Mid Sweden University

A subfield of artificial intelligence is that of natural language processing and sentiment analysis. The interest in sentiment analysis has increased with the development of the internet and web 2.0. With sentiment analysis it is possible to analyse the sentiment or emotions of written communication through dictionary-based sentiment analysis or machine learning algorithms. However, sentiment analysis also holds the potential of supporting people with disadvantages in interpreting the nuances in written communication. One such group is autistic people. The aim of the study is to examine autistic peoples’ perceptions of important design factors and functionality for an application with sentiment analysis to support emotional navigation in written communication. This study has been conducted with the first steps of design science to outline the requirements of a potential application that can support autistic people to navigate the emotions in written communication with sentiment analysis. The problem to be addressed was identified through related research and one of authors’ own experience of navigating written communications with autism. The requirements for the application were the main focus for this study and has been the primarily concern for data collection. Data have been collected through semi-structured interviews with autistic people and analysed with thematic analysis. Results of the study provide several important recommendations for the design of applications with sentiment analysis to support autistic people navigate the emotions in written communication. The study further provides an understanding of autistic peoples’ needs when navigating written communication. These findings can be used by researchers and developers to design support-applications with autistic peoples’ needs in the centre. An interesting next step of research would be to develop a prototype with the findings of this study addressed in the application’s functionality and design, which could then be evaluated on a larger scale.

There is a need to increase the number of students, especially women, choosing programming and STEM disciplines. We need innovative approaches in schools to better engage students and awake their interest in computer science. This paper addresses the need to create tools that effectively support the learning of programming and the development of computational thinking, highlighting why video games can be an effective educational tool for it and also attract new students to STEM. The Game4Coding Erasmus+ project proposes the design of a video game called CodeQuest, using a game genre that has not been frequently used before to address the teaching of programming, the monster tamer genre. We consider that video games have a number of benefits such as that stimulate active learning, are engaging for a wide range of students, and present information in a way that is attractive to learners. We want to explore this kind of game’s effectiveness as a learning tool as well as its effect on the perception of STEM disciplines and programming to attract new public to coding (especially girls).

It is commonly suggested that emerging technologies will revolutionize education. In this paper, two such emerging technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and educational robots (ER), are in focus. The aim of the paper is to explore how teachers, researchers and pedagogical developers critically imagine and reflect upon how AI and robots could be used in education. The empirical data were collected from discussion groups that were part of a symposium. For both AI and ERs, the need for more knowledge about these technologies, how they operates, the need for more knowledge about these technologies, how they could preferably be used, and how the emergence of these technologies might affect the role of the teacher and the relationship between teachers and students, were outlined. Many participants saw more potential to use AI for individualization as compared with ERs. However, there were also more concerns, such as ethical issues and economic interests, when discussing AI. While the researchers/developers to a greater extent imagined ideal future technology-rich educational practices, the practitioners were more focused on imaginaries grounded in current practice.

Due to increased need of professionals on the future labour market with competence in programming, many countries have integrated programming in kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12) education. In 2017, programming was integrated in Swedish primary and secondary school curriculum and the courses of Mathematics and Technology. Research has highlighted challenges in integrating programming and other new technologies, and the need for better teacher support. The aim of the study was to examine what programming affords secondary school courses in Mathematics and Technology according to teachers that use programming in these two courses. The study was conducted with a qualitative approach and collected data through interviews with 19 teachers that use programming in secondary school courses of Mathematics and/or Technology. Thematic analysis with inductive-deductive approach was used to analyse the collected data. Theory of Affordances was used to identify themes of interests in the collected material and group these into categories. Ten programming affordances are identified in this study: 1) flexibility, 2) creativity, 3) efficiency, 4) visualisation, 5) fun, 6) curiosity, 7) play, 8) holistic views, 9) fearlessness, and 10) interdisciplinary collaborations. Through discussion and comparison with previous research, these programming affordances are found to relate to three aspects of teaching and learning in secondary school Mathematics and Technology: A) support course content and learning, B) facilitate engagement and motivation, and C) foster developmental skills. The study concludes with a suggestion for a conceptual model on what programming can afford school courses in Mathematics and Technology, based on the findings of the study. Findings can be used by teachers, policymakers and other stakeholders in the integration and design of programming in secondary education.

An essential part of becoming proficient in any language is to develop and increase the learner’s vocabulary. This is a part of language education and the teaching of grammar, through teaching the structure of sentences and the categories of words to choose from. A common approach in language education is to use grammar tests to practise the basic rules of constructing sentences and increasing the learner’s vocabulary. The teacher’s time is, in many cases, limited and the construction of tests may intrude on more challenging and complex aspects of the teacher’s daily work. However, both grammar and the construction of tests are systematic work that follows a set of rules, which is something that a computer is generally good at. The aim of this research was to develop and evaluate a web application for auto-generating grammar tests to be used in language education.

A design science approach was used in this research to develop a web application in a number of development-iterations. The web application was developed to auto-generate unique grammar tests in Swedish, based on the structure of sentences and word classes in the Swedish language. A theoretical framework for evaluating design science research was used to structure and evaluate each iteration in the development process. The web application was tested and evaluated by language teachers in Swedish K-12 education at different stages of development and on different aspects of the application.

The results of the research show that the teachers are generally positive towards the web application and the assistance in constructing grammar tests. Some of the negative feedback received from the evaluations consisted of: questions in the grammar tests being too difficult for some of their students, and suggestions for adjustments in the design to make the interaction with the application easier. Although the web application needs more work and extensive testing and evaluation in educational setting; the conclusion of the research is that it is possible to develop a web application for auto-generating grammar tests that teachers will find useful in their teaching and learning activities.

A frequently mentioned reason for learning and integration programming in K-12 education is the development of computational thinking. However, there have been some differences in previous research concerning how computational thinking skills are developed through programming activities. An increasingly popular tool for programming in K-12 education is block programming. The aim of this study was to analyse and discuss potential opportunities and challenges in developing computational thinking skills through the use of block programming tools in K-12 education.

