- Role
- Doctoral Researcher
- In the lab
- Fall 2021 – Summer 2026
- Projects
- Imagined Futures of GenAI in Education
AI social presence in learning
I studied AI social presence in educational settings — how AI instructors and AI-mediated learning environments shape engagement, perceived learning, and satisfaction, and where social presence tips over into the uncanny valley instead of helping.
Funding history
- Faculty start-up funds (Fall 2021 – Spring 2022)
- HHS “Hemolysis Prediction Software Development” (Fall 2022 – Spring 2023)
- NSF Convergence Accelerator DART (Fall 2023 – Spring 2025)
- Teaching Assistant (Fall 2025)
- NSF HCC “Collaborative Upstanding” (Spring 2026)
Publications
Published
- 2025
Unpacking the dilemma: the dual impact of AI instructors’ social presence on learners’ perceived learning and satisfaction
Chen & DiFranzo · ACM Web Science 2025, 22–31
Preprints & work in progress
- 2026
Designing and evaluating AIs for asynchronous online learning
Chen & DiFranzo · under review · CSCW 2027