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.

Artificiell intelligens (AI) utvecklas inom bland annat utbildning och teknikens roll inom lärosäten diskuteras i stor utsträckning. AI och dess förmåga besitter möjlighet att leda till innovationer inom lärande och om AI används till sin fulla potential har tekniken förmåga att förstärka människans intelligens. Tidigare forskning fokuserar dock till stor del på tekniska aspekter av AI inom utbildning och det existerar en avsaknad av kunskap rörande hur tekniken faktiskt upplevs och används i praktiken av studenter. Det är nödvändigt att vidare forskning skiftar fokus och undersöker hur de egenskaper AI besitter skiljer sig från traditionella digitala verktyg och hur tekniken kan skapa värde för studenter inom studier. Denna studie ämnar därför att genom en kvalitativ metodansats undersöka hur AI som studieverktyg kan främja studenters studieteknik. Studien bestod av semistrukturerade intervjuer med studenter som testat eller använder AI inom sina studier och resulterade i sju designutmaningar. Designutmaningarna belyser avgörande aspekter av hur AI kan främja studenters studieteknik utifrån de upplevelser och behov studenter uttrycker. / Artificial intelligence (AI) is being developed in various fields, including education, and the role of technology in academic institutions is being widely discussed. AI and its capabilities have the potential to lead to innovations in learning and if AI is used to its full potential, the technology can augment human intelligence. Previous research has focused on the technical aspects of AI in education, and little is known about how the technology is experienced and used in practice by students. It is necessary that further research shifts the focus and investigate how the unique characteristics of AI differ from traditional digital tools and how the technology can create value for students in their studies. This study therefore aims to investigate, through a qualitative methodological approach, how AI as a study tool can promote students' study techniques. The study consisted of semi-structured interviews with students who tested or use AI within their studies and resulted in seven design challenges. The design challenges highlight critical aspects of how AI can promote students' study techniques based on the experiences and needs expressed by students.

Utvecklingen av teknologiska lösningar i skolan har ökat i en drastisk fart, liksom teknologi i övriga delar av samhället. Ögonrörelser vid läsning har tidigare visat sig ha en koppling till läsförmågan, bland annat från studier gjorda på dyslektiker. Ögonrörelsedata kan samlas in med eye-tracker när eleverna läser från en skärm för att analyseras av AI och nivåindela eleverna. Tjänsten tillhandahålls av Lexplore och har funnits tillgänglig för skolor att använda i ca. fem års tid. Till tjänsten tillkommer även ett lärprogram som följer SVR-modellen för läsning, kallat Lexplore Intensiv. I lärprogrammet ingår dels läslistor och böcker för att träna på avkodning och läsflyt, dels lingvistiska aktiviteter för att stimulera språkförståelse. Enligt SVR-modellen, och annan forskning, om läsutveckling föranleder avkodningen övriga delar av läsutvecklingen och ses som ett första steg till att få upp läsflytet. Därför ses automatisering av avkodningsförmågan som en viktig del av lästräning i unga åldrar. Studiens syfte var att undersöka i vilken utsträckning metoden med AI-screening och läslistor kunde bidra till kunskap och utveckling i skolan genom att få en förståelse för effekterna av att använda AI-verktyg för screening av elevers läsförmåga. I studien undersöktes även hur arbetet med läslistor har påverkat undervisningen och avkodningsförmågan hos elever på olika läsnivåer, ur pedagogers perspektiv. Studieresultaten visade att Lexplore-metoden och Lexplore Intensivs läslistor kan vara ett bidrag till att föra jämlikhet i skolan framåt. Detta genom att screeningen ses som objektiv och rättvis samt att resultatet kan användas för olika analyser som dels kan leda till punktinsatser för elever som är i behov av stöd och som dels kan användas på högre nivåer av resursfördelning. Studieresultatet visade också att metoden har underlättat för klasslärare, speciallärare och specialpedagoger i arbetet genom att frigöra tid, underlätta kommunikation och ge ett underlag att utgå ifrån i didaktisk planering. Intensivperioderna och läslistorna visade effekt på eleverna dels genom att de blev bättre på att läsa (vilket var både en upplevd effekt och en effekt som visades vid omscreening av eleverna), dels på ett personvärdesplan då eleverna upplevts som mer självsäkra.

