Researcher Details |

Monica Ward

Monica Ward is the Dean of Teaching at Learning at DCU and was formerly the Assistant Head for Teaching Excellence in the School of Computing. She has extensive experience in teaching and assessment a range of subjects from technical to transversal skills modules. She is a pioneer of the use of technology in education and she advocates a co-creation and culturally-responsive approach with academics and students.

Her research interest include:

Computer Assisted Language Learning (with a special focus on Less Commonly Taught Languages and Endangered Languages)
Computer Science Education
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Educational Technologies
Human Factors in Computing

Book Chapter

	Year	Publication
	2022	(2022) 'Less commonly taught languages at EUROCALL: what has changed over the years?' In: CALL and professionalisation: short papers from EUROCALL 2021. Ireland : Research-publishing.net. [DOI]
	2022	(2022) 'Growth mindset, CALL, and students as partners – does it work in a primary school context?' In: Intelligent CALL, granular systems and learner data: short papers from EUROCALL 2022. Ireland : Research-publishing.net. [DOI]
	2020	Monica Ward; (2020) 'CALL research in the primary school setting â problems, possibilities, and potential' In: [DOI]
	2019	Monica Ward; (2019) 'Joining the blocks together â an NLP pipeline for CALL development' In: [DOI]
	2015	Ward, M. (2015) 'Factors in Sustainable CALL' In: WorldCALL: Sustainability and Computer-Assisted Language Learning. [Link]

Peer Reviewed Journal

	Year	Publication
	2025	O’Riordan, F.; Thangaraj, J.; Girme, P.; Ward, M. (2025) 'Interactive oral assessment: Staff perceptions, challenges and benefits of this robust, authentic assessment design approach'. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, . [Link] [DOI]
	2024	Ward, Monica, Fiona O’Riordan, Danielle Logan-Fleming, Dervila Cooke, Tara Concannon-Gibney, Marina Efthymiou & Niamh Watkins (2024) 'Interactive oral assessment case studies: An innovative, academically rigorous, authentic assessment approach'. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, . [DOI]
	2024	Ward, M.; O’Riordan, F.; Logan-Fleming, D.; Cooke, D.; Concannon-Gibney, T.; Efthymiou, M.; Watkins, N. (2024) 'Interactive oral assessment case studies: An innovative, academically rigorous, authentic assessment approach'. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 61 . [Link] [DOI]
	2022	Monica Ward; Marius Senchea; Clare Gormley (2022) 'Teaching, Learning and Assessment within a School of Computing: Did Student Partnership have an Impact?'. AISHE-J: THE ALL IRELAND JOURNAL OF TEACHING AND LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION, .
	2022	Noone, M., Mooney, A., Thompson, A., Glavin, F., Ward, M., Nolan, K., ... & Williams, D (2022) 'A Review of the Supports Available to Third-Level Programming Students in Ireland'. AISHE-J: THE ALL IRELAND JOURNAL OF TEACHING AND LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION, 14 (2). [Link]
	2021	O’Keeffe, M.; Crehan, M.; Munro, M.; Logan, A.; Farrell, A.M.; Clarke, E.; Flood, M.; Ward, M.; Andreeva, T.; Van Egeraat, C.; Heaney, F.; Curran, D.; Clinton, E. (2021) 'Exploring the role of peer observation of teaching in facilitating cross-institutional professional conversations about teaching and learning'. International Journal for Academic Development, 26 . [Link] [DOI]
	2019	Ward, M.; Mozgovoy, M.; Purgina, M. (2019) 'Can wordbricks make learning Irish more engaging for students?'. International Journal of Game-Based Learning, 9 . [Link] [DOI]
	2018	Ward, M. (2018) 'Qualitative research in less commonly taught and endangered language CALL'. Language Learning and Technology, 22 . [Link] [DOI]
	2004	Ward, M. (2004) 'The additional uses of CALL in the endangered language context'. ReCALL, 16 . [Link] [DOI]
	2003	Ward, M.; Genabith, J. (2003) 'CALL for endangered languages: Challenges and rewards'. International Journal of Phytoremediation, 21 . [Link] [DOI]
	2002	Ward, M. (2002) 'Reusable XML technologies and the development of language learning materials'. ReCALL, 14 . [Link] [DOI]

Conference Publication

	Year	Publication
	2025	Xu, L.; Andrade, M.; Dhonnchadha, E.U.í.; Ward, M. (2025) *Cipher in Classrooms: Evaluating Digital Game-Based Language Learning for Irish Vocabulary Acquisition* [Link] [DOI]
	2024	Xu, L.; Thomson, J.; Dhonnchadha, E.U.; Ward, M. (2024) 2024 IEEE Gaming, Entertainment, and Media Conference, GEM 2024 *Learner-Oriented Game Design: The Evolution of Cipher* [Link] [DOI]
	2024	Thangaraj, J.; Ward, M.; O'Riordan, F. (2024) OpenAccess Series in Informatics *An Experience with Adaptive Formative Assessment for Motivating Novices in Introductory Programming Learning* [Link] [DOI]
	2024	Thangaraj, J.; Ward, M.; O’Riordan, F. (2024) International Conference on Higher Education Advances *The impact of using formative assessment in introductory programming on teaching and learning* [Link] [DOI]
	2024	Cahill, L.M.; Baltazar, T.; Bruen, S.; Xu, L.; Ward, M.; Dhonnchadha, E.U.; Foster, J. (2024) 3rd Annual Meeting of the ELRA-ISCA Special Interest Group on Under-Resourced Languages, SIGUL 2024 at LREC-COLING 2024 - Workshop Proceedings *Exploring Text Classification for Enhancing Digital Game-Based Language Learning for Irish* [Link]
	2024	Xu, L.; Du, H.; Jia, S.; Ennis, C.; Dhonnchadha, E.U.; Ward, M. (2024) Proceedings of the European Conference on Games-based Learning *Rekindling Connections to Languages through Socio-Cultural Immersion Using Game-Based Learning and Virtual Reality: Cipher VR Case Study* [Link] [DOI]
	2024	Dhonnchadha, E.U.; Bruen, S.; Xu, L.; Ward, M. (2024) Games and Natural Language Processing 2024 at LREC-COLING 2024, Workshop Proceedings *Empowering Adaptive Digital Game-Based Language Learning for Under-Resourced Languages Through Text Analysis* [Link]
	2023	McGarry, J.; Butler, D.; Ward, M. (2023) Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference *Co-developing Computational Thinking skills with Inservice Teachers in Ireland: A Constructionist Approach*
	2023	McGarry, J.; Butler, D.; Ward, M. (2023) Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference *Co-developing Computational Thinking skills with Inservice Teachers in Ireland: A Constructionist Approach*
	2023	McGarry, J., Butler, D., & Ward, M (2023) Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference *Co-developing Computational Thinking skills with Inservice Teachers in Ireland: A Constructionist Approach*
	2023	Thangaraj, J.; Ward, M.; O’Riordan, F. (2023) OpenAccess Series in Informatics *A Systematic Review of Formative Assessment to Support Students Learning Computer Programming* [Link] [DOI]
	2022	Xu, Liang; Dhonnchadha, Elaine Ui; Ward, Monica (2022) PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH WORKSHOP ON THE USE OF COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN THE STUDY OF ENDANGERED LANGUAGES (COMPUTEL-5 2022) *Faoi Gheasa: an adaptive game for Irish language learning*
	2022	Xu, L.; Dhonnchadha, E.U.; Ward, M. (2022) GameSys 2022 - Proceedings of the 2022 Game Systems Workshop, Part of MMSys 2022 *User experience study of Cipher: Faoi Gheasa, a digital educational game for language learning and student engagement* [Link] [DOI]
	2022	Xu, L.; Dhonnchadha, E.U.; Ward, M. (2022) COMPUTEL 2022 - 5th Workshop on the Use of Computational Methods in the Study of Endangered Languages, Proceedings of the Workshop *Faoi Gheasa: an adaptive game for Irish language learning* [Link]
	2022	Uí Dhonnchadha, E.; Ward, M.; Xu, L. (2022) Proceedings of the 4th Celtic Language Technology Workshop, CLTW 2022 at Language Resources and Evaluation Conference, LREC 2022 *Cipher – Faoi Gheasa: A Game-with-a-Purpose for Irish* [Link]
	2022	Thangaraj, Jagadeeswaran; Ward, Monica; O'Riordan, Fiona (2022) 8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION ADVANCES (HEAD '22) *Use of Assessment and Feedback Systems for Introductory Computer Programming Modules of Higher Education: A Comparative Study* [DOI]
	2022	Dhonnchadha, E. U., Ward, M., & Xu, L (2022) LREC 2022 Workshop Language Resources and Evaluation Conference 20-25 June 2022 *Cipher–Faoi Gheasa: A Game-with-a-Purpose for Irish*
	2022	Xu, L., Dhonnchadha, E. U., & Ward, M. (2022) Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Games Systems *User experience study of Cipher: Faoi Gheasa, a digital educational game for language learning and student engagement*
	2021	Monica Ward (2021) EUROCALL *Less commonly taught languages at EUROCALL: what has changed over the years?*
	2018	Ward, M.; Abubacker, N.F. (2018) 21st Saudi Computer Society National Computer Conference, NCC 2018 *Effective Utilisation of VLE with Joint Multinational Postgraduate Programme* [Link] [DOI]
	2017	Purgina, Marina; Mozgovoy, Maxim; Ward, Monica (2017) PROCEEDINGS OF THE 9TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER SUPPORTED EDUCATION (CSEDU), VOL 1 *Learning Language Grammar with Interactive Exercises in the Classroom and Beyond* [DOI]
	2017	Monica Ward (2017) Research Publishing *ICALL’s relevance to CALL*
	2017	Monica Ward (2017) SIETAR Europa Congress 2017 *THE BENEFITS OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING (CALL) FOR MIGRANTS AND MIGRANT FAMILIES*
	2017	Marina Purgina; Maxim Mozgovoy; Monica Ward (2017) Research Publishing *MALL with WordBricks–building correct sentences brick by brick*
	2016	Ward, Monica (2016) EDULEARN16: 8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION AND NEW LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES *UNDERGRADUATE TRANSITION PROBLEMS AND HOW TO ADDRESS THEM*
	2016	Monica Ward (2016) Research Publishing *Demystifying pronunciation with animation*
	2016	Ward, Monica and Costello, Eamon (2016) Global Learn *Education Reform with Technology-Difficult but Worth the Effort?*
	2016	Monica Ward (2016) Research Publishing *CALL and less commonly taught languages: Still a way to go*
	2016	Monica Ward (2016) PARIS Inalco *CALLIPSO–CALL for Irish for Parents Students and Others*
	2019	Monica Ward; Maxim Mozgovoy; Marina Purgina (2019) Proceedings of the Celtic Language Technology Workshop 2019 *A Green Approach for an Irish App (Refactor, reuse and keeping it real)*
	2016	Ward, M. (2016) Proceedings - 2016 9th International Conference on Human System Interactions, HSI 2016 *Using animated visualisation in Computer Assisted Language Learning* [Link] [DOI]
	2015	Ward, Monica (2015) EDULEARN15: 7TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION AND NEW LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES *LIGHT-TOUCH GAMIFICATION FOR MATHS IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL*
	2015	Monica Ward (2015) WorldCALL *Factors in sustainable CALL*
	2015	Monica Ward (2015) research-publishing.net *CALL and Less Commonly Taught Languages: Challenges and Opportunities*
	2014	Ward, M. (2014) *HCI requirements for young primary school CALL learners* [Link] [DOI]
	2014	Maritxalar, M.; Uí Donnchadha, E.; Foster, J.; Ward, M. (2014) *Quizzes on tap: Exporting a test generation system from one less-resourced language to another* [Link] [DOI]
	2014	Ward, Monica (2014) EDULEARN14: 6TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION AND NEW LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES *USING A VARIETY OF TECHNOLOGIES TO TEACH COMPUTER HARDWARE*
	2002	Ward, M. (2002) Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation, LREC 2002 *Issues in the design, construction and use of Language Resources (LR) for endangered languages (ELs)* [Link]