The study has been conducted as a literature review where findings have been gathered and structured according to facets from a computational thinking framework presented by Valerie J. Shute, Chen Sun and Jodi Asbell-Clarke (2017) in ‘Demystifying computational thinking. Educational Research Review, 22, 142-158'. The gathered data was further analysed through content analysis and with the use of deductive coding. In the literature search the following keywords where mainly used and combined with the Boolean operators ‘or’ and ‘and’: computational thinking, block programming, K-12, education, opportunities, challenges. The literature search where further filtered with a publication time frame between 2015 and 2019, with the exceptions of backward-searches.

Findings show that there are both opportunities and challenges in using block programming tools to develop computational thinking skills. Where some are specific for the block programming approach, while other are more general. The conclusion of the study is that computational thinking skills should be targeted explicit in block programming activities for the desired development to occur. Author recommendation is that a variety of programming tools and approaches are used in computational thinking activities to encourage curiosity and progress.

The idea of using programming in fields outside of computer science is not new, but it has received renewed attention with the global trend of integrating programming in school curricula. In the Swedish context, mathematics and technology teachers for grades 7-9 have been significantly affected by the integration of programming. Previous research has highlighted the opportunities and challenges presented by this integration and shown that programming is a relevant skill for students to acquire, but it also shows that teachers often lack knowledge, skill and guidance for this integration. The knowledge object of the thesis is to develop knowledge about teachers’ perceived affordances (action possibilities) and constraints in using programming in grade 7-9 mathematics and technology. The thesis includes five papers and uses a qualitative approach to identify action possibilities and constraints of using programming in grade 7-9 mathematics and technology. These action possibilities and constraints relate to three aspects of teaching and learning: subject content, motivation and engagement, and digital competence. Together, the findings provide a conceptual model for what programming can be used for in grade 7-9 mathematics and technology. This conceptual model, which incorporates action possibilities and constraints of programming related to the three aspects of teaching and learning mentioned above, represents the contribution of the thesis. The thesis provides new insights into the understanding of teachers’ use and perceptions of programming for teaching and learning in grade 7-9 mathematics and technology (the study object). The thesis also has practical implications for the future design of professional development courses on programming for teachers and how programming should be used and integrated in an educational context.

With future shortage of professionals with programming and computing skills, many countries have made programming part of kindergarten – grade 12 curriculum (K-12). A possible approach is to make programming part of an already existing subject. Sweden has chosen this approach and in 2017 programming was integrated in the subject content of K-12 mathematics and technology. Integrating programming is at the expense of extra workload on teachers. Teachers afected by these changes will face new challenges in their teaching and learning activities. The aim of the study is to examine K-12 teachers’ use and perceived afordances of programming as a tool for teaching and learning activities in mathematics and technology. Data were collected through focus group discussions with three teacher teams in mathematics and technology from three K-12 schools in the mid Sweden region. 21 teachers participated in the study. Thematic analysis with a mixture of deductive and inductive coding were used to analyse the data. Theory of afordances was used to structure fndings in themes of interests and answer the study’s aim and research questions. Results show that the teachers use a variety of programming tools in their teaching and learning activities. The use of programming in mathematics and technology can be understood in fve main perceived afordances: 1) Play, 2) Discovery, 3) Adaptation, 4) Control, and 5) Freedom; which relate to both student motivation and subject content. Teachers also perceive obstacles and opportunities in using programming, that relates to diferent programming tools’ ability to support teaching and learning activities. The fndings of this study can be drawn upon by teachers and other stakeholders in the integration of programming in K-12 education, and in the design of teaching and learning activities with programming.

With low student satisfaction and high drop-out rates, programming education has been labelled bymany as problematic learning in higher education. Many countries have integrated programming inkindergarten to grade 12 educations to better prepare students for a digitalised society. A commonconcept in this context is computational thinking. In this study, the concept is applied in a teacherprofessional development course on fundamental programming. The aim of the study is to identify anddiscuss the development of computational thinking in course participants’ programming solutions in ateacher professional development course on fundamental programming.

The study was conducted with an action research approach. Collected data consists of 35 courseparticipants’ programming solutions from two iterations of a teacher professional development course onfundamental programming. A combination of text mining and process mining were used to analyse thecollected data. First, an algorithm was developed with the Python programming language that analysethe collected data. Second, the algorithm’s output was converted to a spreadsheet for a manual controlof the coding. Third, a process mining tool was used to analyse the coded data.

Results of the study show that several indicators of development in computational thinking can beidentified in the programming solutions. The conclusion of the study is that computational thinkingconcepts in programming solutions can serve as indicators of course participants’ development asprogrammers. This can be drawn upon by stakeholders for course completion forecast or drop-outinterventions.

The integration of programming in K-12 education (kindergarten to grade 12) can be viewed worldwide. Expected outcomes of the integration is that students will develop skills in problem solving, creativity, logical thinking, reasoning, and computational thinking. Previous research has identified several challenges for the integration of programming, such as lack of guidance, motivation, time and competence. The aim of this study is to examine the use of programming tools in teaching and learning material by K-12 teachers. The teaching and learning material analysed in this study were collected from a website (Lektion.se) where K-12 teachers can share their teaching and learning material with each other. A document review process, inspired by a systematic literature review process, was used to select the teaching and learning material to be included in the study. The selected teaching and learning material were later analysed through content analysis with deductive and inductive coding. In the study, four types of programming tools can be found in the analysed teaching and learning material: textual programming tools, block programming tools, tangible programming tools, and unplugged programming. The findings of the study indicate potential relationships between the use of different programming tools and school subjects and student grades. These findings can be drawn upon by teachers and other stakeholders in the decision on what programming tools to integrate in classroom practice and how they are to be used. 

