EDEN Webinar: AI and the Future of Teaching and Learning

november 13 kl 13:00 – 14:30

Topic: AI and the Future of Teaching and Learning
Format: Presentations and discussion with participants
Description: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning are important for educators, teachers, students and policymakers. Many educators are actively exploring the use of AI tools to support students with a range of disabilities and to achieve what the early pioneers in Ed Tech were trying to achieve and that was the personalisation of learning. This session will consist of 4 international speakers, Bart Rienties, Thomas Ullmann, Mychelle Pride and Paul Prinsloo who will present their current research and views about AI for teaching and learning. They will also situate their work within a framework of current challenges and opportunities. Then it is over to you, the audience, to participate in a lively debate about these issues, Chaired by Denise Whitelock, who has spent her career developing AI systems for Teaching and Learning.

Moderator: Professor Dr. Denise Whitelock Director for the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University, UK

Professor Denise Whitelock is the Director for the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University. She is a Professor of Technology Enhanced Learning and has over twenty-five years of experience in Artificial Intelligence for designing, researching and evaluating online and computer-based learning in Higher Education
She led the Supportive Automated Feedback for Short Essays(SafeSea) project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council with Oxford University, providing students with automatic feedback on electronic drafts of their assignments supplementing tutor support.
She is currently leading the UK’s contribution to two European projects. The first is Generative AI anD large language Models In higher educaTion (ADMIT )aims to establish the necessary educational and ethical conditions that enable the utilization of large language models (LLM) and generative AI as a means of enhancing teaching and learning in higher education.Every1( Enable EVeryone’s Engagement in the eneRgY transition) is the second project, which brings together leading experts in energy, education, energy ecosystems and the social sciences to enable all European stakeholders to participate effectively in the digital energy market.
In 2018, she was appointed Editor of Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance & e-Learning. Her work has received international recognition through holding visiting Chairs at the Autonoma University, Barcelona and the British University in Dubai. Denise is currently a serving Board Member, Fellow and Vice President of Research for EDEN Digital Learning Europe. Denise is also a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. For a complete publication list see: http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/dmw8.html

Speakers:
Dr. Bart Rienties

Dr Bart Rienties is a Professor of Learning Analytics and programme lead of the learning analytics and learning design research programme at the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University UK. He leads a group of academics who provide university-wide learning analytics and learning design solutions and conduct evidence-based research on how students and professionals learn. As an educational psychologist, he conducts multi-disciplinary research on work-based and collaborative learning environments and focuses on the role of social interaction in learning, which is published in leading academic journals and books. His primary research interests are focused on Learning Analytics, Learning Design, and the role of motivation in learning. Furthermore, Bart is interested in broader internationalisation aspects of higher education. He has successfully led a range of institutional/national/European projects and has received a range of awards for his educational innovation projects. He is President of the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), the largest research community on learning analytics. He has published over 300 academic outputs and is the 1^st most published and cited author on learning design and learning analytics in the period 2014-2023 (Drugova et al. 2023), and the 2^nd most published author on Networks in Education in the period 1969-2020 (Saqr et al. 2022).

Dr. Thomas Ullmann

Dr. Thomas Ullmann is a lecturer at the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). He has over 15 years of experience in educational technology, developing and evaluating online learning and teaching solutions. He leads projects related to learning analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education, and innovative methods, especially text analytics, to support and measure teaching and learning. Dr Ullmann is currently the Academic Learning Analytics and Insight Lead for the OU-led Fleming Fund Global Learning Grant, evaluating the learning progress of professionals in LMICs.

Mychelle Pride

With more than twenty years’ experience in the sector, Mychelle’s work has focused on enabling students to achieve to the best of their abilities, meaningful student voice and engagement, and learning, teaching & assessment. In her current role as Academic Director, PVC-Students at the Open University, Mychelle provides learning, teaching & assessment direction aimed to enhance the academic experience and to ensure high standards across the PVC-Students’ portfolio. Mychelle is leading a strategic change initiative to evolve how the Open University facilitates and assesses learning, preparing the institution for the future. She also has a lead role in Generative AI in Education and has presented across the sector.

Paul Prinsloo

Paul Prinsloo is a Research Professor in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in the Department of Business Management, College of Economic and Management Sciences, University of South Africa (Unisa). He is a visiting professor at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), a Research Associate for Contact North/Contact Nord (Canada), a member of the Center for Open Education Research at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany, a Senior Fellow of the European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN), member of the Executive Committee for the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) and serves on several editorial boards. Paul is an internationally recognised scholar and has published numerous articles in the fields of teaching and learning, student success in distributed learning contexts, the ethical collection, analysis, and use of student data in learning analytics, and digital identities.