward commercialization. I-Corps Team proposals are accepted anytime with a cognizant NSF Program Officer’s invitation; see program description requirements.
America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF has helped startups and small businesses transform their ideas into marketable products and services. Details for the next June 2019 deadline will be posted in March 2019. Learn about the Phase I application timeline and follow @NSFSBIR on twitter or subscribe to be notified of upcoming deadlines.
2019 STEM for All Video Showcase: Register to Present!
Here’s an opportunity to reach tens of thousands of people with your idea while producing a video for your project. Submit a video to the 2019 STEM for All Video Showcase and discuss your video with researchers, practitioners, policy makers and the public during the interactive week long event on May 13-20, 2019.
Last year, more than 20 Cyberlearning videos were presented, and several won awards. One cyberlearning researcher told us, “The showcase pushed me to make a great 3 minute video, and now I use it in every presentation.” Register to be a Presenter between January 15 – February 18. Submit your Video by April 23. If you don’t intend to present a video this year, please save the dates anyway! You can participate by viewing the videos, discussing them with presenters and voting for your favorites.
Jobs & Programs: Boston College, Utah State University, CRI
Also see #learningsciencesjobs
Boston College is delighted to announce the start of a new Masters Program in Learning Engineering in August, 2019. The program is seeking students and postdocs. Please share this information with undergraduates who you think might be interested in making a career of designing for learners.
Utah State University invites applicants for two new faculty positions at the Assistant or Associate Professor level in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Department––one position in Learning Sciences and one position in Instructional Technology.
The Center for Research and Interdisciplinarity (CRI) has several group leader positions for their Collaborary in Paris, France. CRI seeks candidates at different career stages, from postdoctoral young investigators to tenured scientists, particularly in thematic areas of Open health and Open learning. Applications are due January 30, 2019.
Resource & Tech Corner
CIRCLEducators new year is off to a busy start! First, our new book club begins January 13 with Coding as a playground (2018) by Marina Bers. Please join us! We are also developing a course on learning science for educators using free, open, and high quality resources. Check out the texts and materials. Have you read any of these, or used any in your classes? Are there any readings would you add? We’d love to hear from you — tweet to @CIRCLEducators or #CIRCLEdu.
The Designing 2030 site summarizes themes and insights from a May 2018 Summit n Oakland, California in which participants worked together to craft visions of learning in the future. Explore the site and watch videos of participants describing technologies inspired by the summit.
The Computing Research Association is launching an NSF-funded resource portal called BPCnet to amplify efforts by computing departments and NSF grant proposers to broaden participation in computing. The portal aims to (1) help the community learn about, and engage with, ongoing projects in their broadening participation efforts, and (2) assist NSF PIs in planning meaningful Broader Impact components of their CISE proposals. Resources include 10 Ways to Broaden Participation in one’s own departmental computing community, Tips for Department Inclusivity, and AccessComputing resources to increase the participation of people with disabilities in computing.
CoSN’s Driving K-12 Innovation: 2019 Hurdles report captures the top five challenges for teaching and learning innovation, according to an advisory board of 100+ school leaders and changemakers. This is the first report in a series of 3 to be released throughout 2019 — plus a toolkit to help put the ideas into practice.
Understanding how to measure the impact and effectiveness of PD programs is often overwhelming and difficult. With an award from 100Kin10, WestEd developed a set of white papers with insights into the evaluative process that explain what evaluation can accomplish, how to approach evaluation, and where to turn for help.
New Cyberlearning Awards
A sample of new projects with a cyberlearning theme funded by the NSF Cyberlearning program and programs across NSF.
Recent NSF Cyberlearning awards:
- Support for Doctoral Students from U.S. Universities to Attend the 11th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2018), funded by CFLT. PI: Neil Heffernan, Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
- Technology Facilitated Training for Mental Health Counseling, funded by CFLT. PI: Vivek Srikumar, University of Utah. CoPIs: Eric Poitras, Zachary Imel, Michael Tanana.
- ICLS 2018 Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age in ICLS Doctoral Consortium and Early Career Workshops, funded by CFLT. PI: Carolyn Rose, Carnegie-Mellon University.
- Designing and Evaluating a Naturalistic Platform for Collaborative Learning About Spatial Reasonings, funded by CFLT. PI: Marcelo Worsley, Northwestern University. CoPI: David Uttal.