In recent years, programming has been integrated in many countries K-12 education. A common reason given for this integration is that programming will help students develop computational thinking. There are many programming tools available for teachers to use in integrating programming in their teaching and learning activities. The programming tools that are typically associated with programming activities are the ones called ‘textual programming tools’. The aim of this research was to analyse and discuss challenges and opportunities in using textual programming tools to develop computational thinking skills in K-12 education.

The research was carried out as a literature review with a search filter set on a time frame for publications between 2015 and 2020, exceptions were made for backward-searches. The main keywords used in the literature search was: textual programming, computational thinking, education, K-12, challenges, opportunities. These were combined with the Boolean operators ‘and’ and ‘or’. Content analysis with a mixture of deductive and inductive coding was used to analyse the collected data and structure the findings according to a theoretical framework by Shute, Sun and Asbell-Clarke [20] and group them in challenges and opportunities.

The findings show both challenges and opportunities in developing computational thinking skills through textual programming tools. Some of these can be applicable to programming tools in general, while other are more specific to the textual programming tools. Some of the challenges are that textual programming tools often have a high threshold for novice programmers and are perceived as difficult, which might hinder the development of computational thinking skills. Some of the opportunities are that textual programming tools often are flexible and perceived as authentic programming, which might motivate the development of computational thinking skills.

The idea of creating intelligent machines and artificial intelligence (AI) have been around for centuries, and can be traced back to at least to the 14th century. Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED) is a much younger discipline, but during the last 25 years there have been achievements in a number of fields which have made impact on education. Critical voices have been raised against the over-optimism in contemporary AI research. Less have been written about the high expectation of AIED and its potential impact on education. The aim of this study was to analyse and discuss AIED from the teacher perspective. 

This study was carried out as a SWOT-analysis, with data gathered from a literature study. Main keywords in the literature search were: artificial intelligence, artificial intelligence in education, AIED, teacher perspective, education and teacher. Themes and patterns in the four main categories where further processed as a deductive-inductive thematic analysis. 

Findings indicates that there are both promises and threats for the teacher in the contemporary AIED. In several aspects the field seems to be in a state of hype but as other hype areas there is a potential for maturing and with concrete applications in daily teaching and learning activities. Recommendations is to learn from traditional AI and to open up for an informative and nuanced discussion concerning the role of AI in education. Otherwise there is a risk for artificial education instead of artificial intelligence in education. 

Humans are normally good at logic reasoning and taking appropriate decisions. But in situations of crisis this is not always the case. Moral aspects are an important part of crisis management, which can be difficult to manage in complex and stressful situations. Several studies indicate that humans under stress better should be facilitated by decisions making system. (Robert & Lajtha, 2002; Keramitsoglou et al., 2004) 

This study presents a model that is based on the ethical theory of consequentialism. Consequentialism states that moral decisions can be calculated by the actions expected outcomes (Kymlicka, 2002:13;Sinnott-Armstrong, 2003; Mill, 2007:457). However, a known issue with consequentialism is how to deal with prediction in complex situations (Singer, 1982; Norcross 1990; Simons 1999; Lenman 2000;Hansson, 2007). The calculations in the model are inspired by Hookers (2000:32) suggestions of how potential long term, short term, positive and negative outcomes should weigh against each other. 

The suggested model should be flexible enough to be used in both real crisis situations and crisis management exercises. However, before testing the model in real life crisis situations there is a need for further evaluation in table top exercises. These table top exercises should preferably include the concept of scripted collaboration. A specialisation of scripted collaboration is to present conflicts of interests to the participants, something that resembles moral dilemmas in philosophy. 

Keywords: Computational moral support, Crisis management ethics, Consequentialism, Decision support system, Moral dilemmas 

References

Hansson, S. O. (2007). Philosophical problems in cost–benefit analysis. Economics & Philosophy, 23(2), 163-183.

Hooker, B. (2000). Ideal code, real world: A rule-consequentialist theory of morality. Oxford University Press. 

Keramitsoglou, I., Kiranoudis, C. T., Sarimvels, H., & Sifakis, N. (2004). A multidisciplinary decision support system for forest fire crisis management. Environmental management, 33(2), 212-225.

Kymlicka, W. (2002). Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. Second Edition. Oxford University Press.

Lenman, J. (2000). Consequentialism and cluelessness. Philosophy & public affairs, 29(4), 342-370.

Mill, J. S. (2007). Utilitarianism. In: Shafer-Landau, R. (Ed.). (2007). Ethical theory: an anthology. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 

Norcross, A. 1990. Consequentialism and the unforeseen future. Analysis 50:253–56.

Robert, B., & Lajtha, C. (2002). A new approach to crisis management. Journal of contingencies and crisis management, 10(4), 181-191.

Simons, K.W. 1999. Negligence. In Responsibility, ed. E.F. Paul, F. D. Miller Jr, and J. Paul, 52–93. Cambridge University Press. 

Singer, M. (1982). Incoherence, inconsistency, and moral theory: more on actual consequence utilitarianism. The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 20(3), 375-391.

Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (2003). Consequentialism.

Under normal conditions, humans are good at logic reasoning and taking appropriate decisions, but crisis management is not conducted under normal conditions. In complex and stressful situations, the moral aspects of crisis management could be hard to sort out, with decision makers stuck in moral dilemmas. Research has recommended that the detailed emergency handling manuals should be complemented with decision making support systems. This paper presents and discusses a model for an intelligent decision support system (IDSS), based on the ethical theory of consequentialism. Consequentialism posits that moral decisions can be calculated by the expected outcomes from presumptive actions. On the other hand, consequentialism has been criticised for deficiencies in the prediction of complex situations. Calculations in the suggested model are inspired by Hooker's Rule-consequentialist theory of morality. A theory with the fundamental idea that potential long-term and short-term outcomes should be weighed against each other. Furthermore, the positive and negative outcomes from presumptive actions should be estimated and weighed against each other. The suggested model should be flexible enough to be used in both real crisis situations and crisis management exercises. However, before testing the model in real life crisis situations there is a need for thorough evaluations in virtual crisis management exercises. As a complement, these virtual crisis exercises should preferably also include scripted collaboration. The most interesting specialisation of scripted collaboration are the conflict scripts, enabling the idea of scripting exercise conflicts that resemble moral dilemmas in philosophy.

