Gamification is now a household word, but it remains at the top of the lists of emerging technology and expected trends for the future of instructional design. If this is true, how can we take gamification to a level beyond badges and points? This paper argues that narrative is a key element that has not yet been fully realized in gamification, reviewed through its prior successes in entertainment-education, game-based learning, project-based learning, and digital storytelling. It suggests that Alternate Reality Games may be the true future of gamification as we know it today.

BACKGROUND: Less than two decades into the 21st century, U.S. medical schools are experiencing substantial curricular reform affecting multiple aspects of teaching and learning. The pace of change is rapid when compared to that of the previous century. Little changed in medical education for 100 years after Abraham Flexner’s 1910 recommendations from his evaluation of North American medical schools. Using a case-study approach to examine a single medical school, this dissertation study explores pre-clerkship faculty perspectives of select curricular changes over a ten-year span at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM). These changes include the adoption of educational technologies and student-centered pedagogical approaches, as well as curricular content integration designed for foundational science courses. PURPOSE: This study seeks to understand and document faculty experiences with change, factors influencing change, effective and challenging aspects of change, and recommendations for successful future changes. It also explores faculty change adoption tendencies and change leadership styles for those who led groups through a newly integrated curriculum. METHODS: This is a mixed-methods study using qualitative and quantitative inquiry in three phases of data collection with two subject sets. In the first phase, qualitative data was collected from interviews with a subset of 12 subjects to inform creation of a researcher-designed survey, which was used in the second phase collecting responses from a larger pool of 55 subjects. The third phase collected quantitative data from an externally-validated instrument, Change Intelligence (CQ) (Trautlein, 2013), which assessed change leadership styles of the subset of 12 subjects who experienced all changes studied. RESULTS: BUSM faculty members are motivated towards continuous improvement of the curriculum to foster students’ success. Faculty are challenged by compressed time to plan and implement change and when change is mandated without opportunity for pre-decision input. BUSM faculty adopt changes at higher rates than the normal curve defined in Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, 2003). The subset of 12 subjects assessed for change leadership styles focus on people and process when leading change. CONCLUSION: Medical education change studies on the faculty perspective are limited. This study provides insight and recommendations for future study and successful change.

В работе проведён комплексный анализ информационного сопровождения процесса принятия решения о покупке образовательных онлайн-продуктов дополнительного профессионального образования (ДПО) в интернет-среде. Рассмотрены существующие модели принятия решения о покупке и их развитие, определена сущность информационного сопровождения и факторы цифровой среды, влияющие на процесс покупки. Методом экономико-статистического анализа определены характеристики онлайн-рынка образовательных продуктов и тенденции его развития. С помощью информативно-целевого анализа изучен опыт информационного сопровождения лидеров рынка, а так же определены потребительские предпочтения в организации информационного сопровождения методом глубинных интервью. Результатом работы является усовершенствованная модель принятия решения о покупке образовательного продукта уровня ДПО с учётом особенностей информационного сопровождения в современной интернет-среде, проверенная методом A/B-тестирования. Результаты исследования могут широко применяться при построении маркетинговых и коммуникационных стратегий создателями образовательных продуктов и рекламными агентствами. / The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the informational support of the decision-making process on the purchase in EdTech market. The author considered existing models of customer decision-making process, the definition of informational support and digital era factors that influence a decision-making process. The economic and statistical analysis was held to measure the EdTech market. The author applied an informative and targeted analysis to define how market leaders organize informational support. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted to determine consumer preferences. The result of the work is an improved model of decision-making on the purchase of an educational product on the EdTech market. The model was tested with the A/B-testing method. The results of the study can be widely used in the development of marketing and communication strategies both by EdTech product owners, and advertising agencies.

