Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences

The International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE) 2025 was held at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) in Chennai, India, from December 1 to 5, 2025. Researchers from Ateneo de Manila University and the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences (ALLS) actively participated in the conference, presenting several research papers aligned with the conference themes.

During the workshop sessions, an ALLS-VAMR Project paper titled “Embodied Gesture Interactions for a VR-based Commemorative History Game” was presented by Dr. Eric Cesar E. Vidal, Jr. In one of the parallel sessions on the first day of the main conference, Dr. Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Head of ALLS, presented another ALLS-led research project entitled “User Evaluation of a Virtual Patient for Philippine Medical Education.”

In addition, Dr. Eric Cesar E. Vidal presented a poster titled “Design and Testing of a VR Escape Room Game for Philippine Martial Law History” under the Educational Games and Gamification (EGG) category. The final ALLS-affiliated presentation of the conference was the postdoctoral research of Dr. Arnel B. Ocay, entitled “An Exploration of the Impact of Using ChatGPT on Students’ On-Task Performance and Task Success,” which was presented on the last day of the conference.

ICCE is an annual international conference that brings together researchers, academicians, and doctoral students in the fields of computing education and technology-enhanced learning. This year’s conference was chaired by Dr. Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Professor at Ateneo de Manila University and Head of the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences.

Presented Papers and Authors

Embodied Gesture Interactions for a VR-based Commemorative History Game
Jesus Alvaro C. Pato, Eric Cesar Jr. E. Vidal, and Nicko R. Caluya

User Evaluation of a Virtual Patient for Philippine Medical Education
Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Samantha Castaneda, James Alvir Maclin V. Alaan, Paolo Santino P. Caoile, Alec Isaiah Dayupay, Roswold Jemuel Sanchez, and Eric Cesar Jr. E. Vidal

Design and Testing of a VR Escape Room Game for Philippine Martial Law History
Eric Cesar Jr. E. Vidal, Nicko R. Caluya, Johanna Marion R. Torres, Jesus Alvaro C. Pato, and Kenneth King L. Ko

An Exploration of the Impact of Using ChatGPT on Students’ On-Task Performance and Task Success
Arnel B. Ocay and Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo

Representing ALLS and the Philippines at ICCE 2025— Left to right: Fr. Joseph Patrick Echevarria, Dr. Eric E. Vidal, Dr. Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Dr. May Talandron-Felipe (USTP), and Dr. Arnel B. Ocay.

Dr. Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Chair of ICCE 2025, delivers her opening message to participants during the opening ceremonies at the Taj Wellington Mews Hotel, Chennai.

Dr. Eric E. Vidal presents the ALLS-VAMR project, Heritage Hero, a VR-based commemorative history game, during a workshop session on the second day of the conference.

Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo delivered a keynote presentation at ACM Compute 2025, held on December 7–9 at IIT Ropar, India. Her talk, “Eye Tracking for Novice Programmer Research,” examined how eye-tracking technology can reveal the cognitive processes underlying how novice programmers read, understand, and debug code.

The keynote drew on the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Science’s series of empirical studies investigating both individual programmers and pairs working collaboratively. Dr. Rodrigo discussed how eye-tracking metrics such as fixations, saccades, and scanpaths can distinguish between high- and low-performing students, as well as between successful and unsuccessful programming pairs. These findings illustrate how differences in visual attention and reading strategies are closely tied to programming performance and learning outcomes.

ACM Compute 2025 brought together educators, researchers, and practitioners focused on computing education in the Global South, with an emphasis on evidence-based teaching, capacity building, and inclusive innovation. Hosted by IIT Ropar, the conference featured keynote talks, paper presentations, and workshops that highlighted research-informed practices for improving computing education across diverse contexts. Dr. Rodrigo’s keynote contributed a strong learning-sciences perspective, demonstrating how fine-grained data on learner behavior can inform more effective and equitable approaches to teaching computer programming.

Dr. Rodrigo giving her keynote.

Dr. Viraj Kumar and Dr. Rodrigo.

List of keynote speakers for Compute 2025.

Compute poster.

