Ed tech must reads: column #64

December 16, 2022

First published in Campus Morning Mail 13th Dec 2022

Unsurprisingly, one of the hot topics for discussion (if not papers, given how new this is) at the ASCILITE conference last week was the impact of AI tools on teaching and learning. Much of this has centred around student use of tools and how we may need to rethink the very idea of knowledge. The use of AI tools by educators is also getting some attention and this interesting post from the Australian Association for Research in Education explores AI generated lesson plans. Currently they seem a little basic, but we have to assume they will quickly become more sophisticated.

The College Essay Is Dead from The Atlantic

The ramifications of these technologies are being seen in mainstream journalism as well. This thoughtful piece from Stephen Marche in The Atlantic uses a decent overview of the current state of play to springboard into a reflection on the larger rift between the humanities and sciences that it represents. It also offers some interesting possibilities for ways that this new technology might strengthen the humanities in the long run.

I went to a Noam Chomsky lecture once and the one thing that he said that stuck with me the most was that he always reads the business news to get the most accurate information on the state of the world. This post is brief but telling – describing an analysis of more than a million educational  credentials offered and noting that the majority of them now come from non-traditional education providers.

This is a deep dive into the way that IT works in Higher Education, and some may not necessarily see the relevance to learning and teaching – or feel concerns that these issues take undue priority over the core purpose of the university. For an institution to function effectively though, I would suggest that getting IT right is as fundamental as solid buildings. This article captures insights from more than 20 HE tech leaders and ranges from having a meaningful seat at the decision making table to creating a frictionless student experience.

And after all that seriousness, something fun to play with over the break. Mozilla Hubs lets you build and share 3D virtual spaces in a web browser and/or VR headset. It’s open source and this post showcases some wonderful examples of use in education, from building art galleries to exploring the human heart.

I hope you have a safe and relaxing break and I look forward to sharing more things in the New Year.