Research

The mission of the School of Computing is to research, evaluate and apply the benefits of technology to learning and teaching, seeking to develop an empowering, creative and engaging learning environment that knows no boundaries. Research in the school revolves around the building and evaluating of innovative technology based learning environments and artefacts that can promote and support learning and teaching.

Goals

To enhance ongoing research support programme to enable faculty to conduct research by:

• Providing financial support and reduced teaching to enable researchers to undertake research.
• Establishing regular research meetings through the School-based research group, Research in Education and Learning Technology (REALT).
• Supporting and encouraging publication of peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters and books, as well as other types of publications.
• Creating an internal technical report series within the School.
• To continue to attract and financially support experienced visiting international researchers to develop and support the research programme of NCI.
• To build on the existing taught and masters by research programmes by developing a structured PhD programme:
• Obtaining HETAC approval for PhD by research.
• Developing a supportive model of postgraduate supervision and research training.
• Implementing a robust set of quality standards and procedures.
• To develop collaborative research projects with international researchers and other institutions.
• To obtain further research funding through competitive applications to EU research programmes, Government departments and agencies (e.g. SFI, IRCSET, PRTLI programme) and industry.

As part of the process in establishing a centre of excellence in e-Learning, NCI successfully received funding from Science Foundation Ireland to manage and direct a Research Agenda Forum, which was held in the autumn of 2004. The forum brought together leading international experts, Irish researchers, and industry representatives to develop an innovative e-Learning research agenda based on two themes: lifelong learning and the enabling power of broadband structure. (E-Learning Roadmap website).

The School has placed a particular emphasis on the development of the capability and the competence of faculty through the development of expertise in research methods, updating knowledge in the field of learning and technology-enhanced learning, and the preparation and presentation of research papers that are of a publishable quality. The School has sought to promote a research culture that facilitates collaboration on research activities. The School also places a strong emphasis on the dissemination of research, which is done through production of reports, published papers, books, textbooks and conference papers. There are currently two European funded research projects, a major FAS funded project and an SFI supported fellowship. The School places a strong emphasis on high quality standards in supervision, enhancement of research supervision skills, implementation of quality review mechanisms, the monitoring of research student progression and the presentation by students of their research at seminars.

Since 2004 the School of Computing has focused its research on technology-enhanced learning. The faculty are actively involved in publications in this area and presenting papers at international conferences. Some of the topics on which faculty have been working include:

• Development of rich interactive content: KESP and KnowIT programmes
• Personalised Adaptive learning (Weibelzahl, Muntean)
• Pedagogical models (Kelly, Maher, Janetzko) (dialogue systems)
• Mobile Learning (Hayes)
• Science of learning (Maher, Pathak)
• Developing pedagogical applications (O’Loughlin)
• Evaluation & Assessment (Weibelzahl, O’Loughlin, Janetzko)
• Authoring tools (Muntean)
• Architecture for e-learning & Adaptive Hypermedia Systems (Muntean, Stynes)

Current and future research directions

Research in the School is focussed in three sub-areas:

1. Science of technology-enhanced learning: this group aims to understand and define the components for the most appropriate pedagogical features for technology-enhanced learning.
2. Adaptive Learning Technologies: this group is looking after the funded projects UP2UML and Adaptive Learning Spaces. Members of this group have published numerous papers.
3. Workplace Learning: this group is responsible for looking after and undertaking research on the projects KESP and KnowIT.

The fundamental research questions being addressed by faculty in their research concern:

• Investigating the use of modern technologies (SMS) to enhance the quality of learning (Hayes).
• User-oriented personalisation of the e-learning material in order to maximise learner quality of experience with the e-learning system as well as the learning outcome (Muntean).
• Creation of a framework to best use students learning styles and preferences (Maher).
• In what way can technology best support the home tutoring process and can an adaptive educational system support the parent in developing home tutoring best practice? This research addresses how the adaptive intelligent educational system, P.A.C.T., explores these challenges and indicates the effect of providing personalised support on parents home tutoring skills (Lahart).
• Dialogue systems: supporting learning and assessment (Janetzko).

The focus of research being undertaken by the School’s postgraduate students, and in line with faculty research interests, is on:

• Adaptive educational systems
• Adaptation to learning styles of the content
• Designing, development and evaluation of Dialogue systems for Education
• Motivation and Intention in e-Learning environments
• Mobile technologies to support education
• E-Learning specifications and standards (IMS LD, SCORM)