This book is about the ways in which experiments can be employed in the context of research on learning technologies and child–computer interaction (CCI). It is directed at researchers, supporting them to employ experimental studies while increasing their quality and rigor. The book provides a complete and comprehensive description on how to design, implement, and report experiments, with a focus on and examples from CCI and learning technology research. The topics covered include an introduction to CCI and learning technologies as interdisciplinary fields of research, how to design educational interfaces and visualizations that support experimental studies, the advantages and disadvantages of a variety of experiments, methodological decisions in designing and conducting experiments (e.g. devising hypotheses and selecting measures), and the reporting of results. As well, a brief introduction on how contemporary advances in data science, artificial intelligence, and sensor data have impacted learning technology and CCI research is presented. The book details three important issues that a learning technology and CCI researcher needs to be aware of: the importance of the context, ethical considerations, and working with children. The motivation behind and emphasis of this book is helping prospective CCI and learning technology researchers (a) to evaluate the circumstances that favor (or do not favor) the use of experiments, (b) to make the necessary methodological decisions about the type and features of the experiment, (c) to design the necessary “artifacts” (e.g., prototype systems, interfaces, materials, and procedures), (d) to operationalize and conduct experimental procedures to minimize potential bias, and (e) to report the results of their studies for successful dissemination in top-tier venues (such as journals and conferences).
This book is an open access publication.
Michail (Michalis) Giannakos is a professor of interaction design and learning technologies at the Department of Computer Science of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). He is the head of the Learner-Computer Interaction lab and his research focuses on the design and study of emerging technologies in online and hybrid education settings, and on developing new ways for humans to interact with interactive learning systems. Giannakos has co-authored more than 200 manuscripts published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals and conferences (including Computers & Education, Computers in Human Behavior, IEEE Pervasive Computing, IEEE TLT, BIT, BJET, ACM TOCE, ACM IDC, ICLS/CSCL, Interact).
Giannakos, together with Mike Horn, is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction (Elsevier). He is also in the Editorial Board of IEEE Transactions in Learning Technology, IEEE Transactions on Education, Behaviour & Information Technology and the International Journal of Information Management, and has served as a guest editor on highly recognized journals such as BJET, Computers in Human Behavior, ACM TOCE and IEEE Multimedia. He has served as an evaluator for the European Commission (EC) and the US-NSF, and he recently co-edited the Multimodal Learning Analytics handbook (Springer) and co-authored a textbook on Educational Data Analytics for School Teachers and Leaders (Springer).
