Projets de recherche passés

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.

Citizen Cyberlab

The Citizen Cyberlab is an EU ICT project funded under the 7th Framework Programme. The Consortium Team consists of seven partners: the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR/UNOSAT), Imperial College (ICSTM), University College London (UCL), Université de Genève (UNIGE), Université Paris Descartes (UPD), and The Mobile Collective (TMC).

Funding: EU ICT 7th Framework Programme, october 2012 to september 2015 (formal ending)
Project leaders: Daniel Schneider (UNIGE, FPSE, TECFA)
Project members and collaborators: Laure Kloetzer, Julien Da Costa

The central focus of this research is creativity and learning in on-line citizen science. Beyond helping scientists execute laborious tasks, Citizen Cyberscience projects enable citizens to learn about science and take part in the more creative aspects of research. Little is known about the learning and creativity processes stimulated by such projects, even though millions of volunteers participate. Even less is known about how to optimise those processes.

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

DUAL-T : Technologies for dual vocational education

The aim of Dual-T is to provide computer support to help apprentices in Swiss vocational education to articulate what they learn at school and what they learn at the workplace. The TECFA team is developing computer-based learning design fostering collaborative writing and sharing about practical experience.

Funded by the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (2006-2013)

Project Leaders at TECFA: Mireille Betrancourt and Daniel K. Schneider
Project Members: Giulia Ortoleva, Stéphane Morand.
Ex-Project Members : Monica Gavota, Urs Richle
Leading House : Pierre Dillenbourg (coordinator), EPFL. Partners: Jean-Luc Gurtner, University of Fribourg; Alberto Cattaneo, SFIVET.

EATMINT: Emotion Awareness Tool for Mediated Computer Interaction

Objectives : This project aim is twofold: 1) investigating the role of emotion awareness (i.e. the understanding and knowledge of others emotions) in computer-mediated collaboration (for learning - CSCL or for work - CSCW) ; 2) developing new tools to improve mediated collaborative work and specifically a tool that can automatically predict participants' emotional states from behavioral and physiological cues.

Funding: EATMINT is a project of the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research in Affective Science, funded by the Swiss Science Fundation.

Project leaders : Mireille Bétrancourt (TECFA) & Thierry Pun (CVML - Faculty of Science - Unige)
Project members: Guillaume Chanel (CVML / CISA), Gaëlle Molinari (Unidistance), Mohammad Soleymani (CVML), Christelle Bozelle (TECFA), Donato Cereghetti (TECFA)

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).

FELINE: Fine-grained Evaluation of Interactive Narrative Experiences

The use of 3D as a new narrative media has generated much research. In the field of Interactive Storytelling, in order to empower users to exercise a strong influence on the narrative the upcoming narrative events must be dynamically generated using Artificial Intelligence algorithms. But what is a narrative event in an interactive context? Which narrative situations might have an important impact in users during the interaction?

The theories of narrative resulting from the study of classical linear narratives are unable to provide a complete answer to this question. As a result, this project aims to fill this gap through a series of experiments, using interactive narratives developed specifically for the project, in order to accurately assess at every moment the quality of the user experience and to determine the relevance of the presented narrative acts.

Funded by the Swiss National Foundation (2015-2018)

Project Leader : Nicolas Szilas.
Project members: Mireille Bétrancourt, Urs Richle, Fabienne Salamin, Sergio Estupinan.

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).

HY-SUP: Academic blended learning platforms world-wide

Universities all over the world are using platforms to support blended learning courses. Research has however not yet identified the demands placed on these platforms nor the variety of ways they are used. This project aims to answer these questions through a broad field study.

Funded by the EU (2009-2012)

Scientific Project Leader : Daniel Peraya
Project Coordinator: Natalie Deschryver
Project Member: Emmenuelle Viliot-Leclercq, Claire Peltier
Partners : Université Claude Bernard Lyon, Université Rennes, Université de Louvain La Neuve, Université du Luxembourg, Université de Genève - TECFA, Université de Fribourg - Did@ctic, Télé-Université, UQUAM, Montréal

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)

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)

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).

LLL-Transfer / SUPSI4

The goal of this project is to promote lifelong learning (LLL) at Swiss universities. TECFA is contributing to the study on the state of the art of LLL in Swiss Universities, that will result in the development of LLL strategy implementation guidelines and a checklist tool for Swiss higher education institutions.

Funded by : SWITCH (2011-2012)

Project Leader at TECFA : Daniel Peraya.
Project Members: Kalli Benetos
Leading House : Fernfachhochschule Schweiz. Partners: SWITCH, Universität Zürich, Université de Genève, Hochschule Luzern, Universitäre Fernstudien Schweiz, ETH Zürich, Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz

Spatial Cognitive Trainer

The Spatial Cognitive Trainer (SCT) project is a 3D real-time simulation software intended to support training, assessment and specialization of complex mental processes, by the use of both haptic and 3D visual simulations.

