AI as yet another tool in undergraduate student projects: preliminary results
Abstract:
How do students use artificial intelligence tools in coursework projects when given the liberty to do so, with the only requirement of documenting how, where and why? We describe experiences with two groups of undergraduates in courses related to serious game authoring and human-computer interaction, both carried out in the second semester of 2023. In the serious games course, students were given the option of following a teacher- developed methodology for generating graphical assets for their serious games using a set of generative AI tools. This methodology was explained in the class but not hands on lab was carried out. In the interaction course, students were free to choose which AI tools to use when designing their system or in the development of their project documentation. Despite the limited number of participants
(41 in total) we can see very different views and degrees of involvement: while some tried to use AI for as many tasks as
possible, others considered that the learning curve for those tools was too steep to be worthwhile. Both experiences included a free-text survey at the end, and taken together, provide insights into how both supervised and unsupervised generative AI use could impact undergraduate projects in similar subjects. In addition to describing how students chose to use the tools, and the main takeaways from their survey response, we also discuss some of the ethical aspects about the access to the tools and what should be the minimal conditions to be met to allow the equitable use of AI in the classroom.
Full reference:
Ivan Perez-Colado, Manuel Freire, Antonio Calvo-Morata, Víctor Manuel Pérez-Colado, Baltasar Fernández-Manjón (2024): AI as yet another tool in undergraduate student projects: preliminary results. EDUCON2024 – IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (8-11 May 2024) Kos, Greece.
Games for coding to attract new students to STEM
Abstract:
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).
Full reference:
Antonio Calvo-Morata, Niklas Humble, Peter Mozelius, Rasmus Pechuel, Baltasar Fernández-Manjón (2024): Games for coding to attract new students to STEM. EDUCON2024 – IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (8-11 May 2024) Kos, Greece.
