ICT in schools – ban or promote?
In many countries, there is a debate about banning digital media in schools, and some have already taken this step. The media present political and educational arguments in favour of this, most of which are not substantiated. The lecture will trace these discussions and ask whether the restrictions or bans on digital media in schools in different countries are a political agenda or one that is supported by empirical research in education. In addition, international studies will be used to provide an evidence-based answer to these questions. On this basis, two demands are made of educational science and ICT research: firstly, to develop evidence-based statements on the use of ICT in schools, which secondly must be brought to the public through the media in order to be able to make serious educational policy decisions.
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Professor emeritus of Pedagogy and Media Education at the University of Mainz/Germany. Until 2025 he is Senior Research Professor for Digital Literacy at the University of Mainz. Stefan Aufenanger was full professor and head of the working group ‘media education’ at the faculty of social sciences at the University of Mainz since 2004. From 2009 to 2014 he served as Dean of the Faculty of social sciences, media, and sports. From 2014 to 2019 he was a member of the Council of the Johannes Gutenberg-University. He holds a university degree in pedagogy, psychology and sociology and a Doctor title in Sociology from the University of Mainz. Previously, he was professor of Pedagogy and Media Education at the University of Hamburg for eleven years. Also, he has been the Academic Director of the ‘Foundation of Reading Promotion’ (Stiftung Lesen) in Germany from 2006 to 2010. At the same time he was a Member of the Media Literacy Group at the Directorate „Information, Society, and Media“ of the EU-Commission (Brüssel). Before becoming Professor, he had worked at several universities in Germany and Switzerland. His main research topics are digital media and the family, television and children, children and advertising, multimedia in education, moral education, and qualitative research methods.
Learning and Teaching about AI/ML in K-12 Computing Education: Bridging Research and Practice
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) methods and systems are transforming the world we live in, influencing numerous aspects of our daily lives. Empowering everyone to understand AI/ML phenomena in their everyday lives, as well as being involved in shaping this “digital world,” is a central task for the K-12 subject of computer science. However, AI/ML poses significant challenges for computing education: Given the rapid evolution of the field, what should be taught to prepare students not only for the near future but for the next 30 to 40 years? How should we teach AI/ML, given the lack of empirical evidence and practical classroom experience (to date)? And how do we prepare computer science teachers for this topic, in which they need to develop both content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge? This keynote will explore these challenges by drawing on insights from different research projects, offering perspectives for research and practice in computing education.
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In his work in the field of computing education, Prof. Tilman Michaeli not only aims at explaining the digital world and its phenomena but also wants to enable everyone to actively and creatively shape this world. To this end, he combines empirical and design-oriented research with a strong focus on the K-12 teaching practice. His main research areas are debugging in K12 education, Data and AI Literacy, and digital competencies for teachers of all disciplines. Tilman Michaeli studied computer science for the teaching profession in secondary education at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg until 2017. Afterwards, he worked as a research assistant at the Professorships for Computing Education in Erlangen and at Free University of Berlin, where he
finished his PhD. In 2021, he took over the Professorship for Computing Education at the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology in Munich.
What does ‘play’ look like when your toys are smarter than you?
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are non-human intelligences that combine encyclopedic knowledge with complex but imperfect reasoning. When we connect an LLM to an autonomous mobile robot, we conjure up an intelligent agent that shares our physical world and can interact with us in many possible ways. Imagine playing “hospital” with a toy robot that knows enough medicine to pass board licensing exams. My students and I have been building an interface betwween GPT-4o and the VEX AIM robot that allows us to explore this potential of AI-powered robot toys. I will describe our results to date and what the future may hold.
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David S. Touretzky is a Research Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. He is the founder and chair of AI4K12.org, which has been developing national guidelines for teaching AI in K-12. He is also a principal investigator on the “AI for Georgia” project (AI4GA.org), which is developing and testing an AI elective course for Georgia middle school students, and is now expanding into Texas and Florida. Dr. Touretzky is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Senior Member of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, and was named a Distinguished Scientist by the Association for Computing Machinery.
How the use of Analogies in Machine Learning can provide near state of the art results with few ressources: A case study in extracting semantic information from textual data
Analogies is an important phenomenon that has preoccupied philosophers and scientists at least since antiquity with Aristotle and Theon of Smyrna. In more recent years it has been characterised as being “at the core of cognition” (Hofstadter 2001). In this talk, after briefly introducing various approaches for modelling analogies, we will illustrate how analogies can be used for identifying semantic information on a text. Using Frame Semantics and specifically FrameNet (Baker et al., 1998; Baker 2017) we will show how the use of analogies during classification can provide results that are close to the state of the art, while using very few computational ressources, in the form of a simple MLP Neural Network. Due to the small size of our model, we will show it can achieve near optimal results using a subset of the available data. We will close this talk with potential applications of this framework for Education.
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Stergos Afantenos is an Associate Professor at the University of Toulouse, France. After completing his undergraduate studies at the Informatics Department of the Athens University of Economics and Business in 2000, he carried his PhD research on Automatic Text Summarisation as a fellow at the NCSR “Demokritos”, obtaining his PhD from the National and Technical University of Athens in 2006. He carried his postdoc research in laboratories in Marseille, Nantes and Toulouse where he joined the faculty as a permanent member in 2010. Stergos Afantenos has worked on various aspects of Computational Linguistics, including Automatic Summarization, Discourse Parsing and Analogies. His work has been published in various journal articles and book chapters as well as top Computational Linguistics conferences. He has supervised more than 10 masters thesis and 3 PhD students. He has participated or been the principal investigator in several national projects funded by French funding organisms (TEXT-ECOP, AT2TA, DATCHA, Polymnie, ASFALDA, ANNODIS, PIITHIE) or the European Research Council (STAC). He is a reviewer for major NLP conferences, such as ACL, EACL, EMNLP, Coling, and also artificial intelligence conferences such as IJCAI or ECAI.
Building a Coherent Educational Ecosystem
The formation of a coherent educational ecosystem is a timeless goal of every educational effort. The balanced coexistence of established pedagogical approaches with digital technologies such as interactive learning systems and open learning resources seems to enhance the adaptability, personalization and collaborative dimension of the educational process. At the same time, the utilization of data resulting from digital learning interactions offers new possibilities for improving teaching and making informed decisions. In this context, the possibilities and challenges of the transition will be analyzed, focusing on the dynamic relationship between technology, pedagogy and data analysis.
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Spyros Doukakis has completed undergraduate studies in Mathematics at the University of Patras and the University of Amsterdam (with a scholarship from the State Scholarship Foundation) and has obtained a second degree in Informatics from the University of West Attica. He has completed postgraduate studies in “Computer Communications and Networks” at Leeds Beckett University in Great Britain, in “Basic and Applied Cognitive Science” in the inter-institutional program of the National University of Athens and the National University of Athens, and in “Studies in Education” at the Hellenic University of Athens. After his appointment as a doctor in the field of education with an emphasis on digital technologies at the University of the Aegean, he completed postdoctoral research in educational neuroscience at the Ionian University. He serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Informatics of the Ionian University. Since August 2023, he has been President of the Institute of Educational Policy. He has worked as a head of an academic department and an educator at the American College of Greece, as a special advisor for the professional development of teachers at the Institute of Educational Policy, and has taught in undergraduate and graduate programs of the Hellenic Academy of Education, the University of Thessaly, the former TEI of Athens, ASPAITE, and the Hellenic Police Academy. He has received a Fulbright scholarship for research in the USA and has been awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award by the Harvard Club of Boston. His research interests include computer science teaching, educational neuroscience, distance education, and educational technology.
Because imagination precedes memory
Since the late 1970s, ICT applications have been treated sometimes as an educational tool, sometimes as educational material, sometimes as a subject of knowledge, sometimes as a social or professional environment. Certain applications are prohibited in schools, sometimes imposed as equipment for laboratories and/or classrooms and/or school units. Similar fluctuations and concerns are recorded in the field of Computer Science Teaching up to the recent version of algorithmic or computational thinking. Scientific development, now linked to technological possibilities, has highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary and collaborative research and teaching. Transitions to new places of learning, new goals and teaching methods have on the one hand highlighted the multiplicity and diversity of learning processes. In these two fields, competition is currently developing and exclusions are taking place, often violently and with a basic reference or alibi to digital technologies. The embarrassment of market pressure and the insufficient perception of the systemic nature of educational organizations lead official policies to simplistic practices of extreme elitism or militaristic populism, while experimentation, tolerance and inclusiveness retreat, drying up the educational character of education and directing it towards training versions. It is therefore necessary to reflect so that educational planning takes into account the recursive nature of each educational reform and the complex interaction with its digitized and digital versions. In this environment, the central role of School Units as learning organizations within the framework of an Educational Redesign with simultaneous international, regional and local characteristics is posed in new terms. The integration of the logic of ICT evolution into educational redesign can be intertwined with a reformist logic towards the inclusive expansion of the student population, towards the reconstruction of School Units as learning organizations in the face of permanent and/or unpredictable phenomena of educational discontinuity caused by the ever-connected natural and humanitarian disasters.
