CIRCL News
What are key priorities for future research? Check out the Workshop Leader Summit (below) and read the slides and white papers, each of which shares findings and recommendations for the field. We’ll be working to further prioritize research challenges and questions at our convening, Cyberlearning 2019, coming up in less than a month.
Speaking of CL’19, the detailed program is now available. Invite your colleagues and students to register for the webcast and join the online conversation using #NSFCL19. Our featured perspective, Cynthia D’Angelo, is co-chair of CL’19 along with James Lester (featured in May) and Tammy Clegg (featured in July).
Later in this newsletter, we announce new cyberlearning awards (congratulations!) and share a wealth of opportunities to submit papers and proposals, or apply for jobs.
Workshop Leaders Summit: Summary Report & White Papers
To articulate and prioritize research and development challenges for the next decade, the NSF Cyberlearning program supported nine workshops in 2018 and 2019, each of which explored a particular theme or vision with a separate group of participants. On June 6, 2019, CIRCL hosted a summit for workshop leaders to discuss cross-cutting findings, insights, and recommendations. A CIRCL report, Emerging Directions from the Workshop Leaders Summit, summarizes connections that emerged across workshops. Individual workshops have also released white papers that report on findings and recommendations specific to their theme.
Cyberlearning 2019: Program Update, Webcast & Twitter
Virtual participation: Register for the webcast | Hashtag: #NSFCL19
The program for Cyberlearning 2019: Exploring Contradictions in Achieving Equitable Futures on October 3-4 in Alexandria, VA is available! The event features 3 keynotes, 3 panels, 5 working sessions, 11 expertise exchanges, 20+ roundtables, a gallery walk with 40+ posters/demos, and optional participation in legislative visits and the TMS conference.
Spread the word and invite your colleagues ands students to register for the webcast and participate in the online conversation using #NSFCL19. We especially recommend checking out the keynotes via webcast: Mike Sharples on Theory-Informed Design of Cyberlearning at Scale, Safiya Noble on The Problems and Perils of Harnessing Big Data for Equity & Justice, and Angela Booker on Ethical Power Relations as an Act of Design. We encourage you to view the webcast in a face-to-face group setting. For example, reserve a conference room at your University or place of work for groups or classes to come and watch together in real time. For updates, follow CIRCL on Twitter and Facebook, and check the Cyberlearning 2019 page.
Funding Opportunities: NSF DRK-12, EHR CORE, INCLUDES, IUSE, & GRFP; EF+Math
The NSF DRK-12 proposal submission deadline has been changed to November 18, 2019. Please share this information with your coworkers and associates. If you are planning to submit a proposal, view a compilation of helpful resources in CADRE’s NSF Proposal Toolkit.
NSF EHR Core Research invites proposals for fundamental research that advances knowledge in one or more of the three Research Tracks: Research on STEM Learning and Learning Environments, Research on Broadening Participation in STEM fields, and Research on STEM Workforce Development. Proposals are due October 3, 2019.
NSF INCLUDES invites proposals for Planning Grants to build capacity in the community to undertake the activities necessary to establish future centers, alliances, or other large-scale networks to address a broadening participation challenge at scale. Proposals are due December 3, 2019.
NSF IUSE: EHR invites proposals for novel, creative, and transformative approaches to generating and using new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning to improve STEM education for undergraduate students. Proposals are due December 4, 2019.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) provides support for those at the beginning of their graduate career and individuals seeking to re-enter graduate studies following an interruption of at least two consecutive years. Encourage your students interested in IIS research areas (AI, data science, and HCI) to apply! Applications are due October 22, 2019. Please also consider volunteering to serve as a reviewer for GRFP.
The new EF+Math Program is offering research and development funding opportunities to connect executive function + math skills, tapping the wisdom of educators and focusing on equity. Learn more about the program tracks and opportunities.
Featured Perspective: Meet Cynthia D’Angelo
Cynthia D’Angelo is a professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois. She is passionate about advanced technologies for learning!
What do you think is one of the challenges with doing cyberlearning research?
