First published in Campus Morning Mail 21st Feb, 2023
Perspective Chapter: The Learning Management System of 2028 and How we Start Planning for this Now from Higher Education – Reflections from the Field
With the myriad changes looming in the ed tech space, this insightful piece of crystal-ball gazing from Michael Sankey (CDU) and Stephen Marshall (VUW) about the current and likely future states of the LMS is well worth your time. The authors follow the steady progress of the LMS from single source of learning to the heart of a complex ed tech ecosystem. Along the way they raise interesting ideas about whether the future may look more like MS Teams or Slack (I’m unconvinced for now) and touch on necessary changes to teaching practice wrought by AI that these systems will need to accommodate.
From Cognitive Load Theory to Collaborative Cognitive Load Theory from International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning
I stumbled up this 2018 article recently and with the discussion of ‘cognitive offloading’ and the need for new approaches to assessment that is occurring in the AI space, it seems like something worth revisiting. Kirschner et al. expand previous work on cognitive load in learners to collaborative learning activities, seeking to understand why some collaborative activities succeed while others fail. Broadly, they find that the transactional nature of collaborative learning and group dynamics should be considered in designing these kinds of tasks.
Australian privacy reform moves forward with new government report from International Association of Privacy Professionals
Privacy is often discussed more in principle than practice in education but it is worth being aware that the Australian government is currently reviewing the 1988 Privacy act and institutions and individual educators will need to consider how they treat student data once the work is done. A closer alignment with the very user-centred EU GDPR model, which gives rights to be deleted from systems, appears likely.
Is ChatGPT Smarter than a Student in Principles of Economics? From SSRN
Another day, another test of GenAI tools to see whether they could technically qualify as professional practitioners. This time we see ChatGPT making it into the 99th percentile for macroeconomists via the US Test of Understanding in College Economics.
The two ‘AIs’ – academic integrity and artificial intelligence – Webinar Thurs 23rd Feb, 12 noon AEDT from ASCILITE TELedvisors Network
Following on from the wildly popular AI (ChatGPT) Future webinar in early Feb, the TELedvisors Network presents another in the series, with a stronger focus on assessment and academic integrity questions. Alex Sims from Uni Auckland Business School explores these key issues in the first half, with a open discussion in the second.