AVETRA - Day 1 afternoon

After lunch, Keynote 2 is presented by Associate Professor Peter Hurley, Director of the Mitchell Institute based at Victoria University. He speaks on 'Measures and meaning: Diagnosing policy challenges in the VET sector'. In Australia, the VET sector, as with many other countries (UK being a prominent example), have been subjected to continual change. Reforms introducing contestable funding 15 years ago created extensive confusion, radical change, and continual challenges. Misunderstanding between, without and within the VET sector has led to implementation of reforms which no one has a common language/understanding of!! Policy makers need to be able to interpret what VET understands and how these are interpreted by government, funding agencies etc. Used the example of how VET students are counted, revealing diverse numbers and divergent stats on whether the numbers have increased or are decreasing. Qualifications, outcomes, grades, marking etc. etc. all have different ways to interpret their 'results'. These 'results' often tied to a person - their accomplishments, qualities, accreditation, competence etc. these measures are commensurable and do not decay, have a memory and create the possibility of exchange (i.e. qualification = acceptance for a job = individual 'gain'. Reminder that embodied skills is different from a representation of a skill. Returned to policy measures with examples of relevance to VET - contestability, more units completed = more skills attained?? does what is 'purchased' equate to actual hours of learning? Concludes there is a risk of atomisation due to way all of these outcomes are valuated. Therefore, a better way to 'count' needs to be created; all measures are constructions - relational and perhaps not realistic; education experience that can be valuable may be lost, crowded out due to the 'measures'; VET sector risks being hollowed out; and important to look behind what has been the result (which has not been successful). 

Then a panel discussion on chaired by Kira Clarke on 'Policy, place and partnership: The interoperable tertiary system'. Panel included Jenny Dodd (CEO TAFE Australia), Jenny MacAffer (CEO Adult Learning Australia), Dr. Don Perlgut (CEO Community Colleges Australia), Felix Pirie (Deputy CE Policy and Research, Indepedent Tertiary Education Council) and Liam Sloan Deputy CE Federation University and CEO of FedTAFE). Each provided perspective from their context on the connection (or not) between policy, place and partnership and suggestions as to how these may be improved, enacted and more effective.

Keynote 3 is with Professor Pi-Shen Seet who is professor of entrepreneurship from Edith Cowan University. He presents on 'Disruptive technologies, Industry 4.0 and their impact on the Australian skills and training system'. Provided background to his project on the changing world of work. Will robots take my job?? try this site to find out - uses USof A statistics. Technological change is an engine for long run economic development. Mckinsey's 12 disruptive technologies provide a guide to the items with greatest impact. The fourth industrial revolution poised to create rapid and radical changes in social/economic developments. Drivers and impacts of industry 4.0 uneven across countries, dependent on their mix of industries, workforce capability, demographics etc. So are there more threats or opportunities? Shared and summarised a range of Australian reports, generally 30% new jobs with lost of at least 10%. Many type of work will be impacted, again, with spikey effects, dependent on job tasks composition. Summary in NCVER report - 2018. Shared opportunities for further research - how are VET providers meeting the skills for Industry 4.0? How are new collaboration entities meeting education and training KPIs? Ongoing disruptive technologies and their impact on VET. 

The afternoon's concurrent sessions then begin.

First up, Ramesh Radhamony on 'Nursing education to enhance culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community access to mental health services: A scoping review'. Summarising a paper published in 2021. Considering immigrants and the refugee populations have high risk of mental health issues, enhancing health workers' knowledge regarding mental health service provision and cultural responsiveness can reduce health disparities. Scoping review completed to try to find out what could be initiated, how effective these are, and their impact. Summarised methodology to undertake the review including the inclusion/exclusion criteria for the scoping. Shared themes, limitations, gaps in the literature and discussion points. Good overview on how to conduct a valid review and how to bring some of the findings into practice. 

Last presentation of the day with Professor Stephen Billett on 'localised decision making and enactments: Engaging individuals, communities and workplaces in vocational education'. This follows on from presentation made earlier in the day. VET has been perenially challenged by poor standing, but requirements to meet specific needs. National mandates may not always fit well into all contexts. Overviewed the many projects undertaken to try to understand workplace/organisational learning and VET education provisions. The centrality of context and localised processes often made a difference. Being locally responsive is not sufficient. VET also needs to realise change by encouraging and supporting innovation.

Rationalised the importance for VET to meet local communities' needs. Connected the focuses of VET to the needs of the local community. Shared the findings from a 2022 project in how local actions may assist. Engaing conditions need to be made visible. Work needed to be fulfilling. Support required along with relevant education. Three ways to help young people learn about work include visits and walk-throughs, information sessions from experts and workplacement / internships. Additional support to ensure young people able to attend, whole community engagement and school-based provisions are also important. Assisting young people to identify suitable occupations also important including engagement with parents, visibility of the occupation etc. Specific strategies include social partnerships with local schools, tertiary education and enterprises. Initial occupation preparation also important but must be contextualised to context and individual needs. Local strategies through building local relationships coupled with local decision-making can be effective. CET programmes need to also follow similar strategies, responding to local needs. Initiation and development of workplace innovations can draw from communities. Local educational infrastructure and governance often work if they are provided sufficient support, and resourcing.   

AVETRA AGM runs before the conference reception and presentation of awards. A long but interesting day.

AVETRA - Australasian Vocational Education and Training Research Association - Conference - DAY 1 morning

 Finally able to get back to f2f conferences :)

This year's AVETRA conference is being held in Melbourne with streaming online of keynotes etc. and some presentations.

The day opens with sharing of the welcome to country from yesterday evening's welcome reception and introduction to the conference's themes by Kira Clarke, AVETRA president. 

Keynote 1 is from Professor Peter Dawkins, the interim Director for Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA). He speaks on 'job and skills Australia: Expanding the evidence base to inform skills needs and strengthen the VET sector'. Began with some overview of the various 'authorities' tasked with working out the job and skill needs for Australia, their roles and responsibilities and contribution to informing the National Skills System. The conceptual map means the National jobs and skills roadmap informs strategic activity, in turn driven and connected to labour market skills analysis (to expand the evidence base) and all trying to come to grips with the complexities to enable better decisions. Overviewed the range of programmes, projects and products and detailed 5 JSA papers relevant to VET. Shared statistics on mobility of learners (remote/regional learners tend to access local programmes); jobs in demand (nurses, aged care etