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This paper presents an implementation of Connected Spaces (CxS)—an ambient help seeking interface designed and developed for a project‐based computing classroom. We use actor network theory (ANT) to provide an underutilized posthumanist lens to understand the creation of collaborative connections in this Computational Action‐based implementation. Posthumanism offers an emerging and critical extension to sociocultural perspectives on understanding learning, by pushing us to decenter the human, and consider the active roles that human and non‐human entities play in learning environments by actively shaping each other. We analyse how students in this class adjusted their help‐seeking and collaborative habits following the introduction of CxS, a tool designed to foster (more inter‐group) collaboration. ANT proposes generalized symmetry—a principle of considering human, non‐human and more than human entities with equivalent and comparable agency, leading to describing phenomena as networks of actors in different evolving relationships with each other. Analysing collaborative interactions as fostered by CxS using an ANT approach supports design‐based research—an iterative design revision process highlighting understandings about design as well as learning—by providing a temporal and informative lens into the relationship between actors and tools within the environment. Our key findings include a framing of technologies in classrooms as bridging agentic gaps between students and becoming actors engaging in different behaviours; learners enacting new agencies through technologies (for instance a more comfortable non‐intrusive help seeker), and the need for voicing and teachers to connect help networks in CxS equipped classrooms. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Collaborative learning is a valuable skill and practice; opportunities to mentor others are critical in empowering minoritized learners, especially in STEM and computing disciplines.School norms solidify a power and expertise hierarchy between teachers and learners and fail to productively support learners in learning from each other.Additionally, lack of awareness about peers' knowledge is a common hindrance in students knowing who to ask for help and how.What this paper adds An example of a designed interface called Connected Spaces with potential to foster more inter‐student collaboration, especially outside of mandated within‐group collaboration—in the form of cross‐group help seeking and help giving.A design based research study using actor network theory highlighting the limitations of Connected Spaces in sparking notable behaviour change among students by itself but being retooled as a teacher support tool in enabling cross‐group collaborations.Presenting conceptions of collaboration through technologies as bridging agentic gaps and acting with new agencies in performing help‐seeking related actions.Provoking the idea of testing emerging technologies in classrooms along with sharing our analyses and reflections with the classroom as a key idea in computing education—surfacing the gap between designed intentions and the different kinds of extra social work needed in the on‐ground success of different technologies.Implications for practice and/or policy Designers and researchers should create and test more interfaces alongside teachers across different classrooms and contexts aimed at supporting different kinds of voluntary collaborative interactions.Curricula, standards and school practices should further center providing students with opportunities to engage as mentors and build communities of learning across disciplines to empower minoritized students.Researchers engaging in design based research should consider using more posthumanist lenses to examine educational technologies and how they affect change in learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The promise of using immersive technologies in learning has increasingly been attracting researchers' and practitioners' attention. However, relevant empirical works are usually conducted in fully controlled Virtual Reality (VR) laboratories, as opposed to conventional settings. This quasi‐experimental study compares the effectiveness of video learning resources to that of stereoscopic 360° VR, as supplements to the traditional instructional approach. The potential of such methods was examined in high school settings, in the context of the 'Life and Evolution' module, with participants (n = 70) divided equally into control and experimental groups. As a point of reference (control condition), we considered the adoption of Video Learning Resources, as students are more acquainted with this instructional method. In the intervention approach (experimental condition), students adopted the use of low‐end mobile‐VR (VeeR Mini VR Goggles). The key findings indicate differences in the learning motivation, confidence and satisfaction, but no statistically significant difference was identified regarding the factual or conceptual knowledge gains. The study offers insights on the potential of the investigated technologies in the subject of secondary school Biology and further provides implications for theory and practice. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicResearchers' interest over the potential of Virtual Reality on different STEM disciplines is increasing consistently.An increasing number of efforts can be identified discussing the integration of multimedia learning resources in the secondary school context.Empirical studies on the subject of Biology are focusing on students' academic performance and achievement but not on learning motivation and satisfaction.What this paper addsThis quasi‐experimental study comparatively examines academic performance, with the focus being on learning motivation and satisfaction, across different modalities (stereoscopic 360° Virtual Reality applications‐VR, Video Learning Recourses‐VLR).The findings demonstrate that both instructional methods are sufficient in enhancing students' knowledge acquisition and academic performance.The adoption of stereoscopic 360° VR influences students' learning motivation and impacts long‐term memory retention.Implications for practice and policyEducators are advised to consider the systematic adoption of "immersive" multimedia tools to enhance the subject of Biology as they can greatly encourage scientific inquiry.Instructional designers are advised to adopt open educational resources aligned to the curriculum of the local context.Educational researchers are advised to integrate stereoscopic 360°‐VR solutions in the conventional classroom settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socially shared regulation contributes to the