Project GAMEPLAY: Can the application of machine learning to literacy gameplay data improve identification of struggling readers?

February 22, 2022, 9:00 am to 10:00 am

Virtual (Zoom)

As part of the Literacy and Technology & New Media Speaker Series by the SSHRC Ensuring Full Literacy project, Dr. Jenny Thomson, Co-Lead of Technology and New Media from Sheffield University, will introduce project GAMEPLAY Feb. 22, 2022.

About the talk

This virtual talk will introduce GAMEPLAY, which aims to develop a method for the early identification of first graders at risk of developing reading and writing difficulties, using "stealth assessment' via gameplay. 1700 first graders in Oslo have played a digital literacy game daily, for 5 weeks. We have extracted extensive log data for progression rates related to response times, number of syllables and words mastered, distractor stimuli most likely to cause mistakes, and frequency/time spent in extracurricular game elements (e.g. avatar play). We are currently determining the feature sets to train machine learning models, which will allow us to identify how different player profiles predict future reading performance. 

This talk will explore the affordances and challenges of "big data" approaches to risk prediction, as well as discussing the utility of these methods in the SSHRC Ensuring Full Literacy project.

About the speaker

Dr. Jenny Thomson has a background in both speech-language pathology and developmental psychology. Jenny's research explores the intersection between language and literacy, literacy difficulties and the impact of digital technology upon reading processes and reading instruction. Through the SSHRC PG group, Jenny is keen to explore the complex interactions between children as learners and the text they encounter in digital environments.

Attend the talk

Please use this Zoom link to attend the talk: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/68884726165 pwd=SzBoZ2FRY29mVjYzNHh6ZnVXMnVUUT09

Meeting ID: 688 8472 6165

Passcode: 359917 

If you are interested in giving a presentation in this series, please contact Becky Chen at xchenbumgardner@gmail.com.

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First Nations land acknowledegement

We acknowledge that UBC’s campuses are situated within the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh, and in the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples.

UBC Language Sciences

4031 Audain Art Centre
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
Tel 604 822 7435
E-mail language.sciences@ubc.ca
Website languagesciences.ubc.ca

Research Excellence Clusters at UBC Vancouver is a joint initiative of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver and the Vice-President, Research and Innovation. Funding support for the clusters is provided by Academic Excellence Funds – UBC Vancouver.

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