Proposals accepted
The HELMeTO Conference aims at bringing together researchers and practitioners working in Higher Distance Education Institutions or studying Online Learning Methodologies to present and share their research in a multidisciplinary context.
The conference provides a forum for the discussion of new research directions and applications in these fields, where different disciplines could effectively meet.
Aim and Scopes
Nowadays, learning is taking place in extremely diverse and rich environments, the incorporation of contextual information about the students in the learning process has attracted increasing interest. Such contextualization is researched as a paradigm for building smart systems that can better predict and anticipate the needs of students, and act more efficiently in response to their behavior.
The objective of this special track is to provide a forum for the discussion of recent research trends and applications of smart systems integrated with artificial intelligence approaches for context-aware education. Forum will offer an opportunity for instructors, researchers, instructional designers, and administrators to identify and discuss new promising research directions in this challenging scenario.
Potential Scopes of Interest
Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
- Context-Aware Systems for Learning
- Tools for combining AI and education
- Formal methods for AI and education techniques
- Software for knowledge acquisition and representation
- Intelligent search engines for education analytics
- Learning analytics for educational environments
- Smart learning and laboratory experience
- Experiments and Assessment
- Classroom, Laboratory, Learning, and Course Management Systems
- Computational Thinking
AI techniques applied to education include but are not limited to:
- Machine and Deep Learning
- Explainable Artificial Intelligence approaches
- Process Mining
- Neural Networks, Generative Adversarial Networks, Reservoir computing
- Evolutionary Algorithms
- Swarm Intelligence, Simulated Annealing, Tabu Search
- Probabilistic Reasoning
- Fuzzy Logic
- Game Theory
- Logic and reasoning and Knowledge representation
Organizers
Special Track Leader Organizer:
- Pasquale Ardimento, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
Co-Organizers:
- Pasquale Ardimento, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
- Mario Luca Bernardi, University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy
Organizers' biography:
Pasquale Ardimento pasquale.ardimento@uniba.it
Pasquale Ardimento received the Ph.D. degree in computer science from the University of Bari. In 2004, he collaborated as a Research Student with the Department of Engineering, University of Durham, U.K. From 2005 to 2007, he was a Contract Researcher with the University of Bari. Since 2008, he has been a Researcher with the Computer Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro. He has authored more than 60 articles published in journals and conference proceedings. His main research interests include software engineering (maintenance, testing, data mining on software systems, software quality assurance, and computational intelligence). He serves both as a member of the program and organizing committees of conferences and as a Reviewer for articles submitted to some of the main journals and magazines in the field of software engineering and software maintenance. He was involved in several national research projects and European projects and served as a Reviewer for many international and national conferences.
Mario Luca Bernardi bernardi@unisannio.it
Mario Luca Bernardi received the Laurea degree in Computer Science Engineering from the University of Naples "Federico II", Italy, in 2003 and the Ph.D. degree in Information Engineering from the University of Sannio in 2007. He is currently an assistant professor of Computer Science at the University of Sannio. Since 2003 he has been a researcher in the field of software engineering and his list of publications contains more than 80 papers published in journals and conference proceedings. His main research interests include software engineering (maintenance, testing, business process management, reverse engineering and data mining on software systems, software quality assurance with particular interest on internal quality metrics and on new paradigms for software modularity, including aspect-oriented software, component-based software, and model-driven development).
He serves both as a member of the program and organizing committees of conferences, and as associate editor and reviewer of papers submitted to some of the main journals and magazines in the field of software engineering, software maintenance and program comprehension.
Aim and Scopes
The return to normality that marks this post-pandemic period conveys ambivalent social needs, on one hand the need to remove the social vulnerability that, in many fields, the pandemic, has dramatically revealed, on the other a transversal need for professional reflexivity (Viviani 2021).
During the pandemic, university teaching is one of the professional fields that has had to reinvent itself most and suddenly, innovating course design methods, forms of assessment and discovering new strategies of co-construction knowledge (Ramella, Rostan 2020).
During 2020 and 2021, distance learning, tested in numerous university courses, had the unexpected effect of let appear contiguous and communicating worlds, considered distant and completely different, such as those of distance and face-to-face university learning. (Domenici 2022). Two key elements that reveal the closeness between these worlds are emotions and the engagement in the formation of educational experiences (Chen, Bogachenko 2021).
