AI in Education Podcast

This week's episode is our final interview recorded at the AI in Education Conference at Western Sydney University at the end of last year. Over the last few months you have had the chance to hear many different voices and perspectives Leanne Cameron, is a Senior Lecturer in Education Technologies, from James Cook University in Queensland. Over her career Leanne's worked at a number of Australian universities, focusing on online learning and teacher education, and so has a really solid grasp of the reality - and potential - of education technology. She explores the use of AI in lesson planning, assessment, and providing feedback to students. Leanne highlights the potential of AI to alleviate administrative burdens and inspire teachers with innovative teaching ideas. And we round the episode with Dan and Ray as they reflect on the profound insights shared by Leanne and discuss the future of teacher education. You can connect with Leanne on LinkedIn here

This week's episode is an absolute bumper edition. We paused our Rapid Rundown of the news and research in AI for the Australian summer holidays - and to bring you more of the recent interviews. So this episode we've got two months to catch up with! We also started mentioning Ray's AI Workshop in Sydney on 20th February. Three hours of exploring AI through the lens of organisational leaders, and a Design Thinking exercise to cap it off, to help you apply your new knowledge in company with a small group. Details & tickets here: https://www.innovategpt.com.au/event And now, all the links to every news article and research we discussed: News stories The Inside Story of Microsoft's Partnership with OpenAI https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/11/the-inside-story-of-microsofts-partnership-with-openai All about the dram that unfolded at OpenAI, and Microsoft, from 17th November, when the OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman suddenly got fired. And because it's 10,000 words, I got ChatGPT to write me the one-paragraph summary: This article offers a gripping look at the unexpected drama that unfolded inside Microsoft, a real tech-world thriller that's as educational as it is enthralling. It's a tale of high-stakes decisions and the unexpected firing of a key figure that nearly upended a crucial partnership in the tech industry. It's an excellent read to understand how big tech companies handle crises and the complexities of partnerships in the fast-paced world of AI MinterEllison sets up own AI Copilot to enhance productivity https://www.itnews.com.au/news/minterellison-sets-up-own-ai-copilot-603200 This is interesting because it's a firm of highly skilled white collar professionals, and the Chief Digital Officer gave some statistics of the productivity changes they'd seen since starting to use Microsoft's co-pilots: "at least half the group suggests that from using Copilot, they save two to five hours per day," "One-fifth suggest they're saving at least five hours a day. Nine out of 10 would recommend Copilot to a colleague." "Finally, 89 percent suggest it's intuitive to use, which you never see with the technology, so it's been very easy to drive that level of adoption." Greg Adler also said "Outside of Copilot, we've also started building our own Gen AI toolsets to improve the productivity of lawyers and consultants." Cheating Fears Over Chatbots Were Overblown, New Research Suggests https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/13/technology/chatbot-cheating-schools-students.html Although this is US news, let's celebrate that the New York Times reports that Stanford education researchers have found that AI chatbots have not boosted overall cheating rates in schools. Hurrah! Maybe the punch is that they said that in their survey, the cheating rate has stayed about the same - at 60-70% Also interesting in the story is the datapoint that 32% of US teens hadn't heard of ChatGPT. And less than a quarter had heard a lot about it. Game changing use of AI to test the Student Experience. https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2024/01/your-classmate-could-be-an-ai-student-at-this-michigan-university.html Ferris State University is enrolling two 'AI students' into classes (Ann and Fry). They will sit (virtually) alongside the students to attend lectures, take part in discussions and write assignments. as more students take the non-traditional route into and through university. "The goal of the AI student experiment is for Ferris State staff to learn what the student experience is like today" "Researchers will set up computer systems and microphones in Ann and Fry's classrooms so they can listen to their professor's lectures and any classroom discussions, Thompson said. At first, Ann and Fry will only be able to observe the class, but the goal is for the AI students to soon be able to speak during classroom discussions and have two-way conversations with their classmates, Thompson said. The AI students won't have a physical, robotic form that will be walking the hallways of Ferris State – for now, at least. Ferris State does have roving bots, but right now researchers want to focus on the classroom experience before they think about adding any mobility to Ann and Fry, Thompson said." "Researchers plan to monitor Ann and Fry's experience daily to learn what it's like being a student today, from the admissions and registration process, to how it feels being a freshman in a new school. Faculty and staff will then use what they've learned to find ways to make higher education more accessible." Research Papers Towards Accurate Differential Diagnosis with Large Language Models https://arxiv.org/pdf/2312.00164.pdf There has been a lot of past work trying to use AI to help with medical decision-making, but they often used other forms of AI, not LLMs. Now Google has trained a LLM specifically for diagnoses and in a randomized trial with 20 clinicians and 302 real-world medical cases, AI correctly diagnosed 59% of hard cases. Doctors only got 33% right

In this second episode of 2024, we bring you excerpts from interviews conducted at the AI in education conference at Western Sydney University in late 2023. In this week's episode, we dive deep into the world of AI in higher education and discuss its transformative potential. From personalised tutoring to improved assessment methods, we discuss how AI is revolutionising the teaching and learning experience. Section 1: Vitomir Kovanovic, Associate Professor of Education Futures, University of South Australia In this interview, Vitomir, a senior lecturer at UniSA Education Futures, shares his perspective on AI in education. Vitomir highlights the major impact that generative AI is having in the field and compares it to previous technological advancements such as blockchain and the internet. He emphasises the transformative nature of generative AI and its potential to reshape teaching methodologies, organizational structures, and job markets. Vita also discusses the importance of adapting to this new way of interacting with technology and the evolving role of teachers as AI becomes more integrated into education. Section 2: Tomas Trescak - Director of Academic Programs in Undergraduate ICT, Western Sydney University Tomas delves into the challenges of assessment in the age of AI. He highlights the inherent lack of integrity in online assessments due to the availability of undetectable tools that can easily fill in answers. Tomas suggests that online assessments should play a complementary role in assessing students' knowledge and skills, while the main focus should be on in-person assessments that can't be easily duplicated or cheated. He also discusses the role of AI in assessing skills that won't be replaced by robots and the importance of developing graduates who can complement AI in the job market. Section 3: Back to Vitomir, to discuss the changing model of education and the potential impact of AI. We explore the concept of education as both a craft and a science and how technology is gradually shifting education towards a more personalised and flexible approach. The discussion highlights the ability of AI to adapt to individual teaching styles and preferences, making it a valuable tool for teachers. We also delve into the potential of AI in healthcare and tutoring, where AI can provide personalised support to students and doctors, leading to more efficient and equitable outcomes.

The podcast was a special dual-production episode between the AI and Education podcast, and the Data Revolution podcast, welcoming Ray Fleming and Kate Carruthers as the guests. The conversation centred around the transformation of the traditional data systems in education to incorporating AI. Kate Carruthers, the Chief Data and Insights Officer at the University of New South Wales, and Head of Business Intelligence for the UNSW AI Institute, discussed the use of data in the business and research-related aspects of higher education. On the other hand, Fleming, the Chief Education Officer at InnovateGPT, elaborated on the growth and potential of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in educational technology and its translation into successful business models in Australia. The guests pondered the potential for AI to change industries, especially higher education, and the existing barriers to AI adoption. The conversation revolved around adapting education to make use of unstructured data through AI and dealing with the implications of this paradigm shift in education. The Data Revolution podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify. 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:58 Guest Introductions and Backgrounds 01:56 The Role of Data in Education and AI 02:32 The Intersection of Data and AI in Education 04:11 The Importance of Data Quality and Governance 08:00 The Future of AI in Education 09:49 Generative AI as the Interface of the Future 10:20 The Potential of Generative AI in Business Processes 11:26 The Impact of AI on Traditional Roles and Skills 12:00 The Role of AI in Decision Making 13:46 The Future of AI in Email Communication 14:38 The Role of AI in Education and Career Guidance 16:34 The Impact of AI on Traditional Education Systems 18:18 The Role of AI in Academic Assessment 20:11 The Future of AI in Navigating Education Pathways 36:37 The Role of Unstructured Data in Generative AI 38:10 Conclusion and Farewell