This paper is a review of content analysis or thematic analysis which is further explored though the lens of impressions of doctoral students who attended a presentation on the subject.The long tradition of quantitative research still dominates many university courses on research methodology and data analysis. During the 20th century the field of qualitative research has had a growing need for new analysis methods that accommodate qualitative data and two frequently used methods are content analysis and thematic analysis. They have several things in common and sometimes, they have been understood by researchers to be interchangeably. It has been argued by some researchers that conventional content analysis has really the same functional approach to analysing data as an inductive thematic analysis. This study reports on two webinars on qualitative analysis involving doctoral students and facilitated by the authors. The webinars presented, discussed content analysis and thematic analysis, and gathered participants’ reflections on these methods using a Padlet (padlet.com). The aim of the study was to analyse and describe doctoral students' perceptions of content analysis and thematic analysis. The data collected has been analysed using conventional content analysis applying an abductive coding approach. The study identifies several perceived similarities and differences between the two methods, but also opportunities and challenges for applying them. Findings highlight that the two methods are perceived to be applicable to different types of research. Furthermore, they offer similar challenges to the researcher including their potential for bias and could be considered a choice between an intuitive and a practical approach to analysis. Many of the identified perceptions can be related to previous literature on content analysis and thematic analysis. However, other perceptions seems to indicates a need for more thorough and nuanced discussions on methods for qualitative analysis. The study suggest that more efforts should be made to support doctoral students in attaining a nuanced understanding of qualitative methods for analysis. 

Research has a long tradition of quantitative research which still dominates many university courses on research methods. Qualitative research is a younger phenomenon that was established in research after the second world war. An emerging research field that needed new analysis methods tailored for qualitative data. Two of the most frequently used approaches in qualitative data analysis are content analysis and thematic analysis. In several aspects content analysis and thematic analysis both share a common approach to analytically examine qualitative data, and the fact that they have been used interchangeably has made it difficult for the more unexperienced researchers to distinguish and choose between them. The aim of this study is to examine doctoral students’ perceptions of qualitative analysis with content analysis and thematicanalysis. The study had a qualitative approach with data collected from two webinars on qualitative data analysis, where a total of 76 doctoral students participated. Data consists of participant reflections in a Padlet on content analysis and thematic analysis at the two webinars. Webinar participants have given their consent to use their reflections in the Padlet for research. Content analysis with an abductive coding approach was used to analyse the collected data and formulate categories that answer the study’s aim and research question. Results show both perceived similarities and differences between content analysis and thematic analysis. Both are perceived to have a similar process in the coding of data, although content analysishas a wider selection of coding approaches and thematic analysis support deeper immersion. Content analysis is also perceived as more practical and straightforward, while thematic analysis is perceived as more intuitive and faster to learn. Both content analysis and thematic analysis are perceived to have individual opportunities and challenges that make them appropriate for different types of research. Findings presented in this study can be used by researchers at any level to explore similarities and differences between content analysis and thematic analysis, and where to apply them in research.

Many countries have a new policy with an aim of involving computer programming earlier in the compulsory school curricula. In Sweden this should be implemented as a part of secondary school mathematics and technology. This reform has created a nation-wide need for teacher professional development with programming courses given by universities. For the universities this is a new learner group with a higher average age and different learning needs than the traditional younger students. The aim of the study was to identify and discuss opportunities and barriers for increasing the pass rate and learner satisfaction in programming courses for secondary school mathematics and technology teachers. Main research questions in the study were, 1) Which factors for increased pass rates and participant motivation could be identified for teacher training courses on programming? and 2) How might these identified factors be related to course participants learning needs? This study was carried out as a case study involving triangulation of multiple data sources. Data has been gathered in a combination of self-assessment questionnaires, course evaluations and essays written by course participants from three different course instances. A content analysis was conducted to find and group themes in the data that are relevant to answer the research questions. The analysis has been partly inductive, and partly deductive with adult learning as the theoretical lens. The study identifies 8 main themes that are important to consider as factors for course pass rate and participant motivation. The identified themes are: 1) Exchange of experience, 2) Practical work, 3) Help and support, 4) Alignment to prior knowledge, 5) Required time and commitment, 6) Level of difficulty, 7) Clarity and structure, 8) Participant expectation. Dependent on how these are addressed in teacher professional development courses, they can be opportunities or barriers for increased pass rate. The next step will be to apply and evaluate the identified themes in future course re-design. 

Introduction: An ongoing trend on a global scale is the integration of computer science and programming in K-12 education. The integration has been motivated by the needs of the present and future labor market but also by the assumption that skills related to computer science and programming are valuable for citizens to navigate an increasingly digitalized society. Computational thinking (CT) is a concept that aims to define and summarize skills associated with programming and computer science and has received wide recognition within research and education. But how do the teachers perceive this concept, and how do they relate it to their own teaching and learning activities? This study aims to investigate and discuss teachers' perceptions of CT in grades 7–12 mathematics and technology.

Methods: Data have been collected from essay assignments in three instances of a professional development course on fundamental programming for grades 7–12 teachers in mathematics and technology. In the essays, the teachers reflect on CT in relation to mathematics and technology and teaching and learning activities in these subjects. With a theoretical framework for CT, the collected data have been analyzed with a directed content analysis approach to identify categories of interests for CT in relation to grades 7–12 mathematics and technology.

Results: The results of the study show that the teachers perceive both opportunities and challenges in applying the CT concept in their teaching and learning activities. For example, it can strengthen the subjects through new practices and reinforce old practices, but it could be too complex and perceived as difficult by some students. Furthermore, many of the teachers perceive CT not only to be relevant for mathematics and technology but also for learning in general.