Virtual teaching environments, commonly considered anonymous and cold, have shown their relational vitality by favoring numerous experiments and bringing out the centrality of the teaching commitment also in higher education (Di Palma, Belfiore 2020; Bozzetti, De Luigi 2021). In their many implementations, these experiments have often integrated artistic languages and texts, particularly suitable, even in a virtual environment, to promote community bonds based on the construction of common emotional worlds (Cleveland-Innes, Campbell 2012; Bruni 2021), on the sharing of emotions aimed at arousing belonging and participation in the didactic environment.
In educational experiences, the analysis of emotions is not new (Lipman 2003; Marchand, Gutierrez 2011), however, it outlines new and interesting lines of research. First of all, it brings out the need for theoretical clarification: which theoretical traditions integrate the study of emotions among their principles and with which methodological implications? Secondly, it brings to light the need to investigate the relationship between emotions and teaching (Taylor 2019). Finally, in an online educational environment, the analysis of emotions has the aim of clarifying the functioning of the virtual learning environment in relation to the face-to-face educational environment. How are emotions born in an online course, what is their relationship with personal engagement on a learning community (Williams 2017)? In particular, the connection between emotions, learning communities and art appears particularly interesting for research (Tota, De Feo 2022). In an online university course, inclusion of texts or artistic contents what consequences has on formation of a learning community? How does it shape the learning environment? What technical and professional requirements does it require?
Potential Scopes of Interest
Starting from the interaction of different disciplines, the session aims at collecting and analyzing elearning practices that focus on the functions of emotions in university courses.
In particular, the call aims at reflecting on the relationship among emotions, community building and art and to reconstruct the teaching methods and participatory mechanisms that could clarify it.
It is mainly aimed at teachers and researchers interested on the:
- emotional presence in building an online learning community
- aspects of interaction (emotional intelligence, empathy, affect)
- emotional responses experienced in an e-learning environment
- effects of emotional presence on disciplinary knowledge
Organizers
Special Track Leader Organizer:
- Fiorella Vinci, eCampus University
Co-Organizers:
- Fiorella Vinci, eCampus University
- Antonella De Blasio, eCampus University
Organizers' biography:
Prof. Fiorella Vinci fiorella.vinci@uniecampus.it
Fiorella Vinci is Associate Professor of Political Sociology at University eCampus where she teaches in the course of Political and Social Sciences and in the course of Education Sciences. Analyst of the sociology of action applied to social and political development processes, she has dedicated particular interest to the transformation of higher education and to the innovations of teaching practices induced by digital technologies. She is author of several publications.
Prof. Antonella De Blasio antonella.deblasio@uniecampus.it
Antonella De Blasio is Researcher in Literary criticism and comparative literature at the eCampus University. Area of scientific interest and research fields: literature theory, cognitive narratology, semiotics, advertising language.
Other co-organizers, with their contacts and affiliations
- Fabrizio Barpi, Politecnico di Torino
- Davide Dalmazzo, Politecnico di Torino
- Antonella De Blasio, eCampus University
- Fiorella Vinci, eCampus University
Aim and Scopes
This proposal is in continuity with a previous research activity, presented in 2021 through a qualitative-quantitative investigation, around the theme of the "perception of the space of learning" at a distance, aiming to understand and describe the perception of "interpersonal distance" in the relationship between teachers/learners and learners, through art based methodology focused on theatrical techniques and performative practices that have seen the role of the body as a mediator of relationship and knowledge.
The objective of this research is to examine, in what terms a specific experience of laboratory teaching at a distance, centered on performance, can affect perception of the empathic relationship, the interaction/ activation of the learners, the perception of the other (body language, gaze, tone of voice), useful elements to graft a meaningful teaching process based on "a shift from an "experience-of" some object to an "experience-with", which can signify a kind of participatory online learning experience.
Potential Scopes of Interest
Online pedagogy and learning methodologies, Online training, Learning models, Distance education.
