Institute of Digital Technologies: Research Agenda 2020

Mart LaanpereHead of the Centre for Educational

Technology

Current state of research in IFI

• Digital Learning Ecosystems (prof. T.Ley): 22 researchers (incl. 5 lecturers and 1 docent); interdisciplinary research focusing at conceptualizing, modelling and designing new forms of technology-enhanced learning systems, distributed adaptive socio-technical systems consisting of learners and digital learning artifacts

• Human-Computer Interaction (prof. D.Lamas): 5 researchers, 14 PhD students; diverse topics ranging from ubiquitous computing to aesthetics and semiotics

Institutional strategy of TLU

• Structural reform: 6 institutes, 5 focus areas, 5 centres of excellence (3 research-oriented)

• TLU centre of excellence: a 3-year PROJECT to increase the research capacity, resulting with a strong research center (requirement: 10 FTE researchers at least)

• Most of IFI-s current and future projects (incl staff) belong to the centre of excellence on Educational Innovation, coordinated by the Institute of Educational Sciences

ERA Chair goalsBudget: 2.6 MEUR (self-funding 0-0.2MEUR)Duration: July 2015 – June 2020Coordinators: Mart Laanpere, Katrin Poom-Valickis, Invent BalticsBy establishing the ERA Chair position the project aims to:1. Establish the necessary conditions for developing the existing and emerging research

competence that builds on (and enhances) the synergy of the various disciplines contributing the study of learning and teaching in technology-rich environments;

2. Establish the necessary research management principles (IPR registration, technology transfer, analyses of research application areas, launching new R&D projects) and provide managerial capacity building trainings for TLU research staff;

3. Developing a strategy and a cooperation framework for aligning research directions and cooperation projects in line with the Estonian smart specialization strategy;

4. Increase the participation of the TLU in Horizon 2020 and other EU innovation funds; 5. Enhancing the capacity of TLU to contribute to national and European economy;6. Increase the visibility and leadership of TLU research excellence and increase the level of both

national and international cooperation to set-up long lasting strategic partnerships in ERA;7. Facilitate organizational spill-over effects from ERA Chair management to TLU at large. 8. Increase TLU capacity in research based teacher education; and contribute to the

development of next-generation digital learning environments, resources and educational policies in Estonia, especially focusing on learning analytics tools and methodologies that make use of big/open/linked data for enhancing feedback, evaluation and improvement on classroom, school, municipality and national levels.

ERA Chair activities• Recruitment of the ERA Chair position (M9) and formulating

respective research teams (M12)• Developing a strategy and a cooperation framework for developing

research excellence and leadership in Baltic region along the directions of the Estonian smart specialization strategy and Lifelong Learning Strategy

• Contribution to European research in educational sciences• Establish the necessary research management principles for ERA Chair• Provide managerial capacity building trainings for research staff• Introducing ERA Chair management principles at TLU at large• Upgrading the technological base and research equipment of TLU• Increasing the visibility of TLU scientific excellence and setting-up of

long-lasting strategic partnerships in ERA

National level initiatives

• IKTP (national program on ICT, applied research): undecided

• IT academy: undecided• Ministry of Education and Science: Education

at Glance, PIAAC, PISA, ICIL…• Lifelong learning strategy: system of

indicators, monitoring, open data• National level centres of excellence

Grand vision of DTI research 2020• A stronger focus will be put on data analytic applications and on learning analytics. Several

initial publications have been resulting from cooperation with international partners, and we will seek to intensify our attempts to secure funding in the next EU Horizon 2020 calls. This is in line with a stronger general aim to address data analytics approaches in education and in society more generally.

• We will also continue a project with the Competence Center of Data-driven business and Big Data Analytics to improve our understanding of data-driven applications for learning and knowledge building.

• A thematic focus will be put on lifelong learning and transitions of learners between formal and informal learning scenarios.

• A group on serious games and game-based learning is currently being built up. Three PhD students have recently started working on this topic and several smaller grants have been secured.

• With several projects we will also continue to explore learner-artefact interactions in physical settings (such as through Augmented Interfaces for workplace learning, or in educational games contexts)

• Broaden the focus from only educational context to e.g. Collective Awareness Platforms that can be used to address societal challenges (and H2020 calls), such as inclusive city, healthy lifestyle etc.

The next steps• New project applications: – COST network on Learning Analytics in Digital Ecosystems

(LADE), was submitted yesterday by Kairit Tammets– Twinning, 7 May by Terje Väljataga– SmartZoo (Interreg Central Baltic) in July by Mart– H2020 TEL call in 14 April: – Other?

• New partnerships: industry, academia, schools, policymakers, other institutes within TLU

• New PhD students: topics pre-defined, associated with our research projects, cumulative

Discussion