Current research projects

Carezheimer

La maladie d'Alzheimer est une maladie dégénérative qui évolue sur plusieurs années. Durant cette période, l'entourage proche a souvent un rôle clé à jouer dans le soin de la personne malade. Cette responsabilité provoque du stress, de la fatigue, de l'anxiété, et peut même générer des états de dépression et des maladies. "Assister les aidants" est une priorité. Nous proposons de développer un serious game personnalisé qui permettra aux proches aidants de simuler les différentes stratégies de soin et de communication et ainsi de réduire le stress associé lors de la réalisation du soin.

Funding: FNS
Project leaders: Nicolas Szilas, Frédéric Ehrler (HUG), Christian Lovis (SIMED, UNIGE)
Project members and collaborators: Laura Luiu, Lucie Chauveau.

co.LAB: A Digital Lab for the co-Design, co-Development and co-Evaluation of Digital Learning Games

At the crossroads between educational and computer sciences the goal of the co.LAB project is to improve the design, development and uses of Digital Learning Games at all educational levels in Switzerland. This goal will be achieved by the development of what we call the co.LAB: a collaborative methodological framework between teachers, game developers and researchers in educational science, associated with a collaborative digital platform dedicated to co-design, co-development and co-evaluation of DLGs.

Funding: FNS
Project leaders: Dominique Jacquard (HEIG-VD), Eric Sanchez (UNIGE, FPSE, TECFA)
Project members and collaborators: Estelle Prior, Mariem Jaouadi

COVIQUITY

The first part of this project aims to update our knowledge on the representations that French and Swiss teachers have of digital technology, following the pandemic. The second part aims to build authentic learning situations, based on various school disciplines, capable of motivating girls in the acquisition of knowledge and skills in science or digital humanities.

Funding: Fondation Dauphine, Chaire Femmes et Science.
Project leaders: Isabelle Collet (Unige), Gaëlle Molinari (TECFA, Unige & UniDistance, TEPEE group).
Project members and collaborators: Yann Secq (EPFL, Lausanne), Yong Xin Lam (Master student).

ECLAIR - Etude des Caractéristiques et Liens entre Apprentissage, Interaction et Récit.

Les récits interactifs sont des récits sur support numérique dans lequel l’utilisateur peut influencer l’histoire par ses choix. Ils sont de plus en plus expérimentés pour l’apprentissage de compétences variées, notamment des compétences sociales (attitudes comportementales, représentations sociales, compétences non techniques, « soft skills », etc.). L’objectif de ce projet est de mieux comprendre comment les différentes caractéristiques de ces récits peuvent influencer l’apprentissage. Le projet comporte trois volets : un volet « innovation technologique », dans lequel nous explorons de nouvelles formes de récit interactif, un volet « théorie », dans lequel nous mettons en lumière les potentialités théoriques des récits interactifs selon leurs caractéristiques, et enfin un volet expérimental, dans lequel nous mesurons des effets de différentes variables des récits interactifs sur l’apprentissage.

Project leader: Nicolas Szilas
Project members and collaborators: Kim Le, Jérôme Humbert

Emotions in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

We focus on the role of emotions and emotion regulation in computer-mediated collaborative learning contexts. The aim is twofold. On the one hand, it is to understand how emotions emerge, evolve and interact with collaborative learning processes throughout interaction. On the other hand, it is to understand how to design computer-based tools to support emotion regulation within the group.

Funding: SNF (2013-2017); UniDistance (2017-2021).
Project leader: Gaëlle Molinari (TECFA-Unige & UniDistance), TEPEE (Technologies for Positive Learning Experiences) research group.
Project members and collaborators: Guillaume Chanel (CUI, Unige), Sunny Avry (EPFL, Lausanne).

Engagement in MOOC Forums

The aim of this doctoral research is to identify the dimensions, indicators and factors of engagement in MOOC forums. Two main outcomes are targeted: (1) the design and validation of a scale to measure engagement in MOOC forums and (2) the production of a list of recommendations to foster engagement in structured and unstructured MOOC forums.