Organizers
Special Track Leader Organizer:
Nadia Carlomagno, Professoressa Associata Ped/04, Suor Orsola Benincasa University
Organizers' biography:
Nadia Carlomagno nadia.carlomagno@gmail.com
PhD in "Qualità della formazione, sviluppo della conoscenza e saperi delle differenze" at the University of Florence, she is Associate Professor of Experimental Pedagogy at Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples, where she is scientific director of the International Research Group Education: "Bio-Educational Embodied Research on Performing Activity" (B-ErPa). At the same university she directs the Level I Master Course in "Teatro, pedagogia e didattica. Metodi, tecniche e pratiche delle arti sceniche", and the Level II Master in "Arti performative. Teatro, pedagogia e didattica. Metodi, tecniche e pratiche delle arti performative". She is a member of the Scientific Research Committee of the Centre for Theatre Culture and Initiative (CIT) "Mario Apollonio" at the University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, and she is a member of the Research Group belonging to the Italian Society of Pedagogy (SIPED) "Ricerca e apprendimento trasformativo". She has more than 120 publications, awards and numerous participations in national and international conferences and has been a Visiting Professor at foreign universities. She edits the "Theatre, pedagogy and didactics" section of the Orso Blu publishing series for Scholè, with Pier Cesare Rivoltella.
Aim and Scopes
In the current socio-cultural context, the use of technology, and in particular of the web, cannot be ignored in any field of human life. For education, we note that students naturally tend to use digital resources (videos, tutorials, mathematical softwares). The technological scenario challenges university teachers to investigate how to design new learning environments, integrating classical and digital resources, and how to exploit them for providing students with new ‘augmented’ teaching/learning experiences.
In this strand DIGiMATH – a working group of the Unione Matematica Italiana- is focused on understanding how face-to-face mathematics teaching should be reorganised to integrate and exploit the potential offered by digital environments. The research assumption with respect to technology is twofold: on one hand, specific technological resources can complement face-to-face teaching and help to solve problems identified at various levels, provided that the integration of digital resources and environments into teaching interventions is carefully designed in relation to the didactical objectives; on the other hand technology should be considered as enabling competences and tools, without which some of the didactic scenarios would be more difficult to imagine and, therefore, to realise.
Potential Scopes of Interest
The proposed special track aims to bring together mathematics education researchers and mathematics university teachers for comparing and discussing on-going research studies and existing good practices in universities courses concerning e-learning and mathematics teaching.
Organizers
Special Track Leader Organizer:
- Montone Antonella, Department of Science of Education, Psychology and Communication - University of Bari Aldo Moro
Co-Organizers:
- Albano Giovannina - Department of Information and Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics - University of Salerno, galbano@unisa.it
- Fiorentino Michele G. - Department of Mathematics - University of Bari Aldo Moro, michele.fiorentino@uniba.it
- Pierri Anna – Department of Information and Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics - University of Salerno, apierri@unisa.it
Organizers' biography:
Antonella Montone antonella.montone@uniba.it
Associate Professor (SSD MAT/04) at the Department of Science of Education, Psychology and Communication of the University of Bari Aldo Moro, since 21/12/2019. She is scientific director and coordinator of the Research Group in Mathematics Education of the Department of Science of Education, Psychology and Communication of the University of Bari Aldo Moro. She is currently teaching Arithmetic for Primary School and Mathematics Education at the degree course in Science of Primary Education (i.e. five-years university curriculum which prepares students for teaching in kindergarten or in primary schools) and Mathematics Education for the second-level degree in Mathematics.
Her research activities in Mathematical Education, in collaboration with researchers and teachers of the schools, concern the following research themes: Technological innovation in Mathematical Education: digital classroom, e-learning and their implications in the teaching-learning of Mathematics; Analysis of the interaction between different semiotic systems, graphic, verbal and gestural, for the construction of mathematical meanings through the framework of the Semiotic Mediation Theory at all school and university levels; Adults learning math and co-disciplinary aspects; Cooperative Learning, CSCL (Computer Supported Cooperative Learning) and their implications in the teaching-learning of mathematics, with particular attention to metacognitive aspects; Mathematics in Vocational school: reducing early school leaving caused by Mathematics and by a teaching disconnected from future professional activity.
She is member of CIIM (Italian Commission for Teaching of Mathematics) and she has been member of Board of Directors of AIRDM (Italian Association of Research in Mathematics Education). She is an author of about 90 national and international publications.
Aim and Scopes
Cybersecurity for children has become a rapidly growing topic due to the increased availability of the Internet to children and their consequent exposure to various online risks. Children start going online at an early age and are doing so even more after the sudden rise in remote schooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With increased access to the Internet and the spread of new technologies, children are exposed to risks such as cyberbullying, hacking and loss of personal data. Young children do not recognise risks and do not take appropriate security measures. This can mainly be due to the lack of the required level of digital skills, not only among children themselves, but also among their teachers and parents.
