Digital education

Summary

This course addresses the relationship between specific technological features and the learners' cognitive processes. It also covers the methods and results of empirical studies: do student actually learn due to technologies? In fall 2025, P. Dillenbourg will co-teach this class for the last time.

Content

Keywords

learning, pedagogy, teaching, online education, maker spaces

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Describe the learning processes triggered by a technology-based activity
• Explain how a technology feature influences learning processes
• Elaborate a study that measures the learning effects of a digital environment
• Select appropriately a learning technology given the target audience and the expected learning outcomes

Transversal skills

• Set objectives and design an action plan to reach those objectives.
• Identify the different roles that are involved in well-functioning teams and assume different roles, including leadership roles.
• Take account of the social and human dimensions of the engineering profession.
• Write a scientific or technical report.

Teaching methods

The course will combine participatory lectures with a project on designing a learning environment, using it in a controlled experiment,  analysing the learning effects with statistical methods and writing a report.

Expected student activities

The project will include a few milestones to be delivered along the semester.

Assessment methods

• Project + exam
• 50 / 50

Supervision

Resources

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/CS-411