MIOCTI · Modeling and Integration of Orchestrated Classrooms through Tangible and paper Interfaces

Despite the considerable investment on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructures at local, European and worldwide levels, much of the technology available in our schools and universities remains under-utilized. Although insufficient technical training is often posed as an excuse for such underuse, ICT’s current lack of integration with the rest of the classroom processes (e.g. learning activities using pen and paper, homework, etc) and the inefficiencies that such lack introduces, are a more likely culprit. Thus, these supposedly ICT-enhanced classrooms are currently hard to manage (i.e. to orchestrate) productively, given the current divide between digital media and other analog technologies present in the classroom ecosystem, such as pen and paper.In the current proposal, the prospective fellow will jointly work with the CRAFT group at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland), combining bottom-up observation of classroom workflows with top-down theorizing (e.g. based on Shannon’s Information Theory) to produce more complete models of classroom orchestration. Moreover, classroom orchestration itself will be enhanced by the application of tangible and paper user interfaces (through objects already present in most classrooms), and the leveraging of augmented reality (AR) techniques (now available even on inexpensive hardware). The combination of these theoretical and technological contributions will help produce a more efficient classroom, which is at the same time natural to both teachers and students. This proposal not only will help the researcher to attain a more complete set of research and complementary skills (including contacts with startups in the educational technology industry). Also, this project has the potential to increase the impact of ICTs in everyday formal education, a competitive advantage that Europe cannot afford to lose.