Researcher,
Department of Education
Valentina studied towards a PhD in Education and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) at Moray House School of Education and Sport (MHSES), the University of Edinburgh. Her PhD was focused on ethically designing and evaluating digital technology, aimed at supporting young children’s play in a hospital setting. Towards this end, she immersed herself in a hospital setting, allowing her to work closely with children, parents and practitioners.
As a Postdoctoral Researcher, Valentina has been working on a research project aimed at exploring school-aged children’s perceptions of conversational assistants (such as Amazon’s Alexa) and artificial intelligence (AI). Together with Professor Judy Robertson from the Centre for Research in Digital Education, The University of Edinburgh, she has conducted a mixed-methods approach study with primary-school children in Scotland to understand their awareness and how they interact with such systems. Valentina has worked on various other research projects involving children, such as employing a participatory approach with primary and secondary-school children on a project focused on understanding children’s reading motivation.
Valentina’s research interests largely lie at the intersection of education and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI): educational technology, participatory approaches, inclusive design and evaluation of technology, ethics in technology design, AI ethics.