- Advancing the Use of Automated Dialogue Systems for Teaching Communication and Interpersonal Skills, funded by CFLT. PI: Jonathan Gratch, University of Southern California. CoPI: Peter Kim.
- EAGER: Collaborative Research:Automated Instruction Assistant for Argumentative Essays, funded by CFLT. PIs: Smaranda Muresan, Columbia University; Rebecca Passonneau, Pennsylvania State Univ University Park.
- A Remote Multimodal Learning Environment to Increase Graphical Information Access for Blind and Visually Impaired Students, funded by CORE. PI: Nicholas Giudice, University of Maine. CoPIs: Stacy Doore, Justin Dimmel.
- Data-Driven, Human-in-the-Loop Support for Facilitating Participatory Learning Activities, funded by STEM+C. PI: Leilah Lyons, New York Hall of Science. CoPI: Stephen Uzzo.
- Teachers are the Learners: Providing Automated Feedback on Classroom Inter-Personal Dynamics, funded by CORE. PI: Jacob Whitehill, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. CoPIs: Lane Harrison, Erin Ottmar.
- Mapping Fields in Augmented Reality with Personal Mobile Devices: Enhancing Visualization Skills for Education and Industry. PI: Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz, American Modeling Teachers Association. CoPIs: Mina Johnson, Chrystian Vieyra, Rebecca Vieyra.
Recent cyberlearning-themed awards across NSF:
- A Data-Driven, Multidisciplinary Curriculum Providing Access to the Data Analytics Economy through Project-based Learning, funded by IUSE. PI: Lisa Dierker, Wesleyan University. CoPIs: Jennifer Rose.
- Automated Feedback in Undergraduate Computing Theory Courses, funded by IUSE. PI: Ivona Bezakova, Rochester Institute of Tech. CoPI: Edith Hemaspaandra.
- Multimodal Visitor Analytics: Investigating Naturalistic Engagement with Interactive Tabletop Science Exhibits, funded by AISL. PI: James Lester, North Carolina State University. CoPIs: James Minogue, Jonathan Rowe.
- IUSE: EHR: Assessing Virtual Reality Field Experiences for Enhanced Learning in the Geosciences, funded by IUSE. PIs: Stephen Moysey, Clemson University. CoPIs: Catherine Mobley, Sabarish Babu, David Boyer, Kelly Lazar.
- Collaborative Project Management Institute for Informal Science Institutions, funded by AISL. PI: Lesley Markham, Association of Science-Technology Centers. CoPI: Judy Brown.
- Supporting Student Planning with Open Learner Models in Middle Grades Science, funded by CORE. PI: James Lester, North Carolina State University. CoPI: Roger Azevedo.
- Improving Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Spatial Skills Through 3D Interactive Virtual and Physical Manipulatives, funded by IUSE. PI: Ning Fang, Utah State University. CoPI: Wade Goodridge.
- NRT: Citizen-Centered Smart Cities and Smart Living, funded by GCR, NRT, AISL. PI: Sethuraman Panchanathan, Arizona State University. CoPIs: Ann McKenna, Gail-Joon Ahn, Ram Pendyala, Cynthia Selin.
Books & Publications
Have a recent publication or article about your cyberlearning project, or that you think the community should know about? Let us know and we’ll announce it here!
The 2019 Innovating Pedagogy report from The Open University highlights ten trends in teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world. This (seventh) report was written in collaboration with the Centre for the Science of Learning and Technology (SLATE) in Norway. The ten trends for 2019 are: playful learning, learning with robots, decolonising learning, drone-based learning, learning through wonder, action learning, virtual studios, place-based learning, making thinking visible, and roots of empathy.
Citation: Ferguson, R., Coughlan, T., Egelandsdal, K., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Hillaire, G., Jones, D., Jowers, I., Kukulska-Hulme, A., McAndrew, P., Misiejuk, K., Ness, I. J., Rienties, B., Scanlon, E., Sharples, M., Wasson, B., Weller, M. and Whitelock, D. (2019). Innovating Pedagogy 2019: Open University Innovation Report 7. Milton Keynes: The Open University.
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CIRCL is supported by NSF grants IIS-1233722, IIS-1441631, and IIS-1556486. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.