This book offers selected research papers from the 2025 edition of the Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA) conference. In its 22nd edition, CELDA promotes the development of research that discusses and addresses the challenges pertaining to the evolution of the learning process, the role of pedagogical approaches and the progress of technological innovation in the digital context. It offers a comprehensive examination of how AI is bringing innovation into teaching and learning, transforming educational methods across different environments. It provides educators, researchers and educational technologists a roadmap for the deployment of AI tools and innovative pedagogical approaches to improve learning, assessment and teacher development.

This book addresses the urgent debate of AI growing implementation in educational settings and divides the main topics into four critical parts:

Part I—AI as a learning resource—Approaches the use of AI-based tools as resources for the development of student-centred and active learning and as supportive instruments for critical thinking and skill development.

Part II—AI-driven assessment and analytics—Focuses on assessment with the support of AI, in areas, such as automated assessment and the use of analytics to measure learning outcomes.

Part III—Pedagogical innovation and transformation—Emphasises the need for systemic and methodological innovations in educational settings to adapt to the AI age.

Part IV—Computational thinking, programming and teacher development—Addresses the technical aspects of digital skills while also exploring behaviour and the necessary tools.

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in how teaching and learning are evolving in response to ongoing technological innovation. It is directed at researchers, instructional designers, educators, graduate students and educational policy makers.

Pedro Isaías is an Associate Professor with Habilitation at Universidade Aberta (Portuguese Open University) in Lisbon, Portugal. Previously, Pedro was an Associate Professor at the Information Systems & Technology Management School of The University of New South Wales (UNSW – Sydney), Australia, an Associate Professor at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, and an invited professor at ISEG-University of Lisbon, Portugal. He has led EU-funded projects, is the editor of various international journals, has over 200 publications and co-founded IADIS, a global scientific association. He currently researches Learning Technologies, Data Analytics and Digital Transformation.

Demetrios Sampson is Professor and Director of the M.Sc. in Digital Learning at the University of Piraeus, Greece. He has also served as Professor of Learning Technologies and Director of Research at the Curtin University School of Education in Australia. He is listed among the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists. He has authored over 310 publications, developed a popular MOOC (Analytics for the Classroom Teacher) on edX and received awards from IEEE and IGIP for his contributions to Learning Technologies.

Dirk Ifenthaler is the Chair of Learning, Design and Technology at the University of Mannheim, Germany; the UNESCO Co-Chair on Data Science in Higher Education Learning and Teaching at Curtin University, Australia; and a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education at the University of Eastern Finland, Finland. Dirk’s research focuses on the intersection of cognitive psychology, educational technology, data analytics, and organisational learning. Dirk Ifenthaler is the Editor-in-Chief of the Technology, Knowledge and Learning and Editor-in-Chief of Educational Technology & Society.