Ariel Han

Ariel Han

Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Southern California (USC)

Ariel Han is a Postdoctoral Scholar of Technology, Innovation, and Learning at the University of Southern California USC at the Iovine and Young Academy IYA.

Ariel received her PhD from the University of California, Irvine informatics department, where she worked at the Creativity Labs and Connected Learning Lab. Ariel received a master’s in Entertainment Technology Center from Carnegie Mellon University and bachelor’s degrees in Information science, Industrial design, and Fine arts from Seoul National University. ​

Ariel’s research interests focus on the intersection of AI, educational technology, learning sciences, and HCI. She investigates fundamental questions on how people interact and collaborate with AI-powered tools and agents to empower teaching and learning. Her current research focuses on leveraging state-of-the-art technologies for inclusive learning and teaching and how Generative AI (NLPs, Text-to-Image generators (TTL)) can be safely and effectively designed to scale playful, child-centered learning tailored to each student’s needs. Ariel designs, develops, and evaluates AI-powered learning technology to support creative expression and literacy development through writing with AI agents and examines how these AI technologies play the role of learning companions for children’s growth.

News

2024

Grant Award (PoP Grants) to StoryAI (Summer 2024)

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Published:

I’m thrilled to announce that our team StoryAI has been selected for $49,800 of Proof-of-Product (PoP) Grants from the UCI Beall Applied Innovation. Thanks to the amazing team and UCI Beall Applied Innovation for the funding!

Invited Talk ‘AI K12 Deeper Learning Summit.’

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My team, Kylie and Shenshen, and I had the opportunity to present at the AI K12 Deeper Learning Summit. We are grateful for the invitation and the chance to share our insights.

2023

StoryAI advanced in NSF-sponsored VITAL Prize Challenge Semi-Final Round

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Published:

I am thrilled to announce that our project, StoryAI, advanced in the NSF-sponsored VITAL Prize Challenge Semi-Final Round. In addition to receiving 20,000 USD for developing a prototype, our team has been matched with a teacher mentor who received 15,000 USD to work with our team. Currently, we are co-designing the learning application as a team of four: Ariel Han (lead researcher), Shenshen Han (developer), Dr. Seth Corrigan, Dr. Kylie Peppler, and the teacher mentor, Gayle.

IDC Doctoral Consortium

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Published:

I am excited to share that I was selected as one of the doctoral consortium Ph.D. students from IDC 2023 with the proposal of generative AI in education.