By Layla Mikel Villanueva (5 BS Computer Science – Digital Game Design and Development)

The Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences (ALLS) participated in the first day of Areté’s Sandbox Open House 2025, presenting “Digital Materials for Bullying Prevention” last November 19, 2025 at The Eduardo J Aboitiz Sandbox Zone (3/F George SK Ty Learning Innovation Wing, Areté). It is a series of projects developed with the Ateneo de Manila Public Mental Health Collaborative and in partnership with the Department of Education. These evidence-informed digital materials to prevent bullying are as follows:

• Learning Empathy through Play: Designing an Anti-Bullying Digital Card Game for Grade 7 Filipino Students
  • A collaborative digital card game that guides Grade 7 students in navigating situations that may be considered as bullying and its respective coping strategies.
• Da Mosang Series: Digital Bullying Prevention Materials for Parents of Grade 7 Students
  • A series of comics and short-form videos that educates parents of grade 7 students in dealing with feelings and emotions with their children.
• Short-form Anti-bullying Videos for High School Students as Part of DepEd’s Campaign
  • A series of animated short-form videos for high school students that educates them about different forms of bullying and how to cope when one

These projects were presented at the open house as part of Arete’s Sandbox Residency Programs.

Presentation of “Learning Empathy through Play”

(Photo taken from Areté’s Facebook page) Group photo of all the project groups alongside their mentors from the Ateneo de Manila Public Mental Health Collaborative

The Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences (ALLS) participated in the ACM Global Computing Education Conference (CompEd 2025) organized by SIGCSE in Gaborone, Botswana, from October 21 to 25, 2025.

Dr. Arnel B. Ocay, a postdoctoral fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University, attended the conference as the representative of Dr. Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Head of ALLS. The five-day event comprised a two-day pre-conference and a three-day main conference. The pre-conference featured working groups and a collaborative workshop on the consortium for Generative AI in CS education. The main conference, on the other hand, showcased research paper presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions. The sessions covered a diverse range of topics, including tools, current trends, ethnicity, language, and inclusivity, with direct implications for computing education pedagogies across international educational contexts.

Dr. Ocay’s participation highlights Ateneo’s growing engagement with the global computing education community, particularly through the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE). The conference provided valuable opportunities to connect with educators and researchers from around the world, especially those from developing countries who share similar challenges and aspirations in advancing computing education, particularly the use of AI in computing education. During the event, Dr. Ocay exchanged insights with members of CompEd and other delegates to explore avenues for future collaboration. He also had the chance to meet one of the keynote speakers, Capt. Kgomotso Phatsima, an inspiring Ambassador of Youth in Aviation and Aerospace in Botswana and the first female pilot of the Botswana Defense Force.

This global endeavor has been generously supported by the Salome L. Tan Foundation and the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences (ALLS).

Group photo of the participants on the second day of the CompEd 2025 Main Conference.

A photo of the CompEd participants at the second day’s keynote session.

Capt. Kgomotso Phatsima (right) with Dr. Ocay (left) after her keynote speech.

At the International Education Forum, held during the K-EDU EXPO in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Professor of Information Systems and Computer Science at the Ateneo de Manila University and Head of the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences, delivered a keynote address titled “Promoting Educational Equity through Culturally-Responsive AI” during the session “Thinking About Education.”

The session gathered global leaders in education and technology, including Isabelle Howe, CEO of the Stanford Learning Accelerator, who spoke on “The Role of Education in the AI Era”; Choi Yu-jin, CEO and Co-founder of Classum, who discussed “Developing Capabilities Using AI”; and Kim Joo-ho, Professor of Computer Science at KAIST, who presented “Growth Using AI.” A panel discussion chaired by Professor Chan Lee of Seoul National University examined how educators can strengthen human capabilities through AI while promoting collaboration, equity, and ethical responsibility.

In her keynote, Dr. Rodrigo emphasized that AI in education must be grounded in culture—responsive to students’ lived experiences, classroom realities, and national contexts. Drawing from both global and Philippine examples, she illustrated how cultural factors influence the success of AI-based educational tools and how equitable design can empower under-resourced communities.

Dr. Rodrigo’s participation underscored the Philippines’ growing leadership in advancing ethical, inclusive, and context-aware uses of AI to achieve educational equity across the Asia-Pacific region.

The K-EDU EXPO was hosted by the Gyeongsangbuk-do Office of Education and was an APEC 2025-affiliated event.

Dr. Rodrigo, 10th from the left. Photo from Jiyoung Park.

Dr. Rodrigo during the panel discussion. Photo from Jiyoung Park.

This article was produced with the assistance of ChatGPT and was reviewed by ALLS for correctness.