Discussion: The conclusion of the study is that CT has the potential to enhance teaching and learning activities in mathematics, technology, and other STEM subjects. If this should be successful, CT must not be involved too abstractly or too superficially. This study contributes to the discussion on CT in K-12 education, adding the teachers' perspective. The findings of this study can be used by teachers and other stakeholders in the design of classroom activities that apply the CT concept.

During recent years the field of Learning Analytics have been frequently mentioned in discussions of addressing challenges in education, as well as a means to analyse and draw upon students' strengths in educational contexts. Prognoses for the future labour market show an increasing need of programmers, yet studies show that programming education struggle with student dropout, poor academic performance and low pass rates. The aim of this study was to analyse and discuss potential obstacles and opportunities in using learning analytics tools for forecasting student success in relation to course outcomes in programming education.

This study was carried out as a literature review with a theorical framework for Learning Analytics presented by Yassine, Kadry and Sicilia (2016) in “A framework for learning analytics in moodle for assessing course outcomes”. In 2016 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON) (pp. 261-266). IEEE.” as the basis for a content analysis with deductive coding. Main keywords in the literature search was: learning analytics, programming, education, course, tool, obstacles, opportunities. Keywords were combined with the Boolean operators “and” and “or”. The literature search was limited to recently published research (between years 2015 and 2019).

The study shows that learning analytics tools, if thoughtfully used, is an opportunity to forecast student success and improve educational design, both from the student perspective and from the teacher perspective. Learning analytics tools does not necessarily have to build on quantitative big data analyses only. From a teacher perspective it could be more valuable with a mixed method approach in the strive to improve existing course design. As pointed out in several research studies students’ and teachers’ integrity have to be respected. Today’s virtual learning environments provide huge amounts of learning data, but as in all other types of research, this should build on informed consent. Finally, in a new approach of learning analytics the analyses preferably should include some teaching analytics as well, to better improve course design and learning outcomes.

Purpose The conducted examination of programming affordances and constraints had the purpose of adding knowledge and value that facilitate the on-going national curricula revision; knowledge that also could be of general interest outside the Swedish K-12 context. Design/methodology/approach With a qualitative approach, the study was conducted as a document analysis where submitted lesson plans were the base for a directed content analysis. Findings This study presents findings on how the involvement of programming in mathematics and technology have potential to foster engagement and motivation among students. Findings also indicate that the implementation of programming can develop important general skills that go beyond the boundaries of mathematics and technology. Moreover, the identified constraints could be valuable to improve the on-going curriculum development for K-12 mathematics and technology. Research limitations/implications This qualitative study was conducted on a relatively small number of teachers where the majority has taken the courses on a voluntary basis. An important complement would be to conduct a larger quantitative study with data from a more general sample of K-12 teachers. Practical implications Results and discussions provide guidance for K-12 teachers and other stakeholders who want to introduce programming as a complementary tool in teaching and learning activities. Social implications The study has a contribution to the on-going implementation of the Swedish national curricula for K-12 mathematics and technology. Originality/value During the last years, many studies have been published on teacher training in programming, and how the training can be improved. This study goes beyond the actual teacher training and examine aspects teachers translate to theirs daily work after completing the training.

Programming education at university level has often been identified as problematic learning. At the same time, prognosis for future labour market is increased need for professionals with programming and related skills. To meet demands of future society, K-12 schools around the world have integrated programming in the curriculum. However, research show challenges for integrating programming in K-12 education. Challenges include students’ and teachers’ struggle with learning and teaching programming, lack of time to properly incorporate programming in existing teaching and learning, and insufficient support for teachers. This study addresses these challenges by designing, developing, and evaluating an educational game on programming that combines the idea of game-based learning with digital escape rooms. In the game, the player develops knowledge about programming concepts to escape 10 rooms. The study’s main research question was: What are K-12 students’ perceptions of the game and what do they considered to be important design factors for a digital escape room game on computer programming? A design science approach was used for designing, developing, and evaluating a web-based escape room game on programming. This was conducted in a five-step process: 1) Explicating the problem, 2) Defining the requirements, 3) Designing and developing the artefact, 4) Demonstrating the artefact, and 5) Evaluating the artefact. The game was tested and evaluated by 32 K-12 students with a questionnaire during the autumn semester of 2021 and spring semester of 2022. Collected data were then analysed and grouped into categories to answerthe study’s aim and research question. Findings of the study show several suggestions for further development and important design factors to consider when developing a digital escape room game. The next steps of research are to combine these findings with evaluations from teachers, and to incorporate this in an updated version of the game.

The act of programming can be traced back to the 19th century and Ada Lovelace. In the context of history, the idea to combine programming with mathematics and technology is not strange. Today programming is a much more widespread phenomenon. But the relevance of programming in mathematics and technology is still very obvious. However, with the mandatory addition of programming in K-12 setting a debate has been sparked concerning the impact on teaching activities. The aim of this study was to analyse and discuss possible obstacles and opportunities in integrating programming in K-12 settings from a teacher perspective. The two important main questions to answer were: 1) which are teachers' perceived obstacles and opportunities in the integration of programming in K-12 setting? 2) which are the differences and similarities in expectation between teachers with and without earlier programming experience?

This study was carried out inspired of action research with the objective of improving an existing programming course for mathematic and technology teachers. Action research is a strategy that do not only strive to generate new knowledge but also has the aim to improve real world phenomena. Authors in this study had the double roles of being teachers and researchers, with the idea of establishing a cyclical process where course participants feedback should lead to extensions of the future course versions. Data were collected in the teacher training course and consist of 44 submitted essay answers on the question: In which aspects might programming be a positive and/or negative enhancement of you daily teaching? Collected data were grouped into categories with the use of content analysis.

Results indicate that there are both perceived opportunities and perceived obstacles among teachers concerning integrating programming in mathematics and technology. An obvious finding was the mix of positive and negative attitudes in the vast majority of essays. In the category of obstacles many teachers brought up the risk of time trouble in both their professional development and in their teaching activities. In the category of opportunities several teachers mentioned the potential of programming as a new and motivating learning tool in their subjects. Finally, it seems important for the participants to get concreate takeaways from the course that could be used in their daily teaching activities.