Denna studie har undersökt hur lärare involveras i utvecklingen av IT-system som de förväntas använda i sitt arbete samt vilka möjligheter och utmaningar de finner i ämnet. Sveriges regering har satt som mål att bli det ledande landet i världen inom digitalisering i skolan. Detta har haft till följd att kommuner runtom i Sverige köpt in IT-system från Edtech-företag för att nå dessa mål. Följande har lett till starka reaktioner från lärare då dessa IT-system inte medför enbart positiva ting. Studien har utförts utifrån lärarnas perspektiv. För att göra detta arrangerades fem interjuver med lärare i varierande undervisningsnivåer, skolor och kommuner vilka ansågs kunna ge riklig och god information. Resultatet har för avsikt att lyfta fram den nuvarande situationen för involvering av lärare i utvecklingen av IT-system samt vilka möjligheter och utmaningar detta för med sig. Studien förväntas ge värde till lärare, skolor, kommuner och Edtech-företag. Vidare anses den även vara relevant för investerare, entreprenörer och politiker som även dem arbetar för att på ett bättre sätt digitalisera den svenska skolan. Resultatet visar att användarinvolvering i utvecklingen av IT-systemen är undermålig. Det finns dock goda möjligheter att involvera lärare i form av vilja att involveras, även genom att upprätta en stadigare och rakare kommunikation från Edtech-företagen. Vidare visar resultatet på att det finns utmaningar i form av att ett större deltagande från lärare i utvecklingen av IT-systemen kan krävas, eftersom läraryrket är brett och komplext. Slutligen talar även studien för att tid behöver avsättas i syfte att involvera lärare mer, och att kommuner behöver se över sin roll i att göra vägen mellan lärare och utvecklare kortare. / This study has researched how teachers are involved in the development of IT systems they expect to use in their work and what opportunities and challenges they find in the subject. The Swedish government has set a goal to becoming the leading country in the world within digitalization in school. This has resulted in municipalities around Sweden have bought IT-systems from Edtech companies to be able to reach those goals. Which has led to strong reactions from teachers since these IT systems does not always entail positive things. The study has been carried out from the teachers’ perspective. To achieve this, 5 interviews were arranged with 5 teachers in varying level of education, schools and municipalities which were considered to provide rich and good information. The result of the study is intended to highlight the current situation for the involvement of teachers in the development of IT systems and what opportunities and challenges the situation presents. The study is expected to give value to teachers, schools, municipalities and Edtech companies. Furthermore, it is considered relevant to investors, entrepreneurs and politicians who also work to digitize the Swedish school in a better way. The result shows that the involvement of teachers in developing IT systems is poor. But there are good opportunities in involving teachers in the form of willingness to be involved, also opportunities by establish a firmer and more straightforward communication from Edtech companies. The result shows that greater participation in developing the IT systems is needed, since the teacher profession is broad and complex. The study also shows that more time needs to be set aside with purpose to involve the teachers more, and that municipalities needs to look over their role in the situation and make the path between teachers and developers shorter.

