The Computer Science Education Research Group is enhancing education using computer science technologies and approaches.
We are exploring how computing techniques such as gamification can be applied to improve student engagement and attainment outcomes.
We want to know how far technologies, from the internet, to adaptive learning systems, to AI, can help to improve education, for computing and other disciplines.
We also aim to address the challenge of how to effectively educate the next generation of computer scientists and software developers.
"Rapid advancements in computing technology, particularly generative AI, are transforming the way we learn and work. While these innovations create new opportunities, they also pose new challenges to education and employment worldwide.
Our research group is dedicated to exploring emerging technologies and developing ethical, inclusive approaches to ensure these advancements benefit society."
Professor Neil Gordon
Shaping the future
Our work aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4, striving for quality education that prepares individuals and communities for an evolving digital future.
As the next generation of software developers and computer scientists will shape the future of AI and digital systems, it is critical to equip them with the knowledge and ethical foundations needed to build responsible, sustainable technology.
To respond to this our group members are specialists in flexible pedagogy, technology enhanced learning, gamification, learning computer education, ethics and professionalism, sustainable computing, computer science education, software engineering education, virtual reality training and education, peer assessment and teamwork and AI based education.
Our impact
Our work on how technology can enable flexible education led to a report for AdvanceHE. This has been utilised by institutions across the UK and beyond (e.g. the Open University and Izmir University in Turkey) in developing their use of technology in teaching. We also contributed to the UNESCO 'Guidance on Flexible Learning during Campus Closures: Ensuring Course Quality of Higher Education in COVID-19 Outbreak'.
Our impact reaches beyond higher education. The National Health Service uses our guidance on implementing technology-based training and with the arrival of COVID-19, it was utilised in China to develop a response to enable education during the pandemic.
Recent work has included using virtual reality (VR) in teaching, in countries with erratic power supplies, and the use of gamification to improve student outcomes in programming courses.