Today, AI has a rapid dissemination and is becoming involved in many new areas. One of these areas is education, with AI in education (AIED) as an emerging research topic. When AIED will be applied in educational settings, would AI be implemented as a teacher support, or will the teachers support the AI systems? The aim of this study was to analyse contemporary research on AIED and discuss its possibilities and challenges. 

This study was carried out as a literature review, where found themes and patterns have been categorised in a thematic analysis. Important main keywords in the search where: human-compatible AI, teachers, education, human-supported AI, AI-supported humans, AI in education. Keywords have been combined with Boolean operators to find articles containing information that was important to answer the research question. 

In the deductive analysis found themes and patterns where grouped into the categories: teacher-supported AI, AI-supported teachers, teacher-compatible AI. Findings indicate that many studies lack a clear distinction between teacher-supported AI and AI-supported teachers. The recommendation is teacher-compatible AI, and that the combination of humans and AI is stronger than just one of them.

The idea of building intelligent machines has been around for centuries, with a new wave of promising artifcial intelligence (AI) in the twenty-frst century. Artifcial Intelligence in Education (AIED) is a younger phenomenon that has created hype and promises, but also been seen as a threat by critical voices. There have been rich discussions on over-optimism and hype in contemporary AI research. Less has been written about the hyped expectations on AIED and its potential to transform current education. There is huge potential for efciency and cost reduction, but there is also aspects of quality education and the teacher role. The aim of the study is to identify potential aspects of threat, hype and promise in artifcial intelligence for education. A scoping literature review was conducted to gather relevant state-of-the art research in the feld of AIED. Main keywords used in the literature search were: artifcial intelligence, artifcial intelligence in education, AI, AIED, teacher perspective, education, and teacher. Data were analysed with the SWOT-framework as theoretical lens for a thematic analysis. The study identifes a wide variety of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for artifcial intelligence in education. Findings suggest that there are several important questions to discuss and address in future research, such as: What should the role of the teacher be in education with AI? How does AI align with pedagogical goals and beliefs? And how to handle the potential leak and misuse of user data when AIED systems are developed by for-proft organisations?

I detta kapitel ges ett lärarperspektiv på programmering och programmeringsverktyg i skolan. Lärarnas röster är hämtade från essäer, foruminlägg och kursutvärderingar skrivna av deltagare i en programmeringskurs för verksamma matematiklärare i grund- och gymnasieskolan. Författarna har identifierat ett antal teman som sorterats i två huvudkategorier: att använda programmering i matematik, respektive att arbeta med olika programmeringsverktyg. Lärarna menar att det kan bli både roligt och mer engagerande med programmering i matematikundervisningen. Samtidigt vittnar de om tidsbrist, såväl för fortbildning som för programmeringsinslag i undervisningen. Vissa programmeringsverktyg upplevs ha en låg tröskel, medan andra upplevs som svåra, vilket begränsar deras användning i matematikundervisningen.

The integration of programming in K-12 setting is a global phenomenon with different implementations in different countries. In Sweden this is a rapid process where programming should be a part of K-12 mathematic and technology with an implementation during 2018 and 2019. The time frame has been narrowly defined, but there are few directives considering which types of programming that should be used. Three main programming types are textual programming, block programming and unplugged programming, this study has a focus on unplugged programming. The research question to answer was: Which are K-12 teachers attitudes on the role of unplugged programming in education? 

The research study has been a qualitative cross-sectional study with the aim to collect teachers' attitudes towards unplugged programming halfway through their introductory programming course. Cross-sectional study is an approach to capture snapshots of an ongoing process at a given point in time. Data were collected from discussions and online postings during a workshop in the above-mentioned programming course. Participants postings have been grouped into categories in a content analysis based on the frequency of occurrence and relevance for answering the research question. 

Findings show that most teachers see a benefit of unplugged programming as a means to learn the fundamental programming concepts in their teaching and learning activities. However, there are different opinions on when this unplugged introduction should occur. Some teachers also pointed out that unplugged programming could be used as an alternative to block programming and textual programming when the digital environment lacks or fails. Conclusions are that unplugged activities are a valuable complement to block programming and textual programming, but teachers have different opinions on the optimum age group for unplugged programming activities. The recommendations for K-12 teachers is to seriously consider the unplugged complement, both for pedagogical reasons and as a never-failing analogue backup. 

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyse and discuss K-12 mathematics and technology teachers' perceptions on integrating programming in their teaching and learning activities, and perceptions on different programming tools. Design/methodology/approach: The approach of a case study was used, with data collected from three instances of a professional development programming course for K-12 teachers in mathematics and technology. Findings: The findings show that there are perceived challenges and opportunities with learning and integrating programming, and with different programming tools. Many teachers perceive programming as fun, but lack the time to learn and implement it, and view different programming tools as both complementary to each other and with individual opportunities and challenges. Practical implications: The practical implication of the research is that it can provide guidance for teachers and other stakeholders that are in the process of integrating programming in K-12 education. Further, the research provides useful information on teachers' experiences on working with different programming tools. Social implications: The social implication of the research is that the overall aim of the nation-wide integration process might not succeed if the challenges identified in this study are not addressed, which could have negative effects on the development of students' digital competence. Originality/value: The value of the research is that it identifies important challenges and opportunities for the integration of programming. That is, that many teachers perceive the different programming tools available as complimentary to each other, but are hesitating about what is expected of the integration. Findings could also be valuable for future course design of the teacher professional development. 

A current ongoing process in many countries today is to implement programming in K-12 education. With this comes challenges for the involved teachers on how to best teach and integrate programming in their subjects. On the other hand, the introduction of programming could also open opportunities for programming as a new and improved way of learning and understanding technology and mathematics. For Swedish K-12 teachers this should be rapidly implemented, but without any concrete guidelines for how or for which tools to use. The aim of this study was to explore teachers' perceptions of learning and integrating programming in technology and mathematics, and their preferences of programming tools. 

