Meet the ArcTech researchers

ArcTech Learning Lab enables researchers, teachers and other actors in society to collaborate and explore new models for learning using various digital resources such as distance technology, AI and applied computer game technology. ArcTech Learning Lab is a strategic investment within Luleå University of Technology and brings together researchers within SRT, the Department of Systems and Space Technology and HLT, the Department of Health, Education and Technology.

World-first interdisciplinary project excites researchers

The projects within ArcTech Learning Lab bring together cutting-edge expertise from several different research areas and attract interest among researchers from Europe, Asia and America who want to collaborate with Luleå University of Technology.

“This is of course a wonderful rating that we are something important on the tracks,” says Viktor Gardelli who is a file. doctor and senior lecturer in pedagogy at Luleå University of Technology.

Within the research area ArcTech Learning Lab, cutting-edge expertise from several research areas is gathered, in the projects Viktor works in e.g. educational science, philosophy and computer science.

“The key is collaboration across disciplines and this leads to results that would have been difficult to achieve with researchers from just one discipline. There is a sense of closeness and we in research at Luleå University of Technology that provides good conditions for exciting, innovative and groundbreaking research and collaborations, both internally and externally,” says Viktor.

ArcTech Learning Lab conducts research and collaboration projects on people with aphasia and acquired brain injuries. This is a world-unique initiative where more research is needed.

Acquired brain injuries are a widespread problem worldwide and according to research one of the three biggest health problems globally, especially among young adults. In Sweden alone, the societal costs for mild traumatic brain injury alone are around SEK 5 billion annually.

“Philosophical conversations for, for example, children and young people in school have been shown to have major positive effects in a number of areas. However, there are few examples of studies of philosophical conversations with people with acquired brain injuries, let alone research on philosophical conversations with people with aphasia, which is a common consequence of acquired brain injuries,” says Viktor.

“Can we contribute a piece of the puzzle to improve for that target group, we are very satisfied. Previous studies that we have done, which in themselves were groundbreaking, indicate great positive effects. Through further research, we now want to further improve the effects with the help of digital technology,” Viktor concludes.

Technology enables new ways of reaching students and developing their reading.

Both national and international reports and research show that reading is in decline, at the same time the interest in new methods of reading that include new technology is enormous. It is not about pure technological optimism but about finding new ways to develop students' reading.

“You have to remember how important reading is to be able to take part in society in general, but also how important it is also to be able to develop as a human being,” says Stina Thunberg who researches how teaching design can develop methods and principles for engagement in relationships to literacy. Stina is a doctoral student at Luleå University of Technology in Swedish with a didactic focus.

“In my dissertation project, The Reading Avatar, reading in Swedish and Swedish as the second language classroom is central. The research focuses on how the avatar can be used to create empathy in a literary work. In that case, my research combines the reading of a printed work with digital technology.”

In the long run, the challenge is that the focus is not only on commitment but also the literary text and what happens to it and with literary reading in the technical landscape.

“I want to focus my research on several forms of technology that can enable and develop reading and learning. For example, developed forms of communication and participation both in the classroom and in the literary text. Various forms of avatars, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and even holograms are interesting for creating empathy, in-depth learning and commitment. Here, too, the gender perspective is important to explore.”

Through the ArcTech lab, there are the conditions for researchers to test new technology, and here researchers from different subject disciplines meet who can test ideas about technology and learning in practice.

“For me as a researcher, it means being part of a team with a research dialogue that creates good conditions for creativity and innovation with opportunities to influence and change today's educational landscape,” Stina concludes.

ArcTech facilitates the participation of vulnerable groups in discussions on key issues

Research within ArcTech contributes to the development of digital applications that will support and strengthen communication skills and participation for people in communication difficulties. This is basically a question of democracy.

Dialogic interventions, such as philosophical conversations, have the potential to support the participation of people who otherwise would not normally be able to participate actively in deeper communication with others. Today, however, there is a lack of research on how modern gaming technology can support such interventions. The interdisciplinary research within ArcTech is thus internationally pioneering, says senior lecturer Ylva Backman, who researches in pedagogy, special education, philosophical conversations and digitization in various learning contexts.

More skills about this and digitally supported dialogic training in general are needed, including in schools, and when digital tools are used in teaching, it is important that they contribute to improving and streamlining learning. We also work to make it easier in learning contexts where there are several mother tongues and where there is a need for direct translation - such a function is available in WalkAbout, says Ylva.

The Education Act states that education must rest on a scientific basis and proven experience at the same time as society undergoes major digital changes. This is one reason why interdisciplinary collaboration within ArcTech is important; there is still a need for scientifically sound pedagogy, but which is adapted to new digital forms, says Ylva. We also work to get the target groups' wishes and feedback on digital development, and therefore collaborations that we have with, for example, primary school are central.

“We plan to continue working together with the school to test and investigate the effectiveness of different applications to support dialogic teaching and promote high-quality argumentation skills and socio-emotional development,” says Ylva.

“We are in a phase where we within ArcTech want to expand. Funders have seen potential in these areas and it is fun that there are several projects that have been granted funding and that a lot is going on,” Ylva concludes.

More aids are needed for people with disabilities to be able to make their voices heard

Digital technology contributes to giving people, who are dependent on others to bring their case, an opportunity to make their voices heard. The idea of developing digital applications has emerged to enable people with disabilities to have in-depth conversations.

