In November, SLATE has offered a warm welcome to our new Postdoctoral Fellow, Anja Salzmann, our new Researcher, Kamila Misiejuk, and our new Professor II, Cathrine Tømte. We have also said goodbye and good luck to one of our Senior Researchers, Cecilie Hansen.

Anja Salzmann, previously a Researcher at SLATE, has now started in a new four-year position at SLATE, as a Postdoctoral Fellow. Her research will relate to learning analytics in schools, data literacy, the adoption and use of outlined risk technologies (Artificial Intelligence and machine learning) and comprehensive data mining. The field of learning analytics reflects processes of digitalization, datafication and commercialization in the educational sector, and is tied to complex ethical, juridical, social and cultural dilemmas.

Salzmann has a varied background from the humanities, social sciences, pedagogy and economy, which enables her to look at societal issues from a broader analytical perspective. Salzmann will investigate more closely the adoption of educational technology and complex socio-technical infrastructures in educational contexts, focusing particularly on questions about trust, social acceptance and the responsible adoption of learning analytics. This includes questions about the possible consequences for fundamental human rights, democratic principles and the quality of education.

Kamila Misiejuk

Having submitted her thesis in October as a PhD candidate at SLATE, Kamila Misiejuk has now joined SLATE in a new role as a Researcher on two of our Erasmus+ projects.

The first project is the European Network for Virtual Lab and SImulated ONline Learning (ENVISION), the main objective of which is to innovate new e-learning course modules to provide students with the possibility to do laboratory exercises online and engage actively in teamwork in digital environments.

The second project is Remote Intelligent Access to Labs in Higher Education (RIALHE), an exciting new project with partners from the research center SRS4 in Sardinia, Italy, and UTC – the University of Compiègne, France. The RIALHE project aims to give students a better understanding of scientific procedures by providing them with remote access to real laboratory experiments, pairing this access with collaborative activities using tech platforms.

Misiejuk’s PhD project focused on the potential of using learning analytics to support and understand peer assessment. Her research interests include learning design, writing analytics and natural language processing.

Cathrine Tømte

Cathrine Tømte is a Professor at the University of Agder, with research interests in technology, society and education (digital transformation). Tømte will be joining SLATE in her new role as Professor II.

Before working at the University of Agder, she was a Researcher at the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation Research (NIFU).

Tømte has led several interesting studies on technology in schools (including one on the introduction of iPads in schools in Asker municipality), and she has taught courses on professional digital competence for teachers and school leaders. Tømte will be working with SLATE in relation to learning analytics in schools and data literacy for teachers, among other things.

Good Luck to Senior Researcher Cecilie Hansen

In November, after working for three years as a Senior Researcher for SLATE, Cecilie Hansen has left SLATE to start her new PhD position at the Department of Education at the University of Bergen.

The main goal of Hansen’s PhD project is to strengthen our understanding of the teachers’ own understanding of their roles as educators, their idea of what good teaching is, and the relationship between teaching and research in different fields and professions.

Everybody at SLATE wishes Hansen the absolute best of luck on her PhD project!

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