Submitted by Ellen Freitas (ellen.freitas@fgv.br) on 2017-07-28T20:05:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Inovação em Educação e sua Influência nos Modelos Tradicionais de Ensino_Ellen Freitas.vs jun17.pdf: 1271272 bytes, checksum: 0576dd52fd5d4f0722cf1f534382c5b9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2017-08-02T10:44:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Inovação em Educação e sua Influência nos Modelos Tradicionais de Ensino_Ellen Freitas.vs jun17.pdf: 1271272 bytes, checksum: 0576dd52fd5d4f0722cf1f534382c5b9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-02T12:16:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Inovação em Educação e sua Influência nos Modelos Tradicionais de Ensino_Ellen Freitas.vs jun17.pdf: 1271272 bytes, checksum: 0576dd52fd5d4f0722cf1f534382c5b9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-30 / Este trabalho é resultado de uma pesquisa realizada com o objetivo de investigar a influência de startups de educação nos modelos tradicionais de ensino, especificamente em relação ao ensino superior e seu processo de inovação no ensino. Pretendeu-se prover uma visão processual do fenômeno de inovação na educação superior no país, significando aspectos e desafios inerentes tanto às startups quanto aos modelos tradicionais de ensino. Foram realizados levantamentos das principais práticas inovadoras que contemplam a atuação das startups, seus produtos e serviços oferecidos, bem como entrevistas com empreendedores do setor e educadores do Ensino Superior. Concluiu-se que há muito sendo feito em termos de inovação em ensino, mas que ainda existe uma lacuna entre o que é oferecido pelas startups e o que as Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) enxergam como necessário. Ressalta-se que embora a tecnologia tenha papel fundamental na dinâmica de inovação existem ainda os desafios relativos à infraestrutura para colocar em prática as inovações desejadas. Verificou-se também que o processo de inovação em educação é multifacetado, com características peculiares à cada contexto educacional mas que, no entanto, existem questões comuns à formação de professores e apoio institucional. O estudo pretende contribuir com debates já existentes sobre inovação em educação e o fenômeno das startups, a fim de promover uma reflexão sobre os caminhos da inovação em ensino nos modelos tradicionais do Ensino Superior, a partir contexto dos avanços tecnológicos. / This study is the result of a research carried out with the objective of investigating the influence of education startups in traditional teaching models, specifically in relation to higher education and its process of innovation in education. It was intended to provide a procedural vision of the phenomenon of innovation in higher education in the country, meaning aspects and challenges inherent to both startups and traditional models of education. Surveys were carried out of the main innovative practices that include startups, their products, and services offered, as well as interviews with entrepreneurs in the sector and higher education educators. It has been concluded that much has been done in terms of innovation in education, but there is still a gap between what is offered by startups and what Higher Education Institutions (IES) see as necessary. It should be noted that while technology plays a key role in innovation dynamics, there are also infrastructure challenges to implement the desired innovations. It was also verified that the process of innovation in education is multifaceted, with characteristics peculiar to each educational context but, nevertheless, there are common issues to teacher training and institutional support. The study intends to contribute to existing debates on innovation in education and the phenomenon of startups, in order to promote a reflection on the paths of innovation in teaching in traditional models, from the context of technological advances.