The overall research strategy was a case study approach, with two instances of a programming course as the case study units. In both course instances the main choice has been between block programming with Scratch, and textual programming with Python. Data was collected in a combination of submitted essays, programming assignments and workshop observations. Findings from a content analysis of the submitted essays have been compared to workshop observations, and to the analysis of programming assignments. 

Results suggests that the main challenge in learning and integrating programming is the perceived time trouble. In parallel, many teachers highlight the potential benefits of renewing their teaching and learning sessions with programming-based problem solving. Considering the choice between block programming and textual programming several teachers brings up the idea of combining the two rather than excluding one of them. Furthermore, there seems to be minor differences in the preferences of programming tools between teachers with different subjects and different age groups of students. Finally, the most positive finding is the improved self confidence that many teachers show, when their own ability to manage programming in their classrooms increase after learning the fundamentals of programming.  

Many countries have started the process of involving programming in K-12 education. Most experts agree that this will be a positive change, but there are no concrete guidelines on which tools to use, and how to address challenges for the involved teachers. The aim of this study was to describe and analyse teachers' perceptions of integrating programming in technology and mathematics, and their view on programming tools. A case study strategy was used, with two versions of an introductory programming course as the case study units. For both course versions, technology and mathematics teachers taking the course could choose between textual programming in Python and block programming in Scratch. Data have been collected in a mix of submitted essays, programming solutions and researchers’ observations. Findings show that a challenge in learning and integrating programming is the perceived time trouble, while an opportunity is that programming is perceived to be fun. Regarding the choice of tools, the majority of the teachers used Python themselves and mentioned that they could see a greater potential for it as a tool in education. However, many of them stated that they still will start off with Scratch, due to the lower threshold for novice programmers.

Programming education has been classified as problematic learning in higher education, and in the current process of reaching a younger audience there are several challenges. Three of them that are highlighted in this paper are learner motivation, visualisation, and the need for engaging self-learning. To address these challenges this study builds upon a combination of the old idea of game-based learning, and the new trend with escape rooms for educational purposes. The overall aim of the study is to design, develop, and evaluate a game where players can learn about fundamental programming techniques such as variables, data collections, selection and iteration. In the first step a web-based game prototype has been created and tested on teachers in K-12 education, and on teachers in the Makerspace movement. The main research question to answer was: "What are the teacher perceptions about important design factors for an escape room game on computer programming?". This study was conducted with a design science approach involving the recommended steps of 1) Explicating the problem, 2) Defining the requirements, 3) Design and development of an artefact, 4) Demonstrating the artefact, and 5) Evaluation of the artefact. The requirement specification was built around the syllabus framework recommended from the Swedish National Agency for Education. Evaluation data were divided into categories in an inductive thematic analysis, and later compared with design factor found in other studies on educational games for programming education. Preliminary findings show a mixture of attitudes among the teachers in the test group, there are also several suggestions for further development. The two important next steps are to 1) Test the prototype on students, with help from the teachers in the test group, and 2) To refine the prototype and develop the game further to meet the standard of games that K-12 students and Makerspace kids play. To obtain a high-quality outcome of the second next step, there is probably a need for a shift to a more professional development environment.

Att introducera programmering i grund- och gymnasieskola är en pågående process i många länder. I Sverige ska detta inledningsvis ske som en del av matematik och teknik där programmering är tänkt att användas som ett verktyg för problemlösning. Flera forskningsstudier har presenterat vilka fördelar detta skulle kunna föra med sig, men det är svårare att hitta riktlinjer för hur det ska genomföras. Till exempel, hur och när yrkesverksamma lärare ska fortbilda sig inom grundläggande programmering.

Författarna till den här artikeln är samtliga undervisande lärare på en programmeringskurs på Mittuniversitetet som riktar sig specifikt till yrkesverksamma lärare i matematik och teknik på grund- och gymnasienivå.

I samband med att denna kurs har gått så har forskning bedrivits utifrån två huvudsakliga frågor: 1) Vilka hinder och möjligheter ser lärare i att integrera programmering i matematik och teknik? 2) Vilka styrkor och svagheter ser lärare med att använda textbaserad, block- och analog programmering som verktyg i matematik och teknik?

Resultaten från dessa studier har publicerats på internationella konferenser. Nedan följer en kortare introduktion till några centrala begrepp inom forskningsfältet samt en sammanfattning av de mest framträdande resultaten från vår forskning.

In March 2020 I published the ‘emergency editorial’ in Postdigital Science and Education and invited the community to ‘explore all imaginable aspects of this large social experiment that the Covid-19 pandemic has lain down in front of us’ (Jandrić 2020a: 237). Articles immediately started pouring in; within weeks, the journal’s contributions had been recognized by institutions such as the World Health Organization, the US National Library of Medicine’s Nature Public Health Emergency Collection, and UNESCO (see Jandrić 2021 for details). After publication of the October 2020 issue of Postdigital Science and Education,Footnote 1 consisting of almost 60 articles on the Covid-19 pandemic, the first wave of pandemic research has wound down. As it has become obvious that Covid-19 is here to stay, research on immediate Covid-19 experiences and responses slowly gives way to research which ‘reaches beyond the pandemic to the point where the pandemic experience is transformed from an object of research to an intrinsic part of our theories, approaches, research methodologies, and social struggles’ (Jandrić 2021: 262).

A collection of 84 author's testimonies and workspace photographs between 18 March and 5 May 2020.