Background                   The single most important thing for a start-up is to define how they will satisfy their customers’ needs, as it is the key to survival. This can be done by creating a value proposition that presents the benefits of the product and/or service being sold.  Customer involvement have been proven to contribute to both higher customer satisfaction and productivity. It can also make value propositions more accurate and make a start-up gain new customers. A successful value proposition often leads to a higher perceived value for customers, making them willing to pay a higher price.  Despite the benefits, start-ups rarely involve their customers in the creation of value propositions, and there is little research on how this affects the value propositions. Therefore, these research questions were formulated:      Research questions         RQ1: How does customer involvement influence customer value propositions?  RQ2: How can customer involvement be facilitated for start-ups in the creation of value propositions?      Method                           The study consisted of a literature review and a case study. In the literature review, success factors were investigated for value propositions and customer involvement along with answers to how customer involvement could be facilitated for start-ups. The case study was performed at a start-up company in the EdTech sector where a value proposition created solely by the case company (without customer involvement) was compared to a new value proposition with customer involvement, created in this study. Both were placed in the framework of the value proposition canvas. The value proposition with customer involvement was based on ten interviews with both customers and potential customers in the customer segment.       Findings                         The findings show that the value proposition with customer involvement was broader, more extensive and included more important customer needs. There is also a low risk of missing latent needs.  To facilitate customer involvement for start-ups, the findings suggest that the customer involvement must cost little time and money. Social media can be used as a platform for gaining generic information about customers while a few deep relationships with customers can generate deeper understandings about customer needs. Findings also suggest that a third party can generate objective information about key customers with low time and money costs. / Bakgrund                       Det viktigaste för ett nystartat företag är att definiera hur de ska tillgodose sina kunders behov eftersom det är nyckeln till överlevnad. Detta kan göras genom att skapa ett värdeerbjudande som presenterar fördelarna med den produkt och/eller tjänst som säljs.  Kundinvolvering har visat sig bidra till både högre kundnöjdhet och högre produktivitet. Det kan även göra värdeerbjudanden mer exakta samt genererar nya kunder till nystartade företag. Ett framgångsrikt värdeerbjudande leder ofta i sin tur till ett högre upplevt värde för kunderna vilket gör dem villiga att betala ett högre pris.   Trots fördelarna involverar sällan nystartade företag sina kunder vid skapandet av värdeerbjudanden, och det finns bristfällig forskning på hur detta påverkar värdeerbjudandena. Därför formulerades dessa forskningsfrågor:       Forskningsfrågor           FF1: Hur påverkar kundinvolvering värdeerbjudanden? FF2: Hur kan kundinvolvering underlättas för nystartade företag vid skapandet av värdeerbjudanden?      Metod                             I studien utfördes en litteraturstudie och en fallstudie. I litteraturstudien undersöktes framgångsfaktorer för värdeerbjudanden och kundinvolvering samt svar på hur kundinvolvering kan underlättas för nystartade företag.  Fallstudien utfördes på ett nystartat företag inom EdTech-sektorn där ett värdeerbjudande som skapats enbart av företaget (utan kundinvolvering) jämfördes med ett nytt värdeerbjudande som skapats under fallstudien, med kundinvolvering. Båda placerades i en värdeerbjudande-canvas. Det kundinvolverade värdeerbjudandet baserades på tio intervjuer med kunder och potentiella kunder i målgruppen.       Resultat                         Resultatet visar att det kundinvolverade värdeerbjudandet var bredare, mer omfattande och inkluderade fler viktiga kundbehov. Dessutom så är risken för att missa latenta behov låg. För att underlätta kundinvolvering i nystartade företag tyder resultaten på att kundinvolveringen inte får kosta mycket tid och pengar. Sociala medier kan användas som en plattform för att utvinna generisk och bred information om kunder medan några få djupa relationer med kunder kan generera djupare förståelser kring kundens behov. Resultaten tyder också på att en tredje part kan genera objektiv information om nyckelkunder på ett tids och kostnadseffektivt sätt.