The purpose of this dissertation is to undertake a learner-centered exploration of delivery mode relevance in professional learning. Given the increasing pervasiveness of technology-mediated online delivery in nondegree professional learning at the individual and enterprise levels, this study has a particular focus on learning value ascribed by learners to online and in-person delivery in relation to their professional development. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this study to collect and examine data from adult professionals in an effort to determine how value is ascribed to learning. With this aim in mind, this study focused on the following research questions: Are there differences in preferred learning format between men and women? Are there differences in preferred learning format between professionals in varied age groups? Are there differences in preferred learning format between professionals who have engaged in learning online and people who have not? For participants who indicate learning format preferences, how do they define and describe their preferences and on what aspects of the learning experience do they base their preferences? For participants who indicate learning format preferences, how are these participants describing and interpreting meaningful relevance for learning in their day-to-day professional lives? A key driver of this exploration was a scarcity of representative understanding in wider research about the relationship between varied modes of professional learning delivery and professional learning transfer, which has long typified learning value in the adult professional context. By exploring professionals’ learning experiences and delivery mode preferences, this study arrived at several explanatory concepts, to include: learning preference premiums as impactful value-drivers for learners; ubiquitous blend as a comprehensive value-based approach to professional learning design and delivery; and absolute proximity as a deliberate technology-mediated merging of work and learning contexts that supports professionals in achieving full applicability of their learning.

This investigation is carried out with the desire to create a framework for digital learning tools in the region of Guanajuato, Mexico aimed towards primary schools in rural parts of the area. The framework is meant to be an aid in the implementation of technological equipments, especially tablets, and shed light on the most important aspects to take into consideration when designing and creating applications for those. In order to gather data, interviews and user tests were carried out with primary school students as well as with principals and teachers of primary schools in the mentioned area. The results show that clear feedback, intuitive graphics and appropriate levels of difficulty is of importance, as well as adaptability to users. No preference was noted regarding motions or amount of text. Norman’s design principles were additionally confirmed to be one of the vital parts to take into consideration. The challenges that come into the picture when implementing digital tools into classrooms seem to circulate around socio-economic aspects and insufficient resources such as wifi, power supply and personnel. However, these challenges may be worth taking upon, as implementing EdTech can benefit both students and teachers in many aspects and establish learning more in line with the trends in society where technology is on a constant rise. / Denna utredning genomförs med strävan att skapa ett ramverk för digitala lärverktyg i regionen Guanajuato, Mexico riktat mot grundskolor på landsbygden i området. Ramverket är tänkt att vara ett hjälpmedel vid implementering av teknisk utrustning, särskilt surfplattor, och belysa de viktigaste aspekterna att ta hänsyn till när man designar och skapar applikationer för dessa. För att samla in data har intervjuer och användartest genomförts med såväl grundskoleelever som med rektorer och lärare på grundskolor inom nämnda området. Resultaten visar att tydlig feedback, intuitiv grafik och svårighetsgrad är av betydelse, liksom anpassning till användaren. Ingen preferens noterades beträffande rörelser eller mängden text. Normans designprinciper bekräftades dessutom att vara en av de viktiga delarna att ta hänsyn till. De utmaningar som kommer in i bilden när man implementerar digitala verktyg i klassrummet verkar cirkulera kring socioekonomiska aspekter och otillräckliga resurser såsom wifi, strömförsörjning och personal. Men dessa utmaningar kan vara värda att ta sig an eftersom en inkorporering av EdTech kan gynna både elever och lärare i många aspekter och etablera lärande mer i linje med trenderna i samhället där tekniken är på ständig uppgång.

This study used the Magical Garden software and earlier research into computational thinking as a point of departure to explore what metaphors could be used and how a teachable agent could be utilised to introduce debugging and error detection to preschool children between four and six years old. A research through design methodology allowed the researcher to iteratively work divergently and convergently through sketching, creating a Pugh matrix, conducting six formative interviews, and finally creating two hybrid-concepts as paths to teaching debugging in the form of concepts. Many metaphors discovered in the design process and in preschool teachers' daily practices were judged possible for teaching debugging and error detection. The analysis of these resulted in four recommendations for choosing a suitable metaphor when teaching debugging: it should have clear rights and wrongs, it should allow for variation, it should have an easily understandable sequentiality to it, and it should be appropriate for the age-group. Furthermore, six recommendations were formulated for utilising a teachable agent: have explicitly stated learning goals, review them and explore new ones as you go, have a diverse design space exploration, make the learning objective task complex, not the game in general, reflect on if using a TA is the best solution, make use of the correct terminology, and keep the graphical elements simple. These recommendations, together with the hybrid-concepts created, provide researchers and teachers with knowledge of how to choose appropriate metaphors and utilise teachable agents when aiming to teach debugging and error detection to children between four and six years old.