As highlighted in a report by European Parliamentary Research Service (2021), modern education should shape and prepare skilled future European citizens, promoting equitable social participation of all in a digitalized age. However, schools themselves need support in digital transformation. To integrate cybersecurity education into school, starting from the primary school level, it is therefore important to provide children and their teachers with educational ecosystems able to combine digital education with specific cybersecurity education, both in face-to-face and in blended/online learning settings early on. These educational ecosystems would act as protected environments where scaffolding strategies are put in place that can foster the development of specific digital skills, particularly those on cybersecurity. It is also very important to provide not only teachers (who are already working in schools), but also teacher education students with proper training in cybersecurity skills so that they can transfer them to their youngest pupils.
With specific reference to teacher education students, they - as prospective teachers - should be guided already in their university studies to acquire the necessary skills to lead their pupils and equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate safely in the digital world. Prospective teacher training in cybersecurity should include identifying online risks, protecting personal information, preventing cyberbullying, and knowing basic safety rules. To implement these educational pathways in the classroom, prospective teachers should use interactive educational tools such as games, videos and hands-on activities. They should also work collaboratively with parents to educate children about the risks and opportunities of technology and create a safe environment for learning and experimenting. Cybersecurity teacher training at university level is therefore crucial to ensure that schoolchildren receive a comprehensive and integrated online safety education, thus enhancing their ability to navigate safely in the changing digital world.
With these reasonings in mind, the proposed session is to encourage and improve the dialogue about these topics. The aim is to provide a forum for researchers and educators in both academia and school to foster an exchange of research results, experiences, and products in the cybersecurity education in primary school settings, their teachers and their parents, from both a theoretical and practical perspective. Its ultimate goal is to envision new trends and ideas about aspects of gamification platforms and specific games on cybersecurity, having teacher education - and, more generally, teacher professional development - as a reference enactment context.
Potential Scopes of Interest
Welcome topics of interest are (but may not be limited to):
- cybersecurity education
- digital education
- game-based learning approach
- applied game on cybersecurity
- digital competences frameworks
- competence-based education
- educational digital environment and content
- blended and online learning (e-learning)
- innovative pedagogical strategies
- augmented reality educational system
- teachers training and teacher education
Organizers
Special Track Leader Organizer:
Ilaria Matteucci, Istituto di Informatica e Telematica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IIT-CNR), Pisa, Italy
Co-Organizers:
- Giorgia Bassi, Istituto di Informatica e Telematica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, giorgia.bassi@iit.cnr.it
- Stefania Fabbri, Istituto di Informatica e Telematica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, stefania.fabbri@iit.cnr.it
- Manuel Gentile, Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, manuel.gentile@itd.cnr.it
- Flavio Manganiello, Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, flavio.manganiello@itd.cnr.it
- Anna Vaccarelli, Istituto di Informatica e Telematica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, anna.vaccarelli@iit.cnr.it
Organizers' biography:
Ilaria Matteucci ilaria.matteucci@iit.cnr.it
Ilaria Matteucci (M.Sc. 2003, Ph.D. 2008) is a researcher of the Trust, Security and Privacy research unit within the Institute of Informatics and Telematics of CNR. Her main research interests include formal methods for the synthesis of secure systems, analysis of data sharing in service-oriented architectures and policies on personal data privacy. Currently, the research interest is focused on Automotive Cyber-Security. She participates in national and European projects in the field of cybersecurity and she has been involved in several events. Recently, she has been Program Co-Chair of the Track on Security, Privacy, and Trust of AICCSA 2022, the International workshop on Reliability and Security Aspects for Critical Infrastructure Protection (ReSA4CI) and on TEchnical and LEgal aspects of data pRIvacy and SEcurity (TELERISE), International Workshop on Advances on Big Data Management, Analytics, Data Privacy and Security (BigDataMAPS 2018) and the previous edition of the STRIVE Workshop associated to SAFECOMP (the first and second edition) and to IEEE VTC (Third edition).
Aim and Scopes
Artificial intelligence is a topic that has been widely studied in past years. Results have shown capabilities of affording tasks that humans have usually done. Recently, AI-based systems such as ChatGPT and Dall-E have shocked the worldwide community by providing services barely imaginable by humans. The first is a language model capable of delivering an efficient question-answering service, and the second offers an art-based service to draw images from free texts. ChatGPT and DALL-E are not the only AI systems currently accessible by users, many others are available and ready to be used by the general public (e.g., BlackBox AI, ChatSonic, PlaygroundAI, and Perplexity).
