Digital Promise

This design case explores how an AI-supported, narrative-centered science learning game (SciStory: Pollinators) was designed over multiple iterations to support middle schoolers’ socioscientific learning, engagement, and persuasive writing. The case highlights how AI-driven conversational agents were designed to support student-led socioscientific inquiry, and the tensions our team explored as we integrated agents into a story game about community food systems, pollinators, and neighborhood land use.

ABSTRACT This study explores the characteristics, motivators, and enablers of US educators, who earned more than ten micro‐credentials. Although research exists on attitudes and motivators associated with educators newly engaging with micro‐credentials, it lacks insights into learners earning many micro‐credentials. This study uses a mixed‐methods methodology with an explanatory sequential design. About 98 participants completed the quantitative survey and 18 participated in the interviews. Participants noted that their primary interest in pursuing micro‐credentials was ignited by extrinsic factors; however, sustained persistence in earning many micro‐credentials shifted motivators toward intrinsic factors. Participants displayed similar behaviors toward sharing and earning micro‐credentials, perceived value placed on micro‐credentials, the use of micro‐credentials for professional goals, and perceptions of micro‐credential value. This data is significant because there is limited research on the characteristics, motivators, and enablers for earning more than 10 micro‐credentials and describes what participants need for the continual pursuit of micro‐credentials.

Based on work in an ongoing research-practice partnership, we share teacher-designed project-based learning (PBL) units that sought to integrate Appalachian heritage and CT. We offer reflections on the lessons learned in the design and implementation of PBL units in addition to making recommendations for future PBL units that integrate CT and cultural heritage. This work has implications for improving computing education in rural contexts and in PBL settings.

The implementation of the school-based assessment (SBA) came with a system as part of the effort to reduce the workload of teachers in managing the SBA. However, a traditional system is costly and heavily centralized, frequently leading to impediments, delays, irregularities and may even create opportunities for dishonest activities. To enhance the existing traditional system, integrating emerging blockchain technology (BC) is proposed. Given the challenges, complaints, and rejection faced by traditional assessment management systems, this paper presents a conceptual framework based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and diffusion of innovation (DOI) to examine pre-university teachers’ perception of implementation and readiness to adopt BC-based project paper management (BPPM) which is subsequently verified through a qualitative study. This study employs a process that consists of three main steps: a thorough review of existing literature, thematic analysis, and the process of gathering and determining readiness factors. Teachers’ perspectives were successfully gathered from 59 pre-university teachers by posting semi-structured questions in a Telegram group of Malaysian pre-university teachers. The study found that most pre-university teachers support the BPPM implementation with the condition that the system can address two primary concerns: server scalability and confidentiality issues. The effectiveness of BPPM implementation depends on its capacity to meet user needs and expectations while delivering clear benefits, along with superiority compared with existing systems.

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have become increasingly integrated into children’s daily lives, influencing learning, social interactions, and creative activities. This chapter provides an overview of key research fields examining children’s learning from, interactions with, and understanding of AI. Current research indicates that AI has the potential to enhance children’s development across multiple domains; however, ethical considerations need to be prioritized. When children engage in learning activities with AI, they may encounter inappropriate, inaccurate, or biased content. Additionally, children’s social interactions with AI may affect their approach to interpersonal interactions. Finally, children’s developing understanding of the world may make them particularly susceptible to attributing human-like properties to AI, undermining their expectations of these technologies. This chapter highlights the importance of future studies focusing on a child-centered design approach, promoting AI literacy, and addressing ethical concerns to fully harness AI’s potential in child development. Recommendations for parents, technology developers, and policymakers are also provided.

Computational thinking (CT) provides opportunities for students to build the skills they need for everyday life, future academic success, and careers. Increasingly, districts are integrating CT into K-12 disciplinary subjects and a growing number of teachers need the knowledge to lead CT learning opportunities. CT is still nascent in teacher education, however, and not all teachers are receiving professional learning on the job. Teachers need effective methods of support to ensure they are providing students with high quality CT learning opportunities. We present methods of support for integrating CT into schools. The poster highlights four methods to support teacher professional learning: allowing ample time for collaboration, a school-based advocate championing CT integration, posting and promoting curated resources, and a foundational person anchoring the work as the initiative expands. In doing so, this poster provides interrelated examples of teacher support and highlights methods of continuous support for teachers integrating CT across content areas.

As states move to adopt computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) standards to prepare students for an increasingly technological world, school districts are integrating curriculum with CT skills and practices, building the capacity of their teachers and administrators through professional development, and increasing the knowledge infrastructure to support CT opportunities for students. One challenge that districts face when scaling new initiatives occurs when the work becomes siloed to one ''champion'' teacher or a singular motivated department. This poster presents Broward County Public Schools' use of an interactive infographic to build awareness of their CT initiative, including considerations for utilizing an infographic tool and the design decisions made to engage various stakeholders. The poster provides examples of methods to build knowledge of an emerging initiative and adds to the growing body of work in supporting districts as they scale their CS/CT initiatives.

Abstract The EngageAI Institute focuses on AI‐driven narrative‐centered learning environments that create engaging story‐based problem‐solving experiences to support collaborative learning. The institute's research has three complementary strands. First, the institute creates narrative‐centered learning environments that generate interactive story‐based problem scenarios to elicit rich communication, encourage coordination, and spark collaborative creativity. Second, the institute creates virtual embodied conversational agent technologies with multiple modalities for communication (speech, facial expression, gesture, gaze, and posture) to support student learning. Embodied conversational agents are driven by advances in natural language understanding, natural language generation, and computer vision. Third, the institute is creating an innovative multimodal learning analytics framework that analyzes parallel streams of multimodal data derived from students’ conversations, gaze, facial expressions, gesture, and posture as they interact with each other, with teachers, and with embodied conversational agents. Woven throughout the institute's activities is a strong focus on ethics, with an emphasis on creating AI‐augmented learning that is deeply informed by considerations of fairness, accountability, transparency, trust, and privacy. The institute emphasizes broad participation and diverse perspectives to ensure that advances in AI‐augmented learning address inequities in STEM. The institute brings together a multistate network of universities, diverse K‐12 school systems, science museums, and nonprofit partners. Key to all of these endeavors is an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion.