Webinars

Building AI Applications Based on Learning Research

The rush is on to build new applications of AI in education. However, before we rush blindly into the future, looking at the legacy of research in the field will help us build applications with a better chance of improving outcomes. This webinar will look at how decades of research help inform efforts to integrate the latest large language models into Khan Academy. You will get a behind the scenes look at how AI features were built into a platform used by millions of learners a year, and hear what is being learned from the rollout of these features to a small group of schools and districts.  

Moderator: Hassan Khosravi Panelists:  Kristen DiCerbo, Ph.D

ePortfolios and self-regulated learning: Promises, problems, and possibilities

ePortfolios are used in higher education to develop and assess achievement of complex learning outcomes. This includes fostering and determining students’ self-regulated learning (SRL). In Australia and globally, an emphasis on sustainable learning outcomes coupled with increasing demand for ‘cheat proof’ and ‘AI-proof’ assessments mean that ePortfolios, SRL and their relationship to each are increasingly important agenda items.
Do ePortfolios deliver on their assessment and learning promises? This panel will take a critical, evidence-informed look at the relationship of ePortfolios to SRL. Drawing on relevant research and examples, panellists will map out key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges in current practice. Suggestions will be offered for how to advance a research and practice agenda and how to align that agenda with the larger imperative of preparing learners to function beyond universities as self-regulating, high-achieving professionals. A Q& A session will follow the panel discussion.

Moderator: Negin Mirriahi Panelists:  Professor Gavin T L Brown, Associate Professor Chris Deneen, Dr Florence Gabriel

Cognitive Escalation: the impact of AI on learning

Generative AI, such as ChatGPT, has caused a rush of concern on college and university campuses and raised concerns about the future of knowledge work. With weekly accomplishments of AI – passing law and medical exams, achieving AWS and technical certifications – it’s reasonable to expect a large-scale restructuring of work in institutions that do primarily cognitive work. In the education sector specifically, there is concern about how assessment and testing is done by AI. At a societal level, there is emerging panic about what remains unique to human cognition. This webinar will explore the ways in which AI exceeds humans intellectual capacity, ways in which it has room to grow, and ways in which it will likely never compete. In particular, the discussion will explore cognitive escalation that results when AI takes over routine cognitive work, freeing time for more integrated and complex activities. The panelists will focus on sensemaking, creativity, and social interaction and affect. 

Moderator: Professor George Siemens Panelists:  Prof Dave Snowden, Dr Kelsey Medeiros, Srecko Joksimovic

ChatGPT and the Future of Education

Join us for this webinar where we explore the potential benefits and drawbacks of using ChatGPT in the educational setting. ChatGPT is specifically designed to generate high-quality human-like responses to user queries across a wide range of topics and contexts. The seminar discusses how this capability can be leveraged by instructors and students and the ways it can transform the way we deliver instruction,
assess student progress, and provide feedback. This seminar will be of particular interest to educators, educational researchers and anyone interested in the intersection of technology and education.

Moderator: Hassan Khosravi. Panelists: Aneesha Bakharia, Dragan Gasevic and Shazia Sadiq

Learner Profiles: the missing piece in learning innovation

As individuals move through life, learning is now a constant need. Traditionally, learning has been captured in the form of grades and transcripts. Continual life long learning, however, requires different mechanisms for communicating capabilities, mindsets, and competencies. Learner profiles have been explored from various lenses and a clear, generally accepted, framework does not yet exist. Attempts at learner modelling, learner records, and learning graphs indicate a growing awareness of the need to develop a persistent profile of what a learner has learned.

As individuals move between various stages of life – from K-12 to higher education, higher education to industry, and industry to reskilling – a learner profile would enable personalised learning and a record that accounts for what is learned outside of classrooms and formal education. For educators, learner profiles improve time to competence and ensure granular assessment. For state and national agencies, profiles provide a more nuanced assessment of learning gains within a system than current standard country-level comparisons. For learners, profiles improve quality of instruction, less time wasted on things already mastered, and greater recognition of learning that isn’t confined to classrooms. For researchers, profiles enable a deeper understanding of how learners learn, where interventions are most impactful, and ways to adjust and improve pedagogy and learning design. 

This webinar will explore the history of learner profiles, detail actual work being conducted, and set the stage for future innovations and longer term systemic impact. 

Date: Wednesday 21 September 2022, 8am – 9am (AEST)

Moderator: George Siemens, Professor University of Texas at Arlington, University of South Australia

Panel

Infrastructure for AI in Education

The acceleration of digital learning is producing new opportunities to understand learning processes. For researchers, two challenges exist. First, the data collected reflects typical class-based approaches to learning, overlooking innovative approaches in distributed and networked learning. Second, the infrastructure for data storage, access, and analysis is often underdeveloped, overlooking new opportunities for cloud based platforms, such as Azure and AWS, to support advanced analytics, including the use of machine learning and AI models. Bridging new models of learning with AI-supported technologies offers a promising opportunity for researchers. This webinar will explore the infrastructure needed for active adoption of AI in education, as well as the potential impact on existing approaches to teaching when real time feedback and engagement with learners is a reality.

Date: Friday 24 June 2022, 7am – 8am (AEST)

Moderator: George Siemens, Professor University of Texas at Arlington, University of South Australia

Panel

Owning our Future: Establishing Higher Education EdTech Research Labs

Date: May 18, 2:00-3:00pm (ACST – Australian Central Standard Time)

The digitization of higher education continues to accelerate. Globally, an unprecedented amount of products and services are now available by startups and established “big tech” to help universities make the transition to digital classrooms. Most universities have now established teaching and learning units to provide support for faculty and staff to move their courses online, or at minimum, augment them with digital features. As universities partner more with external providers, it’s critical that they engage in active research programs to understand what’s making an impact and what’s not working. Several forward thinking universities have already established research labs that specifically assess the experience of students and teachers in these online settings. These centres often develop new software products, new pedagogical models, and learning design approaches to meet the needs of various stakeholders in the learning process. This panel will draw on the expertise of global edtech research leaders to discuss their experiences in establishing and supporting an edtech research centre. Topics include: motivations, resourcing, staff and faculty affiliations, results and impact, and future vision.

Panel