Our final episode for 2024 is an absolutely fabulous Christmas gift, full of a lots of presents in the form of different AI tips and services Joe Dale, who's a UK-based education ICT & Modern Foreign Languages consultant, spends 50 lovely minutes sharing a huge list of AI tools for teachers and ideas for how to get the most out of AI in learning. We strongly recommend you find and follow Joe on LinkedIn or Twitter And if you're a language teacher, join Joe's Language Teaching with AI Facebook group Joe's also got an upcoming webinar series on using ChatGPT for language teachers: Resource Creation with ChatGPT on Mondays - 10.00, 19.00 and 21.30 GMT (UTC) in January - 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th January 2024 Good news - 21:30 GMT is 8:30 AM and 10:00 GMT is 9PM in Sydney/Melbourne, so there's two times that work for Australia. And if you can't attend live, you get access to the recordings and all the prompts and guides that Joe shares on the webinars. There was a plethora of AI tools and resources mentioned in this episode: ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com DALL-E: https://openai.com/dall-e-2 Voice Dictation in MS Word Online https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/dictate-your-documents-in-word-3876e05f-3fcc-418f-b8ab-db7ce0d11d3c Transcripts in Word Online https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/transcribe-your-recordings-7fc2efec-245e-45f0-b053-2a97531ecf57 AudioPen: https://audiopen.ai 'Live titles' in Apple Clips https://www.apple.com/uk/clips Scribble Diffusion: https://www.scribblediffusion.com Wheel of Names: https://wheelofnames.com Blockade Labs: https://blockadelabs.com Momento360: https://momento360.com Book Creator: https://app.bookcreator.com Bing Chat: https://www.bing.com/chat Voice Control for ChatGPT https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/voice-control-for-chatgpt/eollffkcakegifhacjnlnegohfdlidhn Joe Dale's Language Teaching with AI Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1364632430787941 TalkPal for Education https://talkpal.ai/talkpal-for-education Pi: https://pi.ai/talk ChatGPT and Azure https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/chatgpt-is-now-available-in-azure-openai-service Google Earth: https://www.google.com/earth Questionwell https://www.questionwell.org MagicSchool https://www.magicschool.ai Eduaide https://www.eduaide.ai "I can't draw' in Padlet: https://padlet.com

In todays epsiode, Inside the New Australian AI Frameworks with their Creators, we speak to Andrew Smith of ESA and AI guru Leon Furze. This should have been the rapid news rundown, and you may remember that 20 minutes before the last rapid news rundown (two weeks ago), the new Australian Framework for Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Schools was published. So we ditched our plans to give you a full new rundown this week, and instead found a couple of brilliant guests to talk on the podcast about the new framework, and what it means for school leaders and teachers in Australian schools. Some key links from todays episode to learn more: Andrew Smith Andrew Smith | LinkedIn Home (esa.edu.au) Leon Furze http://Leonfurze.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonfurze/ https://ambapress.com.au/products/practical-ai-strategies Other useful reading VINE (Victorian ICT Network for Education) Generative Artificial Intelligence Guidelines Authored by Leon https://vine.vic.edu.au/resources/Documents/GAI_Guidelines/VINE%20Generative%20Artificial%20Intelligence%20Guidelines.pdf Finding the Right Balance: Reflections on Writing a School AI Policy https://matthewwemyss.wordpress.com/2023/08/15/writing-a-school-ai-policy/

Matt Esterman is Director of Innovation & Partnerships, and history teacher, at Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta. An educational leader who's making things happen with AI in education in Australia, Matt created and ran the AI in Edcuation conference in Sydney in November 2023, where this interview with Dan and Ray was recorded. Part of Matt's role is to help his school on the journey to adopting and using generative AI. As an example, he spent time understanding the UNESCO AI Framework for education, and relating that to his own school. One of the interesting perspectives from Matt is the response to students using ChatGPT to write assignments and assessments - and the advice for teachers within his school on how to handle this well with them (which didn't involve changing their assessment policy!) "And so we didn't have to change our assessment policy. We didn't have to change our ICT acceptable use policy. We just apply the rules that should work no matter what. And just for the record, like I said, 99 percent of the students did the right thing anyway." This interview is full of common sense advice, and it's reassuring the hear the perspective of a leader, and school, that might be ahead on the journey. Follow Matt on Twitter and LinkedIn