The easiness of accessing new AI systems has led students and teachers to use such new tools. Therefore, it is essential to consider the effects of easy-to-access AI systems on the learning process as well as the educational methodologies. Recently, many questions have arisen from the education community about the risks and opportunities of using easy-to-use AI in education. AI might solve many tasks such as writing an essay, doing calculus, and drawing images. If, on one hand, it could be supportive for students and teachers, there is the risk of using such tools in a way that could negatively impact the intellectual development.
Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR) are progressively expanding the boundaries of how we live, work, and relate, changing the way people experience physical and virtual environments. Extended reality (XR) is an emerging term that encompasses all these immersive technologies. The potential of XR is relevant in many fields, opening up to new business scenarios and promoting innovative user experiences. In the education field, XR has been widely studied showing to be useful for facilitating student engagement and the learning experience preventing students drop-out and enhancing students' appreciation. XR can be also used in combination with AI, showing the potential to better support teachers and students (e.g. smart virtual environments).
Potential Scopes of Interest
The objective of the special track is to discuss the effects, opportunities, views, benefits and limitations of both high-performance AI systems and Immersive technologies in the education field. We invite you to submit papers related, but not limited, to the following topics:
- The effects of new AI systems on education
- New artificial intelligence systems to support education
- The usage of ready-to-use AI systems for education from the student/teacher perspective
- Supportive AI for developing XR Scenarios
- XR in education and teaching
Organizers
Special Track Leader Organizer:
- PhD. Daniele Schicchi, CNR Institute for Educational Technology & University of Palermo
- Dott.ssa Mariella Farella, CNR Institute for Educational Technology & University of Palermo
Co-Organizers:
- Dott. Taibi Davide, CNR Institute for Educational Technology, davide.taibi@itd.cnr.it
- Dott. Giosuè Lo Bosco, University of Palermo, giosue.lobosco@unipa.it
- Dott. Marco Arrigo, CNR Institute for Educational Technology, marco.arrigo@itd.cnr.it
Organizers' biography:
PhD. Daniele Schicchi daniele.schicchi@itd.cnr.it
Daniele Schicchi is a research fellow at the Institute for Educational Technologies of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ITD). He obtained a Ph.D. in Information Communication Technology at the Doctoral School in Computer Science offered by the Consortium of Catania, Messina, and Palermo universities (Italy). He is involved in the study of the Artificial Intelligence field and his research interests cover the application of computer science methodologies and innovative technologies to several domains such as education and natural-language related fields. A special interest concerns Learning Analytics activities and Text Simplification, especially under the Machine Learning perspective.
Dott.ssa Mariella Farella mariella.farella@itd.cnr.it
She has a Master's degree in Computer Science at the University of Palermo. She is currently a research fellow at the Institute of Educational Technologies of the National Research Council and she is attending the PhD course in Mathematics and Computational Sciences at the University of Palermo. His main research activity focuses on the development of Augmented and Virtual Reality systems in educational and cultural heritage contexts, also working on Question Answering systems using Machine Learning models.
Aim and Scopes
Increasingly innovation in artificial intelligence technologies are giving prominence to a re-conceptualization of human existentiality along the paradigm of posthumanism. Posthumanism and artificial intelligence are two related concepts that have gained increasing attention raising questions about the nature of humanity, the possibilities and limitations of human enhancement and new forms of agency and ethics in the post-anthropocentric era. Artificial intelligence, on the other hand, refers to the development of machines that can perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, such as reasoning, learning, perception, and communication.
Posthumanism in education is a theoretical framework that recognizes the complex and interconnected relationships between humans, technology and the environment. It advocates for a curriculum that promotes critical thinking and a more inclusive approach to learning. It calls for a shift from a human-centered view of the world to a more inclusive, holistic perspective that recognizes the agency of non-human entities, providing a critical framework that address ethical reflection and cultural diversity in the design and use of artificial intelligence. Overall, the intersection between posthumanism and artificial intelligence offers a ground for exploring new ways of thinking about the role of technology in shaping the future, encouraging educators to question traditional approaches to teaching and learning and explore alternative ways of engaging students. This might include using digital technologies to create immersive learning environments, or exploring the intersections between human and non-human intelligence. Posthumanist education emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches that combine scientific, artistic, and philosophical perspectives recognizing the potential of emerging technologies, such as AI and VR, to enhance learning experiences and expand our cognitive abilities.
