Paraskevi Topali

Radboud University | RU · Behavioural Science Institute

The widespread use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, has come along with multiple benefits in education (e.g., 24h teacher, augmenting student monitoring). However, at the same time, these tools hinder teachers' autonomy, limiting the capacity and freedom to exert control over students' actions and their learning...

Background Personalised and timely feedback in massive open online courses (MOOCs) is hindered due to the large scale and diverse needs of learners. Learning analytics (LA) can support scalable interventions, however they often lack pedagogical and contextual grounding. Previous research claimed that a human‐centred approach in the design of LA sol...

The recent advances in educational technology enabled the development of solutions that collect and analyse data from learning scenarios to inform the decision-making processes. Research fields like Learning Analytics (LA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) aim at supporting teaching and learning by using such solutions. However, their adoption in au...

Feedback plays an integral role in the learning process serving as a vital component for improvement and motivation. Typically, teachers provide feedback by considering various factors, such as the specific course context, the timing, and learners’ needs. However, when designing feedback in settings like Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), challen...

The use of videos in teaching has gained impetus in recent years, especially after the increased attention towards remote learning. Understanding students’ video-related behaviour through learning (and video) analytics can offer instructors significant potential to intervene and enhance course designs. Previous studies explored students’ video enga...

Background Providing feedback in massive open online courses (MOOCs) is challenging due to the massiveness and heterogeneity of learners' population. Learning analytics (LA) solutions aim at scaling up feedback interventions and supporting instructors in this endeavour. Paper Objectives This paper focuses on instructor‐led feedback mediated by LA...

Learning computer programming comes along with several benefits for students , since it enhances problem-solving thinking and promotes skills important for the 21st century. Previous studies highlighted how computer programming stimulates students' motivation and even supports students who face learning difficulties. Building on such context, the c...

On-demand help is suggested among the means of reinforcing help-seeking behaviors. This paper presents Help-Button, a closed-loop mechanism for Learning Management Systems that provides students a channel for on-demand support requests, and at the same time informs the teachers about students' progress to intervene accordingly. To explore Help-Butt...

The provision of personalized and timely feedback can become challenging when shifting from face-to-face to online learning. Feedback is not only about providing support to students, but also about identifying when and which students need what kind of support. Usually, educators carry out such activities manually. However, the manual identification...

Learning computer programming can be challenging for primary school students due to its abstract concepts. While teachers seek effective ways to introduce such concepts, the application of learning objects (LOs) can potentially reduce the effort of creating new material from and allows teachers to adapt LOs to students’ needs. Although numerous LOs...

Providing adequate support to MOOC participants is often a challenging task due to massiveness of the learners’ population and the asynchronous communication among peers and MOOC practitioners. This workshop aims at discussing common learners’ problems reported in the literature and reflect on designing adequate feedback interventions with the use...

In spite of the high impact of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), learners frequently disengage from the course contents and activities due to unexpected problems of different natures, such as content‐related or technical issues. Feedback has been identified as an important aspect of the learning process directly connected with learners' engageme...

The use of Conversational Agents (CAs) in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has shown promising results regarding students’ productive dialogue and learning. Yet, limited work has explored the connection between the configuration of the CA behavior, the nature of the learning task, and the student behavior in authentic educational se...

Lack of timely instructors’ support when the learners are struggling with the course contents and activities is one frequent problem of MOOC learners. The early identification of these learners could help instructors spend part of their limited time assisting them and avoid potential dropouts. This paper presents a MOOC case study that explores the...

The current learning environments focus on the development of skills which are related to problem solving, creativity and critical thinking addressing the needs of learners in today’s society. Computer programming includes this kind of skills and it is placed at the center of attention of the educational policy. Approaching programming is a difficu...

Although Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been reported as an effective educational tool offering numerous opportunities in online learning, the high dropout rates and the lack of learners’ motivation are factors concerning researchers and instructors. The one-size-fits-all instructional approach that most courses follow, failing to address...

Studies have shown that teaching programming to students is often a difficult task. The programming language itself is not as much a challenge as the concepts and structures, which define it. This paper explores the use of educational robotics to introduce basic programming concepts through meaningful teaching and learning activities with the hands...

Μελέτες έχουν δείξει ότι μαθητές δημοτικού σχολείου μπορούν να αναπτύξουν αλγοριθμική σκέψη, γνώσεις και δεξιότητες προγραμματισμού. Αυτές ενισχύονται όταν τα παιδιά εμπλέκονται στη δημιουργία δικών τους εφαρμογών – παιχνιδιών προγραμματίζοντας σε περιβάλλοντα οπτικού προγραμματισμού. H παρούσα εργασία διερευνά τα μαθησιακά αποτελέσματα και το ενδι...