The educational system is going through a rapid shift towards digital learning, a phenomenon happening all over the world. This thesis examines the possibilities and conditions for digital learning amongst primary school children living in the township Kayamandi in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The project was carried out as a case study and has used a focused ethnographic approach. The objective was to conduct an explorative study of digital learning in a smaller township and to provide an understanding of the educational system, technology adoption in schools and among children, children's and teachers' digital literacy, and what opportunities for digital learning exist today. Three Kayamandi schools in Stellenbosch have been visited for observation: Kayamandi Primary School, Ikaya Primary School, and A.F. Louw Primary School. In addition, interviews have been conducted with different stakeholders within education, as well as focus groups and a survey with the children. Among the findings this master’s thesis shows that a digitalisation is ongoing but that there is an uneven accessibility to digital technologies and data which could be tackled with a tailored digital strategy. This study also notes on positive effects from using edtech programs and indicates that personalised learning and gamification might be key to success for digital learning in a township. A preliminary conclusion is that there are possibilities for digital learning, but the conditions are complex and various contextual factors need to be addressed in a collective and mindful manner. / Utbildningssystemet går igenom en snabb förändring mot digitalt lärande, ett fenomen som händer över hela världen. Denna avhandling undersöker möjligheterna och förutsättningarna för digitalt lärande bland grundskolebarn som bor i kåkstaden Kayamandi i Stellenbosch, Sydafrika. Projektet utfördes som en fallstudie och har använt ett fokuserat etnografiskt tillvägagångssätt. Målet var att genomföra en explorativ studie av digitalt lärande i en mindre kåkstad och att ge en förståelse för utbildningssystemet, teknikanvändningen i skolorna och bland barnen, barnens och lärarnas digitala kunskaper och, vilka möjligheter till digitalt lärande som finns idag. Tre Kayamandi-grundskolor i Stellenbosch har besökts för observation: Kayamandi Primary School, Ikaya Primary School och A.F. Louw Primary School. Dessutom har intervjuer genomförts med olika intressenter inom utbildning, samt fokusgrupper och en enkät med barnen. Bland resultaten visar denna masteruppsats att en digitalisering pågår men att det finns en ojämn tillgänglighet till digital teknik och internet som skulle kunna hanteras genom en skräddarsydd digital strategi. Denna studie noterar också positiva effekter av att använda edtech-program och indikerar att personligt lärande och spelifiering (gamification) kan vara nyckeln till framgång för digitalt lärande i en kåkstad. En preliminär slutsats är att det finns möjligheter för digitalt lärande, men förutsättningarna är komplexa och olika kontextuella faktorer behöver hanteras på ett kollektivt och medvetet sätt.

[pt] Este trabalho procura olhar para as tecnologias educacionais – especialmente aquelas com Inteligência Artificial (IA), a grande promessa da atualidade – a partir de questionamentos críticos, evitando a ideia de neutralidade que comumente é atribuída a elas, inclusive na literatura acadêmica. O objetivo geral é analisar discursos sobre IA promovidos por empresas de tecnologia educacional (edtechs) que oferecem tecnologias voltadas para o ensino-aprendizagem. Os específicos são: 1) examinar como a IA é concebida nos discursos das edtechs; 2) investigar os papéis atribuídos às tecnologias nos processos de ensino e aprendizagem e 3) caracterizar as concepções de educação veiculadas nesses discursos. A Análise de Discurso Crítica foi o referencial teórico-metodológico que orientou as análises, partindo das categorias dos pressupostos, escolhas lexicais e modalidade. O corpus é composto de textos retirados dos sites e de dezessete postagens do Instagram de três empresas selecionadas: a Letrus, a Educacross e a Jovens Gênios. Nos discursos analisados, a IA é concebida como solução para diversos problemas educacionais e posicionada ora como sujeito, ora como ferramenta para a aprendizagem. A IA aparece com o papel de personalizar a educação, tornando a aprendizagem mais significativa e a educação mais objetiva e eficiente, baseada em dados, democrática e inovadora, além de capaz de suprir deficiências do trabalho docente. As empresas difundem uma concepção de educação baseada em desempenho, organizada por competências e habilidades, individualista, marginalizando a relação entre educador e estudante. Os discursos expressam um ideal de educação que valoriza a qualificação individual em detrimento das dimensões de socialização e subjetivação, portanto distante de ideais de formação ampla e transformação social. / [en] This work seeks to address educational technologies through critical questions, avoiding the idea of neutrality that is commonly attributed to them, including in academic literature. The general objective is to analyze discourses on artificial intelligence (AI) promoted by educational technology companies (edtechs) that offer technologies aimed at teaching-learning. The specific objectives are: 1) to examine how AI is conceived in edtech discourses; 2) to investigate the roles assigned by edtechs to technologies in teaching and learning processes; and 3) to characterize the conceptions of education conveyed by these discourses. Critical Discourse Analysis was the theoretical-methodological framework that guided the analyses, starting from the categories of assumptions, lexical choices and modality. The corpus is composed of texts taken from websites and seventeen Instagram posts from three selected companies: Letrus, Educacross and Jovens Gênios. In the material analyzed, AI is conceived as a solution to various educational problems and positioned either as a subject or as a tool for learning. AI appears with the role of personalizing education, making learning more meaningful and education more objective and efficient, based on data, democratic and innovative, in addition to being able to overcome deficiencies in teaching. Companies disseminate a conception of education based on performance, organized by skills and abilities, markedly individualistic, marginalizing the relationship between educator and student. The discourses express an ideal of education that values individual qualification to the detriment of the dimensions of socialization and subjectivation, therefore far from ideals of broad training and social transformation.

