About this research strand

The TechCEDiR strand targets the investigation of technology's role in communication, dialogue, and the construction and dissemination of human knowledge. The research within this strand adopts multiple approaches, including but not limited to, design-based research methodologies.

Interdisciplinary in nature, TechCEDiR mobilises insights from various academic disciplines as well as from practical and pedagogical domains. This cross-disciplinary approach allows for a nuanced understanding of educational technology (EdTech) systems from both a theoretical and practical standpoint. Researchers collaborate to develop, analyse, and conceptualise EdTech solutions that have implications for pedagogical practice and theory alike.

One area of current interest within TechCEDiR is the integration of large language models, such as ChatGPT. Research in this arena explores how these models can serve as tools for facilitating dialogue and learning. The use of language models adds an additional layer of complexity to the educational technology landscape, raising questions about the ethical implications, efficacy, and limitations of integrating artificial intelligence into educational settings. Another area of focus is in convening groups to work through structured approaches to considering the potential future implications of design choices made today.

By investigating these multi-faceted aspects, TechCEDiR contributes to the broader understanding of how technology interacts with and shapes educational dialogue and knowledge creation. The strand serves as a hub for experts and researchers who are interested in the convergence of technology, education, and human communication.

Strand Leaders

Imogen Casebourne, Rupert Wegerif and Daniela Boraschi

Programmes include

Designing for Socio-Ethical Reflection in Machine Learning Research through AI-Supported Dialogue: 2024–2027. Daniela Boraschi

with contributions from Julian Borra, Jonathan Barnbrook, Mark Danson, Mihaela van der Schaar, Anna Middleton, Richard Milne, Catherine Galloway, Mariam Rashid and Claudette Burch

An Isaac Newton Trust-funded project exploring dialogic approaches to AI-supported ethical reasoning in discovery-oriented machine learning research for biomedicine through the development of a multimodal prototype comprising animations, chatbots, and a web-based platform. Rather than treating ethics as a narrow (though necessary) "tick-box" exercise, the project seeks to help scientists reframe questions and assumptions, engage with uncertainty and complexity, and navigate diverse perspectives, disagreements, and trade-offs, recognising ethics as integral to scientific creativity and innovation. The project is being disseminated through articles and a conference poster that received the Best Poster Award from the UKRI-funded Digital Twins Network DTNet+ and Cambridge University Press at the Perspectives on the Societal Impact of Digital Twins Conference in March 2026.

Knowledge Transfer Project examining workplace dialogic practices: 2022-2026.
Rupert Wegerif, Pedro Salinas, Xuanning Chen, Imogen Casebourne

A UKRI funded Knowledge Transfer Project (KTP) with Yeltic, examining the potential of developing dialogic forms of AI to enable people to practice workplace conversations. This design-based research project resulted in the successful development of a dialogic AI agent or avatar. The academic strand focused on further developing and refining a practical framework for promoting and accessing dialogic workplace approaches and the concept of dialogic intelligence as a complex competence potentially measurable through interactive dialogues with AI chatbots. The project resulted in several articles and conference papers.

Human Technology Interface. CEDiR: 2024. Steven Watson 

The School of the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) has established a suite of broad thematic groups designed to promote the school’s diverse research activity. HSS Framework initiative aims to foster closer connections between researchers and across disciplines, offer improved avenues of communication and strengthen the environment for collaborative research.

Gaming to Development (G2D). Epic Games: 2020-21. Major, Wegerif & Twiner.

G2D examined how the 3D real-time collaboration that young people encounter through gaming can be used in education to prepare them for jobs which, in many cases, may not yet exist. It investigated how these activities can cultivate other competencies, such as the ability to engage in effective dialogue online, and collaborative problem-solving.

Virtual Internships Project (VIP). Industry Partners: 2019-21. Wegerif, Major & Twiner.

In collaboration with colleagues in industry, VIP involved developing and testing an innovative new model of ‘Simulated Virtual Internships’ to investigate the impact this has on how young people (i) engage with the world of work; (ii) develop key competencies related to dialogue and creativity.