Funding: University of Geneva, UniDistance.
Project leader: Gaëlle Molinari (TECFA, Unige & UniDistance, TEPEE group).
Project members and collaborators: Yannick Stéphane Nleme Ze (PhD student), Tiffany Nguyen (Master student), Claire Dupont (Master student).

Future-Oriented Emotions in Mental Contrasting

The aim of this project is to investigate the role of future-oriented emotions in mental contrasting with implementation intention procedure. In line with the program of the TEPEE group, the objective is also to understand how to help remote students in staying committed to their initial learning goals and successfully coping with difficulties, hence improving their learning experience.

Funding: An application for funding (UniDistance) will be submitted in March 2022.
Project leaders: Gaëlle Molinari (TECFA, Unige & UniDistance, TEPEE group), Laurence Gagnière (UniDistance).
Project members and collaborators: Bartlomiej Chrobak (research assistant).

LETS – Learning lab

Projet de recherche orienté par la conception qui repose sur le développement de learning labs au sein de 4 Universités dans différents pays. Mené par l’Université de Fribourg, LETS comprend la participation de l’AUL (Arts Sciences and Technology University in Lebanon), L’Université de Sousse (Tunisie) et l’Université d’Alexandrie (Egypte). L’ objectif est de documenter et expliciter le processus de conception des learning labs et d’analyser les principales activités qui s’y déroulent au regard : des besoins, des contraintes et des différents contextes institutionnels des partenaires engagés dans le projet.

Funding: Leading House MENA – Innovation Starting Grant
Project leader: Eric Sanchez (UNIGE, FPSE, TECFA)
Project members and collaborators: Laura Molteni (UNIFR), Elsa Paukovics (UNIGE, FPSE, TECFA)
Project partners: Lilia Cheniti (U. de Sousse), Ouajdi Korbaa (U. de Sousse), Bilal Said (AUL), Ghada El Khayat (U. d’Alexandrie), Karim Elouardan (Estifada)

NACl – the Narrative Acts Classification

Several Interactive Narrative engines, including IDtension and Generact developed at TECFA, make use of the concept of narrative acts, generic types of actions that agents can undertake in a story. In this project, we aim at theorizing this concept and more practically to provide a classification of narrative acts. Such a classification draws data from existing narrative theories but also extends them in a more formal way. It constitutes an instance of computational narratology. Practically, it can be also useful in designing interactive narrative works. A first version of the classification has been made available here.

Project leader: Nicolas Szilas

Playing for Learning in the Museum (Jouer pour apprendre au musée)

Le projet PLAY a pour objectif de comprendre comment la ludicisation de visites scolaires au musée, permet à des élèves de s’engager dans la résolution de problèmes complexes et non déterministes et, ce faisant, de se développer d’un point de vue épistémique. Deux thématiques ont été sélectionnées en raison de leur complexité et des enjeux éducatifs inhérents. Il s’agit de l’alimentation humaine et de l’évolution de la relation que l’homme entretient avec la nature (Anthropocène). Ces thématiques sont traitées dans deux musées (Alimentarium à Vevey et Musée de la Nature à Sion) qui accueillent des élèves de l’enseignement secondaire obligatoire et qui constituent nos terrains d’étude.

Funding: FNS
Project leader: Eric Sanchez (UNIGE, FPSE, TECFA)
Project members and collaborators: Catherine Bonnat (UNIGE, FPSE, TECFA), Simon Morard (UNIGE, FPSE, TECFA)

RECODE

This project of the Video Learning Lab has two objectives. Firstly, it addresses the question of how to script the content of an educational video and also how to integrate educational videos into digital learning environments in order to improve student engagement and learning. The aim is also to understand how to help teachers design video-based environments. In line with this second objective, RECODE, a teacher-REsearcher COllaborative inquiry process for (re)-DEsigning video-based learning environnements, was designed, implemented and assessed in a university pharmacology course organized according to the flipped classroom model.

