Modern Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and open-source software (OSS) have revolutionized our ability to access and process data, enabling us to tackle increasingly complex problems and challenges. While these technologies provide substantial benefits, they often expose users to vulnerabilities that can severely damage individuals and…

Within the past two decades there has been an increased amount of interest in human-centered information retrieval research beyond the traditional system-focused view embodied by Cranfield- and TREC-style evaluation. From blending search and recommender systems to work on search as learning, the limits of conventional search engines' focus on…

This dissertation examines the interaction patterns that happen in an online learning environment. While many studies look at online learning through the lens of the learner or the learning environment, few studies look at the interaction patterns that happen through the digital traces captured by computational tools. Based on the conceptual…

Preschool teachers use their ideals as a sifter to comb through their most pertinent funds of knowledge related to mealtimes with young children. The purpose of this two-cycle action research study was to investigate and enhance child-feeding professional learning opportunities--targeted at early childhood educators working with young children…

Intercultural competence (IC) is essential for fostering meaningful interactions and understanding in diverse environments, particularly in today's pluralistic societies. The impacts of both intercultural competence and incompetence are profound, shaping relationships and outcomes in various ways. Many definitions of IC emphasize being 'effective'…

The rise of Artificial Intelligence technology has raised concerns about the potential compromise of privacy due to the handling of personal data. Private AI prevents cybercrimes and falsehoods and protects human freedom and trust. While Federated Learning offers a solution by model training across decentralized devices or servers, thereby…

This dissertation is about a particular style of research. The philosophy of this style is that in order to scientifically understand deep learning, it is fruitful to investigate what happens when neural networks are trained on simple, mathematically well-defined tasks. Even though the training data is simple, the training algorithm can end up…

This dissertation describes an experiment to investigate how learners with different levels of background in computer science learn core concepts of computer science, in particular, algorithms. We designed a study to focus on cognitive task analysis for eliciting the empirical mental elements of learning two graph algorithms. Cognitive workload…

A number of studies in mobile learning research have shown that the use of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and many different types of technology within language learning contexts can potentially influence learning of students, particularly the younger generation. In the current study, two participant groups -- EFL teachers and parents…

The purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions of student affairs administrators, working in both public and private higher education institutions, regarding how they learned to use technology and gain insight into how their work would evolve in the future. While the COVID-19 pandemic affected everyone in the higher education…

Recently, with the advancement in 2D imaging techniques and 3D visual sensors such as LiDAR, RGB-D cameras, etc. The use of 2D and 3D data is ubiquitous in various fields like autonomous driving, AR, and VR. Therefore, we are faced with an ever-increasing demand for approaches toward the automatic processing and analysis of data from multiple…

Effectively mastering organic chemistry means having the ability to recognize structural patterns, identify properties or behaviors as a result of patterns, manipulate and transform representations, and predict future outcomes. Often students rely on rote memorization of seemingly disconnected information instead of developing a sound…

This dissertation aimed to expand the current literature's understanding of Indigenous epistemology within contemporary social media environments. The qualitative study used social descriptive analysis from forty TikTok videos and comment threads. The descriptive analysis captured major cultural themes, common informal learning behaviors, and…

Although virtual reality (VR) is commonly used in science classes, for example, to enable students to do simulated human dissections and other medical procedures, research on the use of VR as a learning tool in the humanities, more specifically the literature classroom, are few. This grounded theory study sought to understand better the use of VR…

The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to determine if, and to extent, there is a statistically significant difference between pre and posttest critical thinking scores of U.S. Navy Operations Specialist A-school participants in an adaptive technology training environment and those in the traditional learning environment.…