success of collaborative learning. However, the assessment of socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL) faces several challenges in the effort to increase the understanding of collaborative learning and support outcomes due to the unobservability of the related cognitive and emotional processes. The recent development of trace‐based assessment has enabled innovative opportunities to overcome the problem. Despite the potential of a trace‐based approach to study SSRL, there remains a paucity of evidence on how trace‐based evidence could be captured and utilised to assess and promote SSRL. This study aims to investigate the assessment of electrodermal activities (EDA) data to understand and support SSRL in collaborative learning, hence enhancing learning outcomes. The data collection involves secondary school students (N = 94) working collaboratively in groups through five science lessons. A multimodal data set of EDA and video data were examined to assess the relationship among shared arousals and interactions for SSRL. The results of this study inform the patterns among students' physiological activities and their SSRL interactions to provide trace‐based evidence for an adaptive and maladaptive pattern of collaborative learning. Furthermore, our findings provide evidence about how trace‐based data could be utilised to predict learning outcomes in collaborative learning. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Socially shared regulation has been recognised as an essential aspect of collaborative learning success.It is challenging to make the processes of learning regulation 'visible' to better understand and support student learning, especially in dynamic collaborative settings.Multimodal learning analytics are showing promise for being a powerful tool to reveal new insights into the temporal and sequential aspects of regulation in collaborative learning.What this paper adds Utilising multimodal big data analytics to reveal the regulatory patterns of shared physiological arousal events (SPAEs) and regulatory activities in collaborative learning.Providing evidence of using multimodal data including physiological signals to indicate trigger events in socially shared regulation.Examining the differences of regulatory patterns between successful and less successful collaborative learning sessions.Demonstrating the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to predict collaborative learning success by examining regulatory patterns.Implications for practice and/or policy Our findings offer insights into how students regulate their learning during collaborative learning, which can be used to design adaptive supports that can foster students' learning regulation.This study could encourage researchers and practitioners to consider the methodological development incorporating advanced techniques such as AI machine learning for capturing, processing and analysing multimodal data to examine and support learning regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamification is typically implemented digitally. However, digital gamification is not always possible because of limited resources and logistical problems. It is thus necessary to explore low‐threshold gamification methods that can be easily adopted in classrooms. One such method is non‐digital gamification using physical game design elements. Currently, the literature provides a limited understanding of the design and effects of non‐digital gamification. It is also unclear whether mixed gamification (ie, a combination of digital and non‐digital gamification) is better than purely non‐digital gamification. We explored these topics using an explanatory sequential mixed‐methods design to compare the effectiveness of non‐digital gamification in a face‐to‐face course and mixed gamification in a blended course in terms of student learning achievement, cognitive engagement and course satisfaction. Two secondary grade classes were randomly assigned to the mixed (N = 52) or non‐digital (N = 52) gamification conditions. Contrary to our expectations, the quantitative results showed that the two approaches improved the students' learning achievement to the same extent. Although the students in the non‐digital gamification condition reported significantly higher‐course satisfaction than those in the mixed condition, the improvement in student cognitive engagement was significantly greater in the mixed gamification condition than in the non‐digital condition. Through focus group interviews, we analysed the students' learning experiences and synthesised the factors that influenced student cognitive engagement and course satisfaction. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Gamification is increasingly being used to increase student engagement and enhance learning.Gamification studies have mostly focused on digital modes, which often require gamified digital platforms or applications.Non‐digital gamification can be an effective method to foster learning, but the design and evaluation of non‐digital gamification is at an early stage.What this paper adds We designed non‐digital and mixed (ie, a combination of digital and non‐digital) gamification programmes and compared their effects using an explanatory sequential mixed‐methods design.Both gamification approaches led to a similar improvement in learning achievement.While non‐digital gamification fostered students' course satisfaction, mixed gamification was more effective in improving students' cognitive engagement.Implications for practice and/or policy Non‐digital gamification can be an effective low‐threshold solution for instructors. It is worth further improving the non‐digital gamification approach in school settings as it is cost‐effective and can be transferred between classrooms.The benefits of mixed gamification should not be ignored because of its affordances that improve students' cognitive engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass school closures and restricted mobility during the Covid-19 pandemic have intensified matters of technology, teaching, and participation in schools. In response to this situation, this paper examines how attendance practices work during school closure and screen-saturated pandemic isolation at a Swedish upper secondary school. The aim is to empirically and theoretically explore school closure attendance by focusing on the sets of strategies and enactments that make school 'attendable' when being 'in the right place at the right time' becomes ambiguous. A relational materialist methodology is deployed with online interviews with six teachers during the first pandemic wave in 2020. The analysis traces empirical events that enact different school closure attendance devices: the video roll call, attendance performance, and 