E-health education and technologies have become increasingly important in the field of education in recent years offering innovative ways to enhance the learning experience encompassing a wide range of digital tools and platforms, including virtual reality, gamification, mobile apps, and online learning management systems. These technologies can be used to deliver personalized and adaptive learning experiences, facilitate collaborative learning, and provide immediate feedback to learners.
Moreover, e-health education and technologies have proven to be effective in promoting health literacy and healthy behaviors among students. With the use of these technologies, students can learn about health topics, such as nutrition, physical activity, and mental health, and develop the skills needed to make informed decisions about their health.
Despite the potential benefits of e-health education and technologies, there are also challenges and limitations that need to be addressed including accessibility, privacy, security, and quality assurance. To fully harness the potential of e-health technologies, educators and researchers need to work collaboratively to develop effective pedagogical approaches and ensure ethical and responsible use, contributing to the transformation of education and improving the health outcomes of learners.
Potential Scopes of Interest
This special track will offer an opportunity to identify and discuss new promising research directions including, but not limited to, the following topics:
- Emerging Technologies in Education: The Intersection of Posthumanism and AI
- The potential of virtual reality and gamification in health education and behavior change
- User engagement and experience in e-health education with e-health education platforms and tools, including design, usability, and personalization
- The effectiveness of e-learning in health education and professional development
- The use of mobile health (mHealth) apps to promote healthy behaviors and self-management
- E-health education, chronic disease management and quality of life
- The challenges and opportunities of integrating e-health technologies into clinical practice
- The ethical and legal considerations of using e-health technologies for healthcare delivery and education
- The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in e-health technologies for personalized healthcare and education
- The role of e-health technologies in promoting patient-centered care and shared decision-making
- E-health education and health equity addressing disparities in health knowledge, access to care, and health outcomes
- Implementation and scalability of e-health education interventions in diverse settings, including schools and community
Organizers
Special Track Leader Organizer:
Loredana Perla is Full Professor of Didactics and Special Pedagogy at the University of Bari, where she is Head of the Department of Education, Psychology, Communication. She is the Italian representative of ISATT and Reseau Ideki. She is coordinator of the ANVUR working group "Recognition and enhancement of the teaching skills of university teachers". She is responsible for Citel (UniBa Research Center for Telemedicine), research unit "E-learning and health promotion".
Dept. of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro
Email: loredana.perla@uniba.it; ORCID: 0000-0003-1520-0884
Cv link: http://www.uniba.it/docenti/perla-loredana/curriculum
Co-Organizers:
- Berardina Nadja De Carolis is Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Bari "Aldo Moro". Her research interests are in human-computer interaction, natural language generation, user modeling and agent-based systems. In particular: formal methods in HCI, mobile and pervasive systems, conversational interfaces (embodied conversational agents and social robots), modeling of rational and affective factors of the user during the interaction with an intelligent system.
Department of Computer Science, University of Bari "Aldo Moro"
Email: berardina.decarolis@uniba.it; ORCID: 0000-0002-2689-137X - Viviana Vinci is Associate Professor at the Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Italy, in Didactics and Special Pedagogy. She has achieved the National Scientific Qualification to function as Full Professor. She is the degree course referent for ‘Science of Education’ and Delegate of Department's Director for Transversal skills and Orientation Programs.
Dept. of Law, Economics and Human Sciences, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria
Email: viviana.vinci@unirc.it; ORCID: 0000-0002-4091-0098
Cv link: http://www.digies.unirc.it/scheda_persona.php?id=1026#http://www.digies.unirc.it/scheda_persona.php?id=1026 - Stefania Massaro is researcher, qualified as associate professor, in General Didactics and Special Pedagogy at University of Bari, PhD in planning and evaluation of educational processes. He is a member of the DiDasco research group on the topics of teacher professional development and active citizenship and currently a member of the UniBa Interdepartmental Center for Research in Telemedicine Citel (coord. prof. A. Vacca) in the research unit "E-health and well-being" and the UniBa Interdepartmental Research Center "Healthy food: nutraceuticals, nutrigenomics, intestinal microbiota, agriculture and social well-being". She is a member of Siped, SIRD, ISATT, AERA and EERA. She won the 2015 Prize in Pedagogy of the Vito Fazio-Allmayer National Foundation for the volume "Metamorphosis of democracy and education. Principles and education”
E mail: stefania.massaro@uniba.it; ORCID 0000-0003-4695-1007
Aim and Scopes
Given that half of mental health disorders (including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and others) start by age 14, and three quarters by age 24 (Kessler et al., 2005) early recognition and treatment of the potential impacts of discriminations and aggressions will help protect children’s and adolescents’ current and future mental health, development, learning, and wellbeing.
