If you work in educational settings, you are surely familiar with the concept of TEL. TEL stands for “technology-enhanced learning”, and refers to the use of electronic communication and computer-based educational technology to enhance the teaching and learning experience — the main word here is enhance, as (lets try to keep this simple) it goes beyond the use of technology to perform everyday tasks (e.g. asking students to use Word to type a document) and asks for a more contextualized integration of technology to promote deeper learning and engagement (e.g. asking students to use Word for building a collaborative document where they can share and discuss their perspectives).
TEL can be approached and studied through several dimensions and several lenses — if you look for TEL (or the whole expression) in SCOPUS, you will find thousands of research papers addressing it. In our project, we focus on engagement.
For many years researchers have made attempts to measure engagement using various data collection techniques, ranging from self-reporting instruments to neurophysiological methods. Most self-report instruments (either solo or combined) and neurophysiological methods frequently used to evaluate User Engagement, however do not provide a coherent and comprehensive tool able to evaluate user engagement with TEL solutions. While being useful tools to assess usability, perceived usefulness, involvement, innovativeness, and engagement and retention, when used to evaluate TEL digital solutions, these tools can lead to a complementary but to some extent fragmented perspective that does not understand User Engagement, within TEL, in its full dimensions. Moreover, most do not recognise the need to develop technologies able support psychological wellbeing and enhance human potential.
And this is where we step in.
The METELS — Measuring Engagement in Technology-Enhanced Learning Scenarios project aims to propose a framework and a scale that — without neglecting appropriate design/technical implementation standards and considering digital ethics and digital wellbeing — can be used when exploring User Engagement in TEL scenarios from the perspective of digital ethics, positive computing, and reflective design. Our aim? To provide the various TEL actors (programmers, designers, teachers, students — the backbone of the learner digital economy) with a practical, readily available framework and scale for designing and assessing technologies from the perspective of mental and emotional well-being and positive experiences, fostering the development of more engaging, effective, and sustainable learning environments.
We know it will not be easy. We know it will take time. And we wouldn’t like it any other way 🙂
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