RoboTutor, educational technology developed at Carnegie Mellon University that teaches children basic math and reading skills, has been named a semifinalist in the $15 million Global Learning XPRIZE competition.
The first known use of the word, computer, was actually in reference to a job title, not a piece of technology. In spite of the past trend for men to more frequently take on the job of computer scientist, the first recognized computer programmer was a woman named Ada Lovelace. These are two facts out of hundreds shared in the new PBS Digital Studios Crash Course series on computer science, with weekly episodes posted to YouTube.
Erroneous examples, step-by-step examples of incorrect problem solving, is a pedagogical approach used in only a few fields, such as medical education. Bruce McLaren, an associate research professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, recently received a grant of just under $1 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to research why learning from erroneous examples is successful and how it might be integrated into instruction more generally.
What does a gorilla, toppling towers and a postdoctoral fellow from Carnegie Mellon University have in common? They are all part of the mixed platform game, NoRilla, that teachers young students physics. Nesra Yannier, the postdoc and graduate of the HCII Ph.D. program, developed the game and ran demonstrations on April 13 for the department's Demo Day.
Like the fickle Goldilocks, game players are said to seek a game experience that is not too hard and not too easy, but just challenging enough. Or at least, that has been the general assumption. It is easy to imagine that a game can be too difficult for a user to enjoy. But can a game be too easy to enjoy? Researchers from the Human-Computer Interaction Institute developed a study to test the benefits of difficulty levels in a game environment.
"Can games be too easy, or too boring?" they asked.
Amy Ogan, assistant professor at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, joined fellow researchers at the Technology in English event; a conference for researchers and influencers in personalized learning, teacher training, community building and more who are dedicated to leveraging technology solutions to effectively overcome challenges in specific regions across the globe.
The Master of Educational Technology and Applied Learning Science degree is proud to announce that its most recent graduating cohort successfully reached 100% career placement, a statistic they have kept since the program’s inception in 2013.
Why do so many students drop out of MOOCs before completing the class? This is a question that has interested Carolyn Rosé, associate professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute and Language Technologies Institute, and prompted the research behind her tool, Bazaar.
Jennifer Olsen, a fifth year Ph.D. student in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII), will be joining five other Carnegie Mellon University students as a recipient of the 2017 Siebel Scholarship. Olsen, whose research focuses on advanced learning technologies, will receive a $35,000 award for her final year of studies.
The Siebel Scholarship History
It's not everyday that a Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) capstone project brings you to the White House to present your work, but that's what happened for Masters of Educational Technology and Applied Learning Science (METALS) student Kathy Yu.