'click like' in the Microsoft Team-feed. The article highlights how attendance monitoring shifts and how attendance acts upon teaching, and vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conversational agents can deepen reasoning and encourage students to build on others' knowledge in collaborative learning. Embedding agents in group work, however, presents challenges where groups may ignore the agents, and this calls for designs where students perceive agents as learning partners. This study examines group interactions with two text‐based agents (ie, chatbots) that posed as an expert and a less knowledgeable peer in a high school marine biology lesson. Student messages (N = 1764) from 18 groups (52 students ages 14–15) received codes for reasoning, building on prior ideas, and responsiveness to the agents. Results indicate no differences between agents in how often each discussion move occurred. Interestingly, sequential pattern mining suggests that the less‐knowledgeable‐peer agent prompted groups to show questioning and building on others' ideas, similar to how students may act as peer tutors to the agent. Meanwhile, sequences with the expert agent resembled student‐teacher exchange, where groups responded to the agent's nudges and then provided reasoning. Findings illustrate the affordances of embedding humanized features in technology designs to promote discussion. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Conversational agents can facilitate group discussions, but can get abused or ignored by student groups.To engage students, agent designs can simulate the characteristics of familiar classroom figures, such as peers or teachers.There are limited explorations of how student groups adapt their interactions to different agent designs in collaborative settings.What the paper adds Illustrations of the utilities of diversifying agent designs in collaborative learning.Insights into the unique interaction patterns that student groups displayed to different designs, such as questioning and building on others' ideas with a less‐knowledgeable‐peer agent.Implications for practice and/or policy Embedding signs of humanness in classroom facilitation and technology design can foster responsiveness among users.Pedagogy can consider adaptive designs to promote interaction sequences that contribute to learning (eg, questioning, expanding on prior ideas) at opportune moments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increasing digitisation, interest in digital personalised learning (DPL) continues to grow. Many empirical studies on the effect of adaptive tools have used a wide variety of conceptualisations and operationalisations of DPL. This systematic review aims to address the lack of consensus by presenting an analysis of empirical studies on technology for DPL in primary and secondary education. The work is guided by the following questions: (1) What are some different conceptualisations used in DPL research? (2) What types of tools are used in the studies and how are they implemented? (3) What is the current evidence on the impact of DPL with regard to student outcomes considering the nature of the current studies? A Boolean search string was used in the databases Web of Science and ERIC, resulting in a dataset containing 6,908 papers. A screening based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria yielded 53 papers. Our findings revealed a great diversity in DPL conceptualisations, with several authors not defining the concept and others providing information regarding different elements such as technology, personalisation, personalisation target, personalisation source, personalisation method and personalisation outcomes. In line with these differences in conceptualisation of DPL, several DPL tools were used across the studies. Concerning the impact of DPL, a positive trend was observed on learning outcomes, although methodological differences need to be considered. The review ends with guidelines for future research. Practitioner notesWhat is already known There are many definitions and terms concerning DPL, resulting in a lack of consensus in conceptualisation.There is a wide variety of DPL tools with different adaptive dimensions.Many authors emphasise the benefits of DPL in educational practice including a possible impact on learning gains.What this paper adds Contribution to a thorough understanding of the conceptualisation of DPL.Insights into the diversity in DPL tools building on a framework of adaptivity by Vandewaetere and Clarebout (2014) and adds focus on tool implementation as a context element.Insight into the impact of DPL taking into account study design and outcome indicators.Implications for practice and/or policy An overview of the affordances of DPL to educational researchers, educational policy makers, and teachers is provided that can encourage them to think about its opportunities for everyday practice.Concrete suggestions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creativity is widely described as a key '21st Century skill'. Science education in schools has emphasized the development of science inquiry and problem-solving skills with the support of technology, and paid insufficient attention to creative thinking skills for producing innovative ideas or solutions. This paper presents an exploratory study aiming to investigate how secondary school students engage in scientific creativity tasks with the support of technology, in particular how they generate ideas in small groups via applying relevant thinking strategies, engaging in social communication, and constructing a computer-based mind map to facilitate group thinking. The participants were 24 Grade 11 students from a high school, who worked on a set of scientific creativity tasks in 6 groups. Epistemic network analysis of group conversations reveals that constructing a mind map helped students to retain ideas for elaboration and evaluation, stimulate new threads of discussion, and regulate task progression. Compared to low-performing groups, high-performing groups engaged more in divergent thinking, mind mapping, and regulative discussions, in addition to making these activities more closely connected with idea generation. These findings have implications for the design of technology-supported educational interventions intended to promote and improve group creativity in science education. • We investigate how students generate ideas together via computer-based mind mapping. • Mind mapping helps retain thoughts, stimulate new ideas, and regulate discussions. • High-performing groups engaged more in thinking, mapping, and regulative discussions. • Mapping, thinking, and idea generation are more connected in productive discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]