Technical SMEs develop products in isolation from customers in order to have shorter time to market. However, this approach may result in a mismatch between customer needs and the product value. This research paper investigates value co-creating activities which technical SMEs can undertake with their customers to improve the value of the product and their relationship with the customers. The research paper is a case study of a Swedish technical SME, Interspectral, and their software product for the education market. The study uses a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with teachers in Sweden and Australia. A four-step process is used to first understand what value the product brings customers (students and teachers), the current resource integration activities and co-production activities done by customers and finally what value co-creating activities are perceived as important for customers to grow the relationship with the company. The results show that the dialogue between the customer and the firm is most important for customers during value co-creation and facilitates information access and control. Furthermore, specific co-production activities and resource integrating activities are outlined. The implication of the study is that nonmarket actors’ value co-creation should be assessed by considering the constraints placed by the service ecosystem.

Artificiell Intelligens har på senare tid exploderat i både kommersiell och privat användning, vilket förändrar hur vi arbetar, studerar och får tillgång till information. Vanliga typer av AI-tjänster är chatbots och språkmodeller. ChatGPT är en språkmodell som har blivit populär sedan tjänsten lanserades i november 2022. Med hjälp av ChatGPT kan användare exempelvis generera programmeringskod, få svar på frågor, undersöka olika ämnen och översätta mellan språk. Introduktionen av ChatGPT har skapat en debatt om hur den ska användas i lärandemiljöer. Idag har vi inte tillräcklig kunskap om hur man använder AI i utbildning på ett effektivt sätt, vilket syns i tidigare studier som visar att det finns en rädsla kring AI och utbildning. Däremot finns det stor potential i att använda språkmodeller som ChatGPT i utbildning eftersom det kan fungera som en handledare för varje elev på ett sätt som en mänsklig handledare inte kan tack vare den ständiga tillgängligheten av tjänsten. Forskningsfrågan för uppsatsen är: Hur använder studenter AI-tekniken ChatGPT som ett verktyg för självständigt lärande? En ytterligare underfråga formulerades med avsikten att utforska problematiska aspekter av att använda ChatGPT i utbildning: Vilka möjligheter och risker upplever studenter med ChatGPT som ett verktyg för självständigt lärande? Studien genomfördes med hjälp av en kartläggningsstrategi, med kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer som datainsamlingsmetod. Nio intervjuer genomfördes med studenter som har använt ChatGPT flera gånger för sina studier. För att analysera intervjuerna användes en tematisk metod. Resultaten av studien visar några sätt som studenter använder ChatGPT på för självständigt lärande och inkluderar att använda språkmodellen för inspiration och idéer, be om förklaringar för att få en översikt över ett ämne, generera programmeringskod samt sammanfattning och omformulering av text. En allmän användning var att behandla ChatGPT som en digital handledare. Några av riskerna och nackdelarna med att använda ChatGPT som ett verktyg för självständigt lärande är felaktig information som produceras av språkmodellen, rädsla för plagiering och en oro för att bli alltför beroende av verktyget, vilket kan leda till en minskning av lärandet. Studien begränsas av det faktum att endast ett litet antal intervjuer kunde genomföras, vilket förhindrar generaliseringar från de resulterande uppgifterna. Resultatens överförbarhet kan bedömas genom att jämföra dem med framtida forskning inom området. Studien anses inte ha några negativa etiska eller samhälleliga konsekvenser, eftersom etiska aspekter har beaktats i studiens metodik. Detta uppnås genom att säkerställa fullständig anonymitet och frivilligt deltagande. Resultaten av studien kan användas för att integrera ChatGPT mer effektivt i inlärningsmiljöer, vilket gynnar både elever och lärare. / Artificial intelligence has recently exploded in both commercial and private usage which is changing the way we work, study and access information. Some common types of AI-services are chatbots and language models. ChatGPT is a language model that has become immensely popular since the service was launched in November 2022. Using ChatGPT, users can for example generate programming code, get answers to questions, research different topics and translate between languages. The