Personal information
Andrea Franceschini, Ing. PhD
Nationality: Italian
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Professional experience
November 2022 — current
Assegnista di ricerca (tipo b)
Centro di Sonologia Computazionale
Università di Padova, Italy
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship investigating the development and role of entertainment video games as educational interventions.
- 🌐 EduGames project: project website, research journal, and repository of all the material created during the project.
- 👾 Cash or Card?: and educational puzzle-simulation video games on the costs and opportunities of cash vs electronic payments in everyday life.
July 2021 — September 2021
Visiting Fellow
Centro di Sonologia Computazionale
Università di Padova, Italy
Research and development for ArTracker, an IoT platform for tracking and monitoring artworks and cultural heritage.
January 2016 — October 2022
Post Doctoral Research Associate
Department of Computer Science and Technology
University of Cambridge, UK
Research and development for Isaac Computer Science (now Ada Computer Science) and Isaac Physics.
- Development: a graphical, web-based entry system for symbolic formulas (maths, boolean logic, physical chemistry). Research on usability and impact on problem solving skills and physics learning.
- Research: analysis of impact based on DfE exam results and development of strategies to improve impact and engagement; learning outcome of different question formats; training and technical support for ASI Data Science Fellows working on various projects
- Other: maintenance and infrastructure development
November 2016 — present
Post Doctoral Research Associate
Robinson College
University of Cambridge, UK
Teaching Supervisor, Computer Science tripos
2006 — present
Freelance developer (iOS, Android, web)
- Web sites, mostly for clients in the classical music industry
- Mobile applications, small- to mid-sized applications ranging from exhibition guides to citizen engagement, from interactive books to casual games
Some technologies: iOS (Swift, Objective-C), Android (Java, Kotlin), Cinder (C++), Processing, Arduino, Drupal, Ruby on Rails, Vue.js, Nuxt.js, React
Education
April 2012 — February 2016
PhD in Computing (HCI, Music Computing)
Andrea Franceschini
supervisors: Dr Robin Laney, Mr Chris Dobbyn
December 2006 — June 2010
Laurea Magistrale (MSc) in Computer Science and Engineering
advisor: Prof. Giovanni De Poli
October 2008 — March 2009
Erasmus, thesis research and development work on the Reactable
supervisor: Dr Sergi Jordà
October 2002 — December 2006
Laurea (BSc) in Computer Science and Engineering
📘 Schematizzazione di uno scheduler ciclico statico per applicazioni embedded in ambiente Windows CE
Andrea Franceschini
advisor: Dr Michele Moro
Grants and awards
July 2022
MSCA 2021 Individual Fellowship (EduGames)
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, European Commission
An investigation into the role of entertainment video games in education. I also have a project website.
May 2022
MSCA 2021 Seal of Excellence
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, European Commission
The Seal of Excellence is awarded to applications that rank more than 85% and but cannot be funded in the first instance due to budget constraints. My application ranked 92.8% with a funding threshold of 93.6% and was subsequently funded from the reserve list.
July 2021
ArTracker Visiting Fellowship
Supported by Regione del Veneto, POR FSE 2014-2020, project number 2105-0051-1463-2019.