Gaming is a ubiquitous phenomenon today, and game-based learning has become a main stream teaching and learning activity. Despite the long history of using games in educational contexts, the concepts of inclusive game design and enjoyable educational games still have challenges. The aim of this study is to gather requirements for design of educational games on programming where girls and boys find it joyful to play together. To meet this aim, the data sets from two earlier studies have been combined, compared, discussed, and finally merged into a preliminary framework. This study was carried out as a requirement-fo-cused design science study, with a focus on gathering requirements for a future design and implementation of an educational game on fundamental program-ming. Data were collected in a combination of a scoping literature review, and through a questionnaire answered by elementary school students after playing an educational game on programming. Main themes in the framework for Girl In-clusive Educational Game Design are Exploration Without Violence, Collabora-tive Interaction, Character Diversity, Customisation, Graphics, Game Mechanics, Game Content, and Learning and Motivation. If these factors are thoughtfully considered it could be possible to achieve the idea of a game with Wide Walls, a High Ceiling, and a Low Threshold, where girls and boys could play together and learn how to program.

As pointed out by Seymour Papert, teaching teachers might be more complex and difficult than otherforms of adult learning. In Sweden, as in many other countries, the introduction of computerprogramming in compulsory education is an ongoing process that involves teacher professionaldevelopment. Results from the first generation of teacher training in fundamental programmingindicates that motivation and high pass rates are not always the case. The aim of the study is toanalyse and discuss success factors and lessons learnt in teacher professional development.This study was conducted with a case study approach, with data collected from various data sources.All the courses where data have been gathered are part of a nation-wide training program formathematics and technology teachers in K-12 education. The data triangulation and themethodological triangulation were built around course evaluations, group discussions with courseparticipants, and a survey directed to the subject matter experts of the teacher training courses. Athematic analysis was filtered through the theoretical assumptions of communities of practise andadult learning.Four interesting main findings are, 1) the relevance of study groups, 2) course participants’appreciations of concrete workshop sessions, 3) teachers’ perception of a two-folded time trouble, and4) teachers’ expectations of reusable takeaways from the course. Finally, the recommendation is tofree more time for teachers to participate in collaborative hands-on activities and collegial reflection.

The introduction of programming in K-12 education is an ongoing process in many countries. In the Swedish context computer programming should be introduced as a new educational tool in K-12 mathematics. Several studies have reported on a successful teacher training, less studies can be found about the second step of the rocket: implementing programming in the daily teaching activities. Computer programming is a powerful tool, but probably not for all topics in K-12 mathematics. The research question for this study was:  "What are the teacher ideas for mathematical topics where programming can be a value adding part of the lesson planning?".

 Data has been collected from lesson plans submitted to an assignment in two instances of a course on computer programming for K-12 teachers. The submitted answers have been inductively analysed, where found patterns and sub-themes were grouped into themes with a probability to answer the research question. The used method was the six-step process for thematical analyses that has been outlined by (Braun & Clarke, 2006).  

Findings indicate that programming has a potential to be a reinforcing component in several mathematical topics. Some examples where programming can add value in more specific topics are numeric analysis, geometry, number series and statistics, but there were also lesson plans for using programming in more general problem solving in arithmetic and algebra. Furthermore, there were several creative lesson plans for how to use programming graphics to visualise different mathematical concepts. Finally, to secure a successful flight for the described two-step, the recommendation is to provide more programming courses for K-12 teachers.

Gaming is a ubiquitous activity today where many children spend considerable amounts of time playing various games. Serious games have also become a mainstream educational tool in a wide variety of school subjects. Despite this, many games still have a design that mainly appeals to boys where girls are less frequent players. The aim of this study was to gather requirements for a design of serious games where girls should not feel excluded. The research question to answer was: "Which design concepts are important if girls should be engaged in serious gaming?". Furthermore, the results from this study could be useful for future implementations of educational games. This study strives to address the research gap in the field of inclusive game design, and to gather important requirements for games where girls and boys want to play together. This study was carried out as a scoping literature review to map literature in the field of game design to identify key concepts that can attract the younger girl audience. Scoping literature reviews offer a method of mapping key concepts in a research field to identifying the main sources and types of evidence available. A central aim of a scoping literature review is to synthesise research results to a specific target group as a foundation for future research. For this study, the future research will consist of implementing the found design factors in an educational game on computer science. Findings indicate that there are specific game design concepts that girls find appealing. Important main themes to consider are Creativity and customisation, Character diversity, Collaborative interaction, and Exploration without violence. However, there seems to be several challenges related to the concept of designing specific girl games. The conclusion from this study is rather to choose a more inclusive game design where girls and boys would like to play together. A concept for game design that could be described as having a low threshold, wide walls and a high ceiling. The recommendation for a girl inclusive design is to carefully consider factors such as narration, backstory, social interaction, game graphics, sound design, and personalisation.

Learning games have become mainstream in many educational contexts, where one of them is programming education. Today there exists a wide variety of games where the players can learn about different programming concepts. However, earlier research reports that far from all these games appeal to a female audience. If game-based learning should reach the identified potential of a highly motivating learning environment, the game design must be an inclusive one where girls feel welcome. This study examines three games for learning fundamental programming in a test group with girls only in an afterschool Maker community. The research question in the study was: "Which game design concepts do girls find appealing?"

Data were collected through interviews with girls in a makerspace after testing 3 games on computer programming. The tested games were: Minecraft Education Code Builder, CodeCombat, and imagiLabs. The interviews focused on the girl’s perceptions of the games and of programming. Thematic analysis with a six-phase process of coding were used to analyse the collected data and cluster the codes in themes that supported in answering the aim and research question.

The study shows that all three games were perceived as engaging and that they supported development of programming skills. When asking which of the three games the girls would like to spend more time on to learn programming, opinions were divided. The girls also disagreed on which type of game graphics they found most appealing. However, findings indicate that there are clear patterns in what game design concepts the girls find important. These patterns can be grouped in the following categories: Creativity, customisation, flow, reward and feedback, exploration and programming skills. Firstly, the game should encourage exploration and creativity in both playing and programming. Secondly, for the programming tasks to be fun and challenging it is important to keep players in a flow state with help of rewards, instant feedback and a low threshold at start. Lastly, the possibility for customization and an engaging backstory were also appreciated by the girls in the study. These findings are recommended to take into consideration in future game development.