Learning needs to be transformed into a digital context

The big challenge is that it is not possible to directly transfer classroom teaching to a digital format and there is still much unexplored. It is central to think about what has an effect on students' learning and when digital elements strengthen learning.

“The large flora of digital technology and digital services that you have to choose from leads to it becoming extremely important to make an accurate assessment to get quality in learning. Will it be a better learning? It is important that it not only looks good and is cool, but that you really think about what the goal is with the digitization of learning,” says Agneta Hedenström, educational developer and former project manager in the LäsLust project.

At present, Agneta works as an educational developer with a focus on digitization and how digitization can in various ways contribute to strengthening students' learning. Agneta also works as a task leader within the Universeh project. The result within ArcTech is an important input to the various investments I work with, says Agneta, who is also involved in the start-up of an investment made by Luleå University of Technology in lifelong learning.

“It is also about being able to meet the labor market's need for new skills but also to be able to offer individuals the opportunity to develop professionally. Luleå University of Technology will be a global player that offers qualitative learning in various formats.”

Agneta further talks about the importance of finding different models for lifelong learning, a learning that meets individuals of different ages, life situation and based on their own needs. ArcTech also needs to meet the labor market of the future, the needs of companies and a global university with students from different parts of the world.

“Lab operations within ArcTech are important for conducting research and finding models for learning with the support of digital technology and creating opportunities to test new and future technology,” Agneta concludes.

Games promote reading and writing skills among children and young people with reading difficulties

The LäsLust project contributes to promoting the reading ability of children and young people with intellectual disabilities. One goal of the project is for children and young people to be able to be more independent and increase their choices for the future.

Josef Hallberg is an assistant professor at Luleå University of Technology and project manager for LäsLust. His research focuses mainly on motivation theory and behavior change.

In the project LäsLust, games are used to motivate and make learning more fun. Gameplay is based on a number of mechanisms that motivate people, such as working together, meeting their goals and being at their best.

“In the research we do, children and young people are involved in the development process. Participation is nothing new, user-centered development has been around for a long time. What is relatively new, however, is participation in combination with games. Today, there is a lack of games and school materials that are adapted and perceived as fun for the younger children, especially among children with reading difficulties,” says Josef.

LäsLust collaborates with the special school and Luleå City Library and both actors have an important role in the work. The library's role is to be the face of the public and to create a space for people to interact with new technology and creative materials.

“The idea is that LäsLust should be available at the library so that people can practice reading, test the technology and give input. Everyone should be able to download the application LäsLust,” says Josef.

The results from the project show that the students are positive and think the game is fun, and would like to play more similar games where you can practice reading and also other school subjects. The difficulty lies in keeping the material interesting for a longer period. This can be circumvented by developing new material, so-called mini-games, which can be built into the game.

“In the gaming industry, there is a whole generation of creators, think about gathering that creativity to make efforts where they are needed,” Josef concludes.

Modern technology develops learning

The research within ArcTech is about renewing and strengthening learning at all levels of education through the application of modern technology. An important part of the research is to integrate different digital technologies to strengthen learning in schools.

“My contribution to the research is mainly about the application of digital technology for learning, for example learning through the application of computer game technology. It is about developing different applications to create better conditions for learning. Over the years, we have developed a number of different computer game applications, for computers and for mobile devices in the form of different 3D environments,” says Peter Parnes, professor at Luleå University of Technology.

WalkAbout is one of these applications that aims to develop an application in a 3D environment that opens up new opportunities for online teaching where participants can express themselves in a richer way than through the tools used today. Another example of an application is Dialogica, which has been developed to help people with speech difficulties express themselves in in-depth conversations via graphic avatars in a 3D environment, says Peter Parnes.

“The main goal is to develop digital learning environments that help people of all ages find it easier to learn, to promote commitment, playfulness and creativity. It should be fun to learn,” says Peter Parnes.

Strengthened collaboration is important to stimulate further investments in digital learning. Collaboration takes place today with several actors, including primary and secondary school.

“We want to scale up the work and run projects in collaboration with other actors in digital learning. There are ideas, but the challenge lies in how the implementation should take place so that the applications are used,” says Peter Parnes.

ArcTech Learning Lab - brings together teachers, researchers and technology companies to strengthen digital learning

The research within ArcTech entails a shift in position to work closer to companies and schools to develop new teacher resources that are based on both a scientific basis and proven experience. ArcTech contributes with new models for digital learning that will function as a complement to teaching in schools.

Caroline Graeske, assistant professor of teacher education at Luleå University of Technology, researches didactics of literature and how to promote reading with the help of new teaching methods.

“The research needs to keep up and be an obvious partner in the development that takes place. ArcTech contributes to using digital tools to a greater extent among both teachers and students and to developing better products on the market in terms of teaching materials that are based on science. We contribute with different competencies, teachers in the field have their internship and know what works and researchers have the scientific competence,” says Caroline.

“Much of what is produced on the market today in terms of teaching materials does not rest on a scientific basis and practical experience among teachers,” says Caroline.

Among other things, ArcTech is working on a project together with NTI gymnasiet in Luleå that investigates how VR can be used in Swedish teaching to inspire students to write and read longer texts.

“There is a challenge in young people not reading and it is important to meet young people where they are to lure them into other worlds, for example through play environments and storytelling,” says Caroline Graeske.

VR in teaching shows that students' motivation increases through the opportunity to co-create, solve problems and reflect on their own learning. There is potential to use the technology in school classes, but it cannot exist on its own but needs to be developed in accordance with the curriculum and the school's governing documents.