April 2015
Full-time Research studentship (PhD) extension
Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology (MCT)
Teaching
Courses
January 2019 — March 2019
Teaching Assistant at Computer Laboratory
University of Cambridge, UK
October 2016 — present
Teaching Supervisor at Computer Laboratory
University of Cambridge, UK
Courses:
October 2011 — November 2011
Full-time teacher at Istituto di Istruzione Superiore di Lonigo
Course: A035, Electrical Engineering and Applications
October 2002 — June 2010
Private tutor for high school and university students
Courses: Mathematics, Computer Science, Electronics, Electrical Engineering
Students
October 2019 — May 2020
Sam Williams, Clare College, University of Cambridge
A Drum Rhythm Processing System to complement Sonic Pi
Part II (3rd year) dissertation, CompSci Tripos
October 2018 — May 2019
Charles J. Y. Yoon, King's College, University of Cambridge
Musical Style Transfer using Neural Networks
Part II (3rd year) dissertation, CompSci Tripos
Publications
Refereed papers
- A. Franceschini, A. Rodà (2023), Play to Learn: from serious games to just games. In ACM International Conference on Information Technology for Social Good (GoodIT '23), 6-8 September 2023, Lisbon, Portugal. ACM, New York, NY, USA. (Scopus)
- A. Franceschini, R. Laney (2022 [2021]), Sketching Music together: mixed groups exploring melodic similarity and contrast using a Digital Tabletop. In Journal of Music, Technology & Education, Volume 14, Number 2-3. (Scopus)
- T. Battistin, N. Dalla Pozza, S. Trentin, G. Volpin, A. Franceschini, A. Rodà (2022), Co-designed mini-games for children with visual impairment: a pilot study on their usability. In Multimedia Tools and Applications (2022). (Scopus)
- J. Waite, A. Franceschini, S. Sentance, M. Patterson, J. Sharkey (2021), An online platform for teaching Upper Secondary school Computer Science. In Proceedings of the United Kingdom and Ireland Computing Education Research (UKICER 2021) Conference. (Scopus)
- A. Franceschini, R. Laney, C. Dobbyn (2020) Sketching Music: Exploring melodic similarity and contrast using a Digital Tabletop. In Journal of Music, Technology & Education, Volume 13, Number 1. (Scopus)
- A. Franceschini, J. P. Sharkey, A. R. Beresford (2020) Effective use of mathematical equations in an online learning environment. In Proceedings of the Cambridge Computing Education Research Symposium 2020, Cambridge, UK.
- A. Franceschini, J. P. Sharkey, A. R. Beresford (2019) Inequality: multi-modal equation entry on the web. In Proceedings of Learning @ Scale 2019, Chicago, IL, USA. (Scopus)
- A. Franceschini, R. Laney, C. Dobbyn (2016) Sketching music: making music through exploring art. In Proceedings of Sempre: Music, Education, Technology (MET2016), London, UK.
- A. Franceschini, R. Laney, C. Dobbyn (2014) Learning Musical Contour on a Tabletop. In Proceedings of the 40th International Computer Music Conference and 11th Sound and Music Computing Conference (ICMC-SMC), Athens, Greece. (Scopus)
- A. Franceschini (2010) Towards a practical approach to music theory on the Reactable. In Proceedings of the 7th Sound and Music Computing Conference (SMC), Barcelona, Spain. (Scopus)
Posters
- A. Franceschini, J. P. Sharkey, A. R. Beresford (2020) Effective use of mathematical equations in an online learning environment. In Proceedings of the Cambridge Computing Education Research Symposium 2020, Cambridge, UK.
- A. Franceschini, R. Laney, C. Dobbyn (2014) Sketching Music. ICMC-SMC, Athens, Greece.
- A. Franceschini, R. Laney, C. Dobbyn (2013) A study of contour in music using digital tabletop musical instruments. DMRN+8, London, UK.
Talks and lectures
- Interfaces. Guest lecture for the course “Computer Engineering for Music and Multimedia”, 19 May 2024, University of Padova, Italy.
- Technologies and practices to “uncomplicate” music. CSMC, September 2017, The Open University, UK.
- Qualitative Data Analysis. Workshop, ESSD-HCI seminar series, March 2015, The Open University, UK.
- Music lessons on a tabletop. Invited seminar, 26 September 2014, Experimental Music Lab, Università di Trento, Italy.
Panels
Magazine articles
- A. Franceschini (2011) Estendere Drupal: scrivere moduli personalizzati. In Linux&C, 75. Piscopo Editore.
- A. Franceschini (2011) Creare temi e pagine personalizzate per Drupal. In Linux&C, 74. Piscopo Editore.
- A. Franceschini (2011) Drupal: web content manager potente e flessibile. In Linux&C, 73. Piscopo Editore.
- A. Franceschini (2009) Inkscape: impariamo a dominare tracciati e colori. In Linux&C, 67. Piscopo Editore.
- A. Franceschini (2008) Inkscape: fare grafica vettoriale con Linux. In Linux&C, 65. Piscopo Editore.