I’ve been thinking a lot about interdisciplinary research lately and the challenges inherent in undertaking that kind of work. One thing that I have found is very important to do early on in a new partnership across disciplines is to sit down and have a serious discussion about the different values, commitments, and goals of your research and of your field in general. Almost all interdisciplinary work requires some amount of compromise across the disciplines, whether it be through modifications to data collection procedures or methods, or choices made during the analysis phase of work. If all sides are not clear in why you and/or your field values certain things, it will be difficult to find common ground and have a clear sense of shared purpose and goals. Read more of Cynthia’s Perspective.
Conferences & Calls: RPP Workshops, ISLS, CHI, IJAIED & More
The National Network of Education Research-Practice Partnerships is co-hosting four RPP Development Workshops this fall to support research-practice partnership teams applying for NSF’s CSforAll RPP solicitation. Workshops will be held November 5-6 in Atlanta, November 14-15 in San Francisco, November 21-22 in DC, and December 5-6 in Chicago. Learn more and apply to attend!
SREE 2020 will be held March 11-14, 2020 in Crystal City, Virginia. The theme is Practical Significance and Meaningful Effects: Learning and Communicating What Matters. See the Call for Papers. Abstracts are due October 1, 2019.
The 2020 Educational Data Science Conference will be held April 22-23, 2020 at Stanford University. The conference convenes faculty and graduate students who are applying data science approaches to problems of educational concern, with the goal of further developing an academic community around educational data science. Submissions are due December 16, 2019.
CHI 2020 will be held April 25-30, 2020 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. CHI is the premier international conference of Human-Computer Interaction. Case Studies, Courses, Doctoral Consortium, Workshops/Symposia submissions are due October 16, 2019.
ISLS 2020 will be held June 19-23, 2020, in Nashville,Tennessee. The theme is Interdisciplinarity of the Learning Sciences, with a special interest in analyses that highlight the sociopolitical dimensions of learning and social justice. Submissions are due November 18, 2019.
Call for Papers: IJAIED Special Issue: Creating and Improving Adaptive Learning: Smart Authoring Tools and Processes. Complete manuscripts are due February 1, 2020.
Call for Papers: IJAIED Special Issue: THE FATE of AIED: Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics. Abstracts (not required) are due January 31, 2020; full submissions are due March 30, 2020.
The Teaching AI in K-12 Symposium on November 8-9, 2019 in Arlington, VA will offer a mixture of invited talks, contributed talks, 5 minute lightning talks, panel discussions, breakout sessions, and an “AI playground” demo session. Register by September 20, 2019.
Boston College is launching a Master’s in Learning Engineering for Fall 2019. Register for the Webinar: Why we need Learning Engineers on October 7 or November 6 to learn more.
Jobs Opportunities
Also see #learningsciencesjobs
University at Buffalo, SUNY invites applications for an Associate or Full Professor of Learning Sciences to lead a campus-wide, cluster-hire initiative in the Learning Sciences.
Georgia State University invites applications for the position of Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Learning Technologies.
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign has an open position for a Teaching Assistant Professor in Computer Science Education.
Stanford University seeks an open rank, tenure-track faculty member in educational data science.
University of Wisconsin-Madison seeks an Assistant Professor in Learning Analytics to work at the intersection of data science and the learning sciences.
University of Wisconsin-Madison also seeks a Professor of Games & Education (open-rank) to build out their undergraduate Game Design Certificate program and establish a nationally recognized research program focused on games and education.
Tufts University invites applications for two open positions: Assistant Professor in Chemistry Education and Assistant Professor in Engineering Education.
Indiana University-Bloomington invites applicants for a visiting researcher position in STEM education to work across two NSF-funded projects related to the study of making and engineering education.
Indiana University-Bloomington also seeks a postdoctoral researcher in embodied science modeling in the Representations, Activity, Play and Technology (RAPT) Lab, which is part of the Center for Research on Learning and Technology.
Northern Illinois University seeks a full-time, 2-year post-doctoral researcher for the CREATE center to contribute to research on child-robot interaction and embodied learning, design and analysis of learning with cutting-edge digital technology, and multi-modal data analysis.