Over the last 40 years, computer games have become an extremely popular leisure activity and more recently there has also been interest in the potential of serious games to help in learning, skill acquisition and attitude and behavior change. Indeed, a growing body of research shows the promise and efficacy of serious games, and technology‐based or e-learning and digital interventions in general, in improving the health and well‐being of youngsters that experience discriminations and aggressions (e.g., discriminations and unequal treatment due to their gender and/or ethnicity; aggression linked to bullying and cyberbullying; teen dating violence, etc.). Within an intersectional framework, most form of discrimination and aggression experienced by youngsters may have the same root. Intersectionality has become a central framework for understanding multiple, interacting, and context-dependent forms of social and health (dis)advantage based on social identity and position (Bowleg, 2012). Intersectionality scholars argue that inequalities do not necessarily increase linearly with each additional non-dominant social identity or position, and that the study of one form of discrimination at a time will obscure the experiences of groups facing intersecting forms of discrimination (Bauer, 2014). Perceived discrimination represents one such potential mechanism but examining its role in generating inequalities requires measures that function across intersectional groups.
In this perspective, we believe that education on gender equality is an essential foundation to improve our society. Many of the current inequality or sexist situations have their roots at a very young age, when the mindset is constructed, and stereotypes are created and fixed. At such young ages, education is essential. Also, in these ages, videogames and e-learning digital tools are an interactive tool with a massive use that can provide benefits beyond entertainment. To combat inequalities, it is fundamental the role of teachers, that must know the new digital tools and e-learning platforms that could support this process. For this reason, this special tracks has a specific accent on teacher training and on the higher education solution to train the new generation of teachers or provide life long learning to the in-service teachers with innovative tools in the Technology Enhanced Learning field.
We consider that videogames and the other technology-based interventions can be effectively used for improving gender equality education and combating further discrimination and aggression among youngsters.
Potential Scopes of Interest
Potential Scopes of Interest:
- Technology‐based/digital interventions that prevent inequalities among youngsters
- Technology-based/digital interventions that train teachers and significant adults on recognition of risk factors for youngsters’ involvement in discrimination and aggression
- Technology‐based/digital interventions to educate on gender equality
- Technology‐based/digital interventions to prevent bullying and cyberbullying
- Technology‐based/digital interventions to prevent teen dating violence
- Technology‐based/digital interventions to support social inclusion of students with migrants background
Technology-based/digital interventions are intended as all ICT based and e-learning actions for the support of the highlighted topics. Some examples are:
- Serious games
- E-learning platforms
- Digital Gamification Practices
- MOOCs
Organizers
Special Track Leader Organizer:
- Prof. Raffaele Di Fuccio – University of Foggia
- Prof. Francesco Sulla – University of Foggia
Aim and Scopes
Over the past few years, due to historical, social and cultural changes, the educational context and teaching have changed considerably; in addition, the epidemiological emergency dictated by Covid-19 has led to the emergence of new needs, imposing a redesign of tools and resources in use. All this had a strong impact on students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs), who, in addition to having fewer digital skills than their European peers, were suddenly forced to take classes at home without the physical support of the support teacher. Indeed, it was necessary to think and re-think the design of inclusive teaching interventions.
Inclusive Teaching can be understood as the set of actions for the design, implementation and evaluation of educational practices that activate the learning and participation processes of all pupils. The ultimate goal of Inclusive Teaching is to put all students in a position to achieve educational success, removing any potential barriers that may hinder it. Being, therefore, a teaching of all students, the recipients of inclusive teaching are not only students with special educational needs, but every student in the class group, welcomed and valued by the teacher, based on their individual specificities.
The implementation of a didactics that can be defined as truly inclusive still represents a challenge for educational and academic institutions, which are implementing a series of best practices to cope with it; this is because it is a complex process that requires several changes on several fronts, starting from the culture, passing through the values and ethics of the institutions themselves.