The SCT consists of three serious game varying from abstract exercises including 3D shapes puzzle reconstructions (level 1) to more concrete exercises where instead of abstract 3D geometrical shapes, trainees will have to reassemble pieces of a simplified fractured wrist (levels 2 & 3). Each level has 5 exercises. This project research aims at validating the effectiveness of spatial ability training of the SCT

Project leader: Rosita Haddad-Zubel.
Project members: Sandra Berney, Juliette Désiron
Partners: HeS Bern – Informatics (Prof. Urs Künzler), Université de Lyon 1 – CRIS (MER Nady Hoyek)

TBI-SIM: Traumatic Brain Injury Simulations

Built on idtension, a highly interactive drama engine, an interactive game is developed to help youth cope better with parents or siblings who had traumatic brain injury.
Funded by the Swiss National Foundation (2010-2012)
Project Leader : Nicolas Szilas, Jean Dumas. Project members: Nicolas Habonneau, Urs Richle. Ex-project members: Thomas Boggini

CULTUMENTO: Personal e-coaching for intercultural competence (2010-2012)

A personal coach has been implemented to teach intercultural competence to students and knowledge workers. The quantitative and qualitative assessment results shall be used to induce measurable skill developments.

Funded by the Gebert Rüf Foundation (2011-2012)

Project Lead: Robert Stoyan, Nicolas Szilas.
Project members: Ioana Ilea. Partner: Prof Katja Rost

IRIS (2009-2011)

Interactive Storytelling aims to develop new media where the presentation and the evolution of a narrative can be influenced, in real-time, by the user. The IRIS (Integrating Research in Interactive Storytelling) project is a network of excellence grouping 10 European universities working together.

EUROPEAN SEED PROJECT (2001-2004)

Seed is an acronym for "Seeding cultural change in the school system through the generation of communities engaged in integrated educational and technological innovation". Seed is a part of the 5th Framework European IST programme. In this project, we developped the TECFA SEED portal as well as a catalog of learning activities using ICT.

GENEVA INTERACTION LAB

This research laboratory was created on 1 January 2001 inside TECFA. The Geneva Interaction Lab is funded by two companies based in Switzerland. The first one, Viviance New Education, has become a major global player in e-learning. Viviance raised research questions aiming at the improvement of learning environments. The second partner, Pictet & Cie, is the largest privately held bank in Europe. Pictet's eBusiness team has raised several research issues in the area of human-computer interaction that will be addressed by the Geneva Interaction Lab.

LEARN-NETT

Learn-nett est un projet européen destiné à  la formation des enseignants et des étudiants en sciences de l'éducation. Son but est de leur donner les moyens d'utiliser les nouvelles technologies dans leurs enseignements.

MICA

In the MICA project (Meta-Cognitive Incentive in Computer Assisted learning), we propose a method of confrontation aiming at supporting conscious awareness of regulation. It consists in confronting learners with the traces of another learner's activity (individually or with a peer-tutoring approach) in order to explicit the procedures they use to realize the learning task and to improve them.

Research on this topic is currently founded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (2005 -2006), in collaboration with Françoise Détienne (INRIA, Rocquencourt, FR), Ghislaine Chabert (Université de Savoie, FR) and Mathieu Quignard (LORIA, France). Further research project on this topic is in development in collaboration with Alain Mille (LIRIS, Université de Lyon, FR).

ACTEUR-TICE

Le projet ACTEUR-TICE est un réseau de recherche interdisciplinaire (informatique, psychologie du travail, psychologie cognitive, sciences de la communication, sciences de l'éducation, sciences du langage, sociologie) représentant 10 partenaires institutionnels internationaux et 9 dispositifs de formation à observer représentant 2500 étudiants et 130 praticiens. La recherche vise à analyser et instrumenter des situations d'apprentissage collectives instrumentées (SACI) au sein des dispositifs de formation dans l'enseignement supérieur.

CLEAP

CLEAP is a FNS funded project (2003 - 2006) carried out in collaboration with CRAFT at EPFL. The originality of this project is to investigate learning from computer animation from two different perspectives, mental models and social cognition. In the first stage, this project will investigate three delivery features: the continuity of the information flow, the learner's control over the pace of animation and the permanence on the screen of previous stages of the animation. In the second stage, we will investigate whether the content of the animation should map the conceptual model or the events as they actually happen. Both the individual and collaborative setting will be used.

EQUEL

EQUEL is a European project that involves key researchers and e-learning practitioners from 14 European institutions of higher education. It is supported by the e-learning Initiative of the European Commission.

EQUEL stands for ‘e-quality in e-learning’ and is a virtual centre of excellence for innovation and research in networked learning in higher and post-compulsory education. The aim of EQUEL is to foster European knowledge and understanding of the effects of e-learning practice, theory and philosophy through building a research and practitioner network of experts working in the field.

UNIVERSANTE

Le projet universante regroupe des experts en santé publique, en éducation médicale et en technologies éducatives des Universités de Beyrouth, Monastir, Yaoundé et Genève.

L'objectif est de mettre en réseau des étudiants et des enseignants de ces différents pays autour d'un projet commun : la formation en santé publique.

DRLOCH

DRLOCH is a scientific co-operation between Eastern Europe and Switzerland. The main objective of the project is building an educational software system assisting the researchers, professors and students in the educational interactivity for learning the History and Theology of Romanian Orthodox Church.