As pricing is vital for an organization’s marketing strategy, it is a significant area to consider for companies offering new products where Artificial Intelligence as a service (AIaaS) is provided. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible pricing models for an AIaaS product. The study was delimited to the edtech industry. The main research question to be investigated was “What pricing model should an AI-company have for its B2B personalization product to correspond to the value delivered by it?”. Sub-research questions consisted of how perceived value can be related to price, what factors the organization should consider for the pricing model and the implications of implementation. The exploratory research was carried out through a literature review, a survey where Van Westendorp’s Price Sensitivity Meter was applied, as well as in-depth interviews to gather qualitative data. The quantitative results showed that the price sensitivity depends on the number of monthly active users a platform has, where there is a negative relationship between the number of monthly active users and the price willing to pay per learner. The qualitative results showed that the perceived value depends, amongst other factors, on which segment the buyer belongs to. The primary results were discussed with the findings from the literature review, which mainly consisted of pricing model for Software as a Service (SaaS) products, that resulted in a designed pricing model for AIaaS providers. The conclusion of the study is that pricing an entirely new product is complicated as the buyer does not know the value of the product. Also, there does not exist one single value which can be quantified and translated into price; the price must be adjusted according to the segment’s perceived value. The pricing model presented accounts for adjustable variables needed to be considered by an AIaaS provider before determining a price. Key-words: AI, AIaaS, edtech, education technology, personalization, price, pricing, pricing strategies, pricing models, pricing tools, pricing AIaaS, software pricing, pricing for new / Då prissättning är viktigt för en organisations marknadsstrategi, är det ett betydelsefullt område att ta hänsyn till för organisationer som erbjuder nya produkter baserade på Artificiell Intelligens as a Service (AIaaS). Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka möjliga prismodeller för AIaaS produkter. Studien var begränsad till edtech industrin. Den huvudsakliga forskningsfrågan var “Vilken prismodell borde ett AI-bolag ha för att dess B2B personifieringsprodukt ska motsvara det levererade värdet ?”. Delforskningsfrågor bestod av hur uppfattat värde kan relateras till pris, vilka faktorer en organisation bör ta hänsyn till för en prismodell samt implikationerna av att implementera den. Den utforskande studien genomfördes genom en litteraturstudie, en webbenkät där Van Westendorps priskänslighetsmätare applicerades, såväl som fördjupningsintervjuer för att samla kvalitativ data. De kvantitativa resultaten visade att priskänsligheten beror av antalet månatliga aktiva användare som plattformen har, vilket visar på ett negativt samband mellan antalet månatliga aktiva användare och priset en är villig att betala per elev. De kvalitativa resultaten visade att det uppfattade värdet beror av vilket segment köparen tillhör. De primära resultaten diskuterades mot resultaten från litteraturstudien, vilka främst bestod av prismodeller för SaaS produkter, och slutade i en framtagen prismodell för AIaaS leverantörer. Slutsatsen av studien är att prissättning av en ny produkt är komplicerat eftersom köparen inte vet värdet av produkten. Det finns heller inte ett enskilt värde som kan kvantifieras och översättas till ett pris; priset måste anpassas enligt segmentets uppfattade värde. Prismodellen som presenteras tar hänsyn till justerbara variabler som en AIaaS leverantör måste utvärdera innan ett pris bestäms.