Various innovative teaching methodologies and state-of-the-art technological equipment provide valuable support for designing inclusive interventions within the school and academic system.
The purpose of this special track, entitled "Innovative Inclusive University," is to welcome reflections, best practices and experiences about the latest innovative teaching methodologies to ensure inclusive teaching in higher education. Particular attention is paid to new technological instrumentation, which is a valuable support for the promotion of truly inclusive teaching.
Potential Scopes of Interest
Potential Scopes of Interest:
- Designing innovative and inclusive university educational interventions
- Teacher training about the latest innovative technologies for inclusion
- Inclusive and innovative experiences and best practices
- Inclusive and innovative interventions for entrepreneurship and social skills education
- New methodologies and technologies to support inclusive education
Organizers
Special Track Leader Organizer:
Prof. Giusi Antonia Toto – University of Foggia
Prof. Catia Giaconi – University of Macerata
Aim and Scopes
Aim and scopes:
- identify the main elements that emerge from the research conducted on immersive reality in the educational field focusing higher educational contexts
- build models and approaches of innovative teaching for higher education students and lifelong learners
- explore theoretical and applicative setting in the construction and management of knowledge
- stimulate interdisciplinary discussion on the topic
To promote collaboration and the possibility to constitute consortia of researchers in order to encourage the development of quality cross-sectoral research and suggest sustainable guidelines for the near future.
Potential Scopes of Interest
Potential scopes of interest:
- neuroscience
- educational technology
- computer science
- cinema and media studies
- game based learning
- medicine education
Organizers
Special Track Leader Organizer:
Barbara Bruschi, Department of Philosophy and Educational Sciences - University of Turin
- Manuela Repetto, Department of Philosophy and Educational Sciences - University of Turin
Co-Organizers:
- Salvatore Maria Aglioti, Sapienza University of Rome, Italian Institute of Technology
- Agata Marta Soccini, Department of Computer Science - University of Turin
- Ennio Bilancini, AXES Laboratory for the Analysis of compleX Economic Systems
- Andrea Benassi, INDIRE Istituto Nazionale Documentazione Innovazione Ricerca Educativa
- Luca Ostacoli, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences - University of Turin
Organizers' biography:
Barbara Bruschi barbara.bruschi@unito.it
She is full professor of ICT and education at the University of Turin where she is vice rector for education. Her main fields of research are: e-learning, immersive learning, gamification and game based learning, digital competencies.
She is member of the CIRDA Center of Turin University and she is member of the task force for the university project UNITA - WP2 'Teaching and Learning (T&L): flexible and student-centered'; she is in charge of the University Project 'DataLab', a data-driven orientation project.
Manuela Repetto manuela.repetto@unito.it
She is Associate Professor in Educational Technology at the University of Turin. Her main research interests deal with digital learning environments, teaching and learning methods, game-based learning, immersive reality.
Aim and scopes
In the higher education environment, the digital framework and the learning technologies are assuming an increasingly decisive role, impacting academics’ professional identity and teaching skills.
Reflecting on the impact of digital learning technologies on curriculum design, teaching/learning/assessment methods is now essential for who is involved in faculty development.
Potential Scopes of Interest
The proposed special track will address two main areas of interest:
- online or blended Academic/Faculty Development approaches (How academic/faculty development programs can be led online on blended? Researches, best practices, experiences of online or blended initiatives for Faculty Development)
- how can Faculty Development build up teachers ‘skill to design, implement and assess learning in a higher education digital environment? (Researches, best practices and position papers on all the topics related to the promotion of the academic staff profiles and skills development in the digital environment: learning design, curriculum design, teaching methodologies, assessment, digital publishing, open science, online learning, e-mentoring, e-tutoring, digital skills and related topics
Organizers
Special Track Leader Organizer:
Paolo Raviolo, Ecampus University
Co-Organizers:
- Antonella Lotti, University of Foggia
Call is now open
Moreover, Special Tracks will be organized by valuable researchers under the umbrella of HELMeTO 2023. All abstracts submitted for a special track will undergo a review process as described in the Author Guidelines Section and must meet the same deadlines as described here.
All submissions must be made electronically May 20, 2023 EXTENDED June 20, 2023, through the online submission system on EasyChair.
Contributions must be in English and should be submitted in the form of an abstract with references (max 2 pages).
Please remember to select exactly one track (general or special) during the submission process on the EasyChair platform.