Conference Contribution

	Year	Publication
	2025	Hegarty, S.; Stout, B.; Kavanagh, R.; Ward, M.; Crehan, M.; Langton, H.; Lowney, R.; Morrin, A.; McParland, C. (2025) DCU VIBES - Virtual Immersive Blended Education Symposium DCU VIBES - Virtual Immersive Blended Education Symposium Dublin, Ireland, 10/01/2025-10/01/2025.
	2023	Dawson, P.; Kelly, B.; Ward, M.; Lysaght, Z.; Lowney, R. (2023) EDEN Annual Conference Don't Fear the Robot - Panel Discussion Dublin, .
	2017	Brown, M., Costello, E., Donlon, E., Farrelly, T., Nic Giolla-Mhichil, M. & Ward, M. (2017) Changing Research: working the spaces between education policy and practice [Symposium] Digital Learning Revisited: Exploring some of the big questions University College Cork, Ireland, 20/04/2017-22/04/2017.
	2016	Costello, E., Brown, M., Donlon, E., Ward, M., & Butler, D. (2016) Science and Mathematics Education Conference (SMEC) Massive Open Online Coding: Exploring the role of MOOCs for post-primary computing education in Ireland St. Patrick's College, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland, 16/06/2016-17/06/2016.

Other Publication

	Year	Publication
	2016	Ward, Monica (2016) Endangered languages and new technologies. [DOI]
	2006	Ward, M. (2006) Using software design methods in CALL. [Link] [DOI]

Professional Associations

	Association	Function	From / To
	EUROCALL	Member	-
	INGENIC (Irish Network for Gender Equality in Computing)	DCU's representative	-

Honors and Awards

	Date	Title	Awarding Body
	01/01/2018	Teaching Fellowship	Faculty of Engineering and Computing

Committees

Committee	Function	From / To
Third Level Computing Forum (TLCF)		-
Department of Education and Skills	Leaving Cert Computer Science Framework Implementation Support Group	13/03/2020 -
Quality Promotions Committee		01/01/2018 -
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment - Leaving Cert Computer Science Curriculum Development Group		06/03/2017 - 21/05/2018
DCU PNU School of Computing Steering Committee		01/01/2017 - 31/08/2020

Languages

Language	Reading	Writing	Speaking
Spanish	Fluent	Functional	Fluent
Japanese	Basic	Basic	Functional
Arabic	Basic	Basic	Basic
Irish	Basic	Basic	Functional
French	Functional	Basic	Functional

Reviews

	Journal	Role
	Computer Assisted Language Learning	Reviewer

Research Interests

Monica is interested in CALL, Computer Science Education, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and Educational Technologies, Computer Assisted Learning and Human Factors in Computing.

CALL

Computer Science Education
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
- Innovative approaches to assessment (Interactive Oral assessment)
- Students as Partners in Assessment
- Peer review and feedback
- Challenge Based Learning
Educational Technologies
- Virtual Learning Environments
- Online learning
- Tools (e.g. boards)
CAL

CAI/CAL (Computer Assisted Instruction/Computer Assisted Learning)
CAL in the primary school context (maths)
CAL in the university context

Human Computer Interaction (HCI)
- HCI for children
- HCI in the Primary School
- User Modelling
User-Centered Design
Language, Socio-Cultural Factors and Learning
- Socio-cultural factors and Irish
- Socio-cultural factors and Endangered Languages

Teaching Interests

A range of computing subjects from computer systems to transversal skills modules.

Modules Coordinated

Term	Title	Subject
2022	Computer Systems	CA103
2022	Collaboration and Innovation	CA120
2022	Collaboration and Innovation (GDWT)	CA5120
2020	Communication Skills	CA360