Funding: University of Geneva.
Project leaders: Valérie Lussi Borer (Unige), Gaëlle Molinari (TECFA, Unige & UniDistance, TEPEE group).
Project members and collaborators: Marion van Brederode (Unige), Christophe Carlei (Unige).

SODA4LA - Sonification of Data for Learning Analytics

Rhythm and music are used as mnemonic means for teaching young students, series of items such as days of the week or alphabet. Indeed, representing data through sounds offers the opportunity to benefit from human capacity to memorize or monitor complex temporal audio data. As a result, data sonification might be an alternative to data visualization for the analysis of complex datasets. Sonification has already been applied to diverse scientific fields and SODA4LA aims at applying sonification to learning analytics. Indeed, one of the main challenges that data analysts face when they want to understand how a technology-enhanced learning system is used, consists of identifying the actions performed by learners. Traditional approaches for learning analytics are based on data visualization. However, visualization techniques are insufficient for comprehending certain features in the data and we hypothesize that sonification might be a relevant alternative.

Funding: Fondation Hasler (2022)
Project leader: Eric Sanchez (LIP/TECFA/Université de Genève)
Project members : André Cibils (LIP/TECFA/Université de Genève)

SPAGEO

Nowadays, children are surrounded by three-dimensional (3D) technologies, which have considerably modified their relationship to space and some of their spatial behaviors. Few studies have examined the influence of virtual environments on the learning of mathematics, and there are none on the influence of these technologies on the learning of geometry in primary school. The richness of the SPAGEO project “Rethinking the links between spatial knowledge and geometry in primary education through virtual environments” is linked to the complementarity of three scientific fields, psychology, didactics of mathematics, and educational technologies. Combining these points of view makes it possible to enrich the understanding and links between the teaching of geometry, the learning of spatial knowledge, and their representations through the design of a virtual environment..

Project leader : Mireille Bétrancourt (UNIGE, TECFA, FPSE),Jean-Luc Dorier (UNIGE, DiMage), Roland Maurer (UNIGE, FPSE)
Project partners: Emmanuel Sanders (UNIGE, FPSE)
Project members and collaborators: Sophie Bénard Linh Quan (UNIGE, FPSE, TECFA), Sandra Berney (UNIGE, FPSE, TECFA), Sylvia Coutat-Gousseau (UNIGE, FPSE, DiMage), Fatou-Maty Diouf (UNIGE, FPSE, TECFA), Sabrina Matri (UNIGE, FPSE, DiMage)

Students’ Well-Being during COVID-19

A large-scale survey was carried out among approximately 2,000 students in France (University of Lorraine) and Switzerland (Universities of Geneva and Neuchâtel). The objective of this survey was to report on how distance learning was fully experienced during the first period of confinement (spring 2020) due to the COVID-19 crisis. The aim was to identify factors that may have affected students' well-being, such as procrastination, motivation, social presence, social interactions and engagement with the digital learning platform.

Project members and collaborators: Gaëlle Molinari (TECFA, Unige & UniDistance, TEPEE group), Elise Lavoué (University of Lyon 3, France), Stéphanie Fleck (University of Lorraine), Jean-Baptiste Lanfranchi (University of Lorraine).

Teachers’ Well-Being in Digital Learning Environments

The aim of this doctoral research is to investigate the Swiss secondary school teachers' perceptions of the positive and negative impacts of the increase in the use of digital technologies on their psychological well-being. The research also aims to provide recommendations for the future policies in face-to-face and remote education at national and European levels.

Project leaders: Gaëlle Molinari (TECFA, Unige & UniDistance, TEPEE group), Joris Felder (University of Fribourg).
Project members and collaborators: Cécile Vassaux (PhD student).