introduction of ChatGPT has created a debate on how it should be used in learning environments. Today we do not have sufficient knowledge on how to use AI in education in an efficient manner, which is seen in earlier studies that show that there is a fear surrounding AI and education. On the other hand, there is great potential in using language models like ChatGPT in education since it can act like a tutor for each student in a way that a human tutor can’t thanks to the constant availability of service.The research question of the thesis is: How do students use the AI-technology ChatGPT as a tool for independent learning? An additional sub-question was formulated with the intention to explore problematic aspects of using ChatGPT in education: What potentials and risks do students experience when using ChatGPT as a tool for independent learning? The study is conducted using a survey study strategy, with qualitative semi-structured interviews as the data collection method. Nine interviews were performed, with students who have used ChatGPT several times for their studies. To analyze the interviews a thematic approach was used. The findings of the study show that some ways that students use ChatGPT for independent learning include using the language model for inspiration and ideas, asking for explanations to get an overview of a topic, generating programming code and summarization and reformulation of text. A general usage was to treat ChatGPT as a digital tutor. Some of the risks and cons with using ChatGPT as a tool for independent learning are found to be inaccurate information produced by the language model, fear of plagiarism and a worry of becoming too dependent on the tool, which can lead to a decrease in learning. The study is limited by the fact that only a small number of interviews could be conducted, which prevents drawing any generalizations from the resulting data. The transferability of the results can be assessed by comparing them with future research in the field. The study is considered to have no negative ethical or societal consequences, as ethical aspects have been taken into account in the study’s methodology. This is achieved by ensuring complete anonymity and voluntary participation. The results of the study can be utilized to incorporate ChatGPT more effectively in learning environments, benefiting both students and teachers.

This study used two different sets of data collected through two distinct means during the 2002-2003 school year. To fulfill the federal accountability requirements related to the distribution of monies known as EdTech (2002), the Tennessee State Department of Education required every school within districts that accepted the formula EdTech funds to complete an online survey called the EdTech Tennessee Online Technology Evaluation or E-TOTE. The E-TOTE survey collected information on a variety of topics related to educational technology including questions about teaching and learning, educators' preparation and development, infrastructure, and equipment counts. The other set of data came from a new criterion-referenced portion of the otherwise norm-referenced state-mandated standardized TCAP test given to third and fifth graders to also meet No Child Left Behind accountability requirements for the subjects of math and reading. Evaluations of E-TOTE survey responses revealed that most faculty members at the 1,066 schools examined in this study reported they did not feel comfortable integrating technology to the extent necessary to create fundamental changes to traditional teacher-centered pedagogies. Related to this realization could be that few schools or districts have implemented high-quality communities of learning designed to elevate teachers' levels of understanding to a sufficiently high degree as to help them feel qualified to integrate technology. Furthermore, even though the majority of the networking infrastructure within schools examined in this study seemed to be relatively robust, many reported high student-to-computer ratios often combined with long replacement cycles. Multistep hierarchical regression models were used to account for the variance in the percentage of students in third and fifth grades attaining the advanced proficiency levels in math and reading. The models accounted for a number of nontechnological school characteristics such as school population, number of minority students, number of economically disadvantaged students, and per-pupil expenditure before examining the role of the aforementioned E-TOTE topics in the final step of the regression model. No strong relationships were found to exist between the technological characteristics and the advanced proficiency levels of third or fifth graders in math or reading.