Linda Mannila

Linda Mannila

Lecturer and researcher, mom of two. Thinks CS changes the world and wants to give everybody the opportunity to have their say. Passionate about helping others learn the fundaments of the technology, with particular care for those who traditionally have not found their place in the field. Loves a good workout and enjoys life as it is, but has become hooked on always wanting to learn "just a little bit more".

Research interests

I received my PhD in computer science from the Department of Information Technologies at Åbo Akademi University in December 2009 after defending my PhD Thesis "Teaching Mathematics and Programming - New Approaches with Empirical Evaluation" on November 27, 2009. My PhD supervisor was Prof. Ralph-Johan Back, and my opponents Prof. Lauri Malmi (Aalto University) and Doc. Juha Oikkonen (University of Helsinki).

I work as a researcher and teacher in computer science at Åbo Akademi University, but am currently (fall 2013) on leave of absence. As a researcher, I am particularly interested in the concept of computational thinking and how it could be introduced at lower levels of education. Closely related to this, I find it important to keep working on underrepresentation issues (in particular the lack of women) related to the IT field. In addition, I am fascinated by the amount of important educational data that is continuously and automatically being stored online, be it then from a "traditional" web based course in Moodle or an international massive open online course (MOOC). These large databases open up new ways for understanding student behavior, for instance related to how they learn in different situations, how they go about using different types of software, etc. My aim is to find ways of analyzing these data that can help in uncovering interesting results that can be used to provide students with a better and more individualized learning experience. My studies usually build on empirical research and practice is thus a central part of my research activities.

For a list of my publications, please see my research profile at the Åbo Akademi webpages.

Current and upcoming courses

At a more personal level

I am 34 years old and was born in Kristiinankaupunki in Ostrobothnia, Finland. Currently I live with my husband and our two kids in a house we to a large extent built ourselves in Parainen, a beautiful town in the Turku Archipelago.

In my freetime I enjoy spending time with family and friends, working out, reading, designing web pages, listening to music and laughing - a lot :) And yes, since our house is not quite finished (not to mention the garden), I also spend quite some time in my "Bob the Builder"-pants.

I am a licensed FAF (Fitness Academy of Finland) Gym Trainer, and enjoy both helping others reach their goals at the gym and going heavy with the weights myself. I am also part of the instructor team of Finlands Svenska Idrott, providing training for people who want to become sports instructors for kids and/or young adults.

Before having kids I was hooked on Muay Thai (yes, the martial art with a very large capital M) but now I try to keep my fighting skills up-to-date with Les Mills BodyCombat classes and going rough at my punching bag at home. I ran my first half marathon in July 2006 (1:52:48) and am currently planning on running one again in 2013 provided my knees and back don't mind. One of the things on my bucketlist is to complete a full marathon, and I have my eyes set on doing that in a not too far away future.

I am also a licensed wet room professional, so if you ever need somebody to install a membrane in your bathroom or sauna, now you know whom to call :)

I love quotes and have a looong list of inspirational and motivational ones stashed on my computer. Here is a selection of some of them:

Want to get in touch? Great - here is how!

Linda Mannila
Joukahaisenkatu 3-5 A
FIN-20520 Turku
FINLAND
Email:linda.mannila(AT)abo.fi
Twitter:@lindamannila
Phone:+358 2 215 3372
Office:ICT B5071