The University of California-Irvine invites applications for California Science Project Site Director to implement professional development programs in Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and science education for K-12 teachers throughout Orange County.
New Cyberlearning Awards
A sample of new projects funded by the NSF Cyberlearning program.
Recent NSF Cyberlearning awards:
- Broadening Participation for Remote Communities: Situated Distance Telepresence Mentoring through Embodied Communications, funded by CFLT. PI: Francis Quek, Texas A&M University. CoPIs: Beverly Irby, Malini Natarajarathinam.
- CRII: Cyberlearning: Lived Science Narratives: Meaningful Elementary Science through Wearable Technologies, funded by CRII and CFLT. PI: Sharon Lynn Chu, University of Florida.
- Collaborative Research: Immersive Virtual Reality with Haptic Feedback to Improve Safety Hazard Recognition, Assessment, and Decision-Making Among Construction Professionals, funded by CFLT. PIs: Steven Ayer, Arizona State University; Jeremi London, Virginia Polytechnic.
- Collaborative Research: Open Player and Community Modeling as a Learning Tool, funded by CFLT. PIs: Magy Seif El-Nasr, Northeastern University; Jichen Zhu, Drexel University.
- Injecting Learning into Work: Enhancing Career Advancement through Transformation of Professional Development in Technical Career Paths, funded by CFLT. PI: Carolyn Rose, Carnegie-Mellon University. CoPIs: Majd Sakr, Michael Hilton.
- Support for Doctoral Students to Attend the 20th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED 2019), funded by CFLT. PI: Bruce McLaren, Carnegie-Mellon University.
- EAGER: Mixed Reality for Improved Science Reading Comprehension, funded by Robust Intelligence and CFLT. PI: Len Annetta, East Carolina University.
- EAGER: Comprehension Assessment via Spoken Dialog, funded by CFLT. PI: Wayne Ward, University of Colorado at Boulder.
- Collaborative Research: CSL-MultiAD: Assessing Collaborative STEM Learning through Rich Information Flow based on Multi-Sensor Audio Diarization, funded by CFTL. PIs: John H. L. Hansen, University of Texas at Dallas; Dwight Irvin, University of Kansas Center for Research.
- EAGER: Inq-Blotter: Designing Supports for Teachers’ Real Time Instruction, funded by CFLT. PI: Janice Gobert, Rutgers University.
- Collaborative Research: Student Affect Detection and Intervention with Teachers in the Loop, funded by CFLT. PIs: Shiting Lan, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Neil Heffernan, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Ryan Baker, University of Pennsylvania.
- Exploring Social Learning in Collaborative Augmented Reality with Virtual Agents as Learning Companions, funded by CFLT. PI: Marjorie Zielke, University of Texas at Dallas. CoPIs: Scotty Craig, Robert Rege, James Wagner.
- Student and Early-Career Support for Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) 2019 Conference, funded by CFLT. PI: Katerine Bielaczyc, Clark University.
Resource & Tech Corner
The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) has released the Toolkit: Broadening Perspectives on Broadening Participation in STEM to support strategic efforts to broaden participation in STEM. Use the resources to plan and lead reflective discussions about current practices, with an eye to developing goals, strategies, and priorities that can make your work more inclusive.
CAISE has also released a video series of interviews of 35 scholars to help build understanding of and capacity for evaluation and measurement around constructs of STEM identity, interest, and engagement.
Screen360.tv is an online portal and app for the delivery of curated international film programs to young audiences. The project seeks to engage with researchers for potential exchange, contribution and collaboration. Interested? Learn more & contact Catherine (Katy) Kavanaugh.
Books & Publications
Looking for Insight, Transformation, and Learning in Online Talk by Trena Paulus and Alyssa Wise provides a comprehensive guide to analyzing digital talk in formal and informal online learning spaces including social media, discussion forums, and online communities. With a focus on methodological alignment to support valid and trustworthy knowledge claims, the book guides researchers through a series of design decisions to frame their object of interest, unpack underlying assumptions, ethically extract and organize data for analysis, and apply rigorous qualitative, quantitative, and computational methods to answer their research questions. When you purchase, use discount code FLR40 to save 20%.
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!
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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.