At the Learning Informatics Lab (LIL), we sit at the intersection of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and the learning sciences. Based in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at the University of Minnesota, LIL is an interdisciplinary research hub dedicated to understanding how people learn—and designing the technologies, frameworks, and tools to help them learn better. 

Given the rapidly evolving technological landscape, LIL’s faculty, postdocs, and students engage in three interconnected areas of work:  

1. Responsible AI Literacy: AI is changing how students learn and how teachers teach. LIL leads effort to define what "AI literacy" actually means in practice. We design university coursework, build secure research environments, and conduct research evaluating where AI can safely enhance learning versus where it poses risks to cognitive engagement.
2. EdTech Innovation & Co-Design: We actively translate academic research into real-world tools. Through partnerships with major EdTech initiatives, our researchers advise, evaluate, and co-create next-generation, AI-powered learning environments designed to support educators and personalize student learning.
3. Policy, Assessment & Community Guidance: Our work reaches beyond the lab to inform policy locally, nationally, and internationally. LIL leaders advise international organizations, host workshops with K–12 school board leaders across Minnesota, and co-lead statewide summits to help educators navigate emerging technologies safely and equitably.  

We believe that technology should complement human cognition and elevate the teaching relationship, not replace it. By centering core educational values, LIL ensures that the future of learning remains evidence-based, human-centered, and equitable for all learners.