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Frangiskos Kalavassis is Professor of Mathematics Teaching and Educational Engineering at the University of the Aegean and Research Associate at the LAREQUOI Laboratory (Laboratoire des Recherches en Qualité, Organisation, Intelligences) of the Université Saclay, UVSQ in France. His research approach focuses on the detection of epistemological and psychogenetic dimensions in the construction of mathematical thinking and its interdisciplinary connections in relation to the emerging intelligence of the school structure in interaction with the family, social and digital environment. He has published over 100 research papers in scientific journals, conference proceedings and collective volumes. He has edited 22 scientific books and has served as scientific director in international research programs (Erasmus, Tempus, Interreg II & III). He has organized national and international scientific conferences and research meetings. He is an elected member of CIEAEM (International Commission for the Study and Improvement of Mathematics Teaching), has served as First Vice-President of the Hellenic Mathematical Society, as well as Director of the Laboratory of Learning Technology and Instructional Engineering of the University of the Aegean and of the Postgraduate Program “Science Teaching and ICT in Education: An Interdisciplinary Approach” (2014-2023).
Recent international publications
– Fragkiskos Kalavasis (2023) Décrire l’indescriptible : les schémas de la complexité dans l’éducation, Les Cahiers de la Chaire Réseaux et Innovations, No 3
– F. Kalavasis and A. Moutsios-Rentzos (2023) Re-constructing the Image of Mathematics Through the Diversity of the Historical Journeys of Famous Mathematicians in S. Romero Sanchez et al. (eds.), The Role of the History of Mathematics in the Teaching/Learning Process, Advances in Mathematics Education, Ed. Springer
– Fragkiskos Kalavasis (2022). Mathematics and the real world in a systemic perspective of the school, Les Cahiers de Recherche de Larequoi Vol. 2021/2, France
– Moutsios-Rentzos, A., Pinnika, V., Kritikos, G., & Kalavasis, F. (2020). Appearances of the equals sign in primary school mathematics and natural sciences: an interdisciplinary, systemic approach. Quaderni di Ricerca in Didattica (Mathematics), 7, 285-294.
He has also published three poetry collections by Gutenberg, Colored Shadows (201, Lalon Water series), The Variety of Repetition (2015, Lalon Water series) 2015), Enigmatic Touches (2020), as well as the short story collection Palindromic Short Stories (2022).
AI and the Future of Education
Artificial Intelligence (AI) significantly impacts European labor, with estimates suggesting that 32% of existing jobs will undergo radical changes, and half of all jobs could be automated. The transition necessitates new skill sets and preparation to ensure effective collaboration between humans and machines, reducing potential social inequalities. Future research should prioritize enabling individuals to harness AI for community benefit. Educational initiatives like the EU’s Digital Education Action Plan emphasize early development of digital competencies, including AI knowledge. The OECD Learning Framework 2030 and UNESCO’s initiatives support integrating AI skills broadly across disciplines, promoting lifelong learning. The European Commission’s 2021 AI coordination plan builds on these principles by urging member states to expand AI education across various non-technical fields. Despite these strategies, a significant portion of Europeans lack sufficient digital skills, indicating a need for greater investment in AI education and alignment with modern pedagogical approaches. Prof. Mangina will provide information on the latest projects on AI for education.
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Eleni Mangina completed her PhD at the University of Strathclyde, UK, specializing in Agent-based applications for intelligent data interpretation. She holds an M.Sc. in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc in Agricultural Science from the Agricultural University of Athens. Since 2002, she has been with the School of Computer Science at University College Dublin, Ireland, where she is now a Professor and Vice Principal (International) for the College of Science. Her research spans applied AI in various sectors and she leads several national and EU projects, including H2020 and Erasmus+. Mangina has published over 300 peer-reviewed works and contributes to IEEE standards and ethics in XR.
Education & Technology: 40 Years of CTI DIOFANTOS
Education, at all levels, is an important area of application of Information and Communication Technologies. The DIOFANTOS ICT Institute, as the technological pillar of the Ministry of National Defence, has contributed significantly to the utilization of ICT in primary and secondary education in Greece. Its activities include the development, operation and evolution of systems, services and digital content for the electronic governance of education, the school classroom, as well as training and certification. In its 40 years of operation, the DIOFANTOS ICT Institute has evolved into a leading organization in linking research with production, promoting cutting-edge technologies in the productive operation of systems and services with an emphasis on education. The speech will present the historical evolution of the application of ICT in the e-governance of education, in the classroom, training and certification, as well as the directions, challenges and opportunities of the new actions of the DIOFANTOS ICT Institute within the context of the dramatically evolving field of ICT.
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D. Serpanos is President of CTI DIOFANTOS and Professor at the University of Patras, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Technology. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering (1985) and a PhD in Computer Science from Princeton University (1990). He has served as President of the Governing Board of the University of Western Greece (2010-2013) and Director of the Institute of Industrial Systems (2008-2013, 2016-2021). His research interests include computer systems architecture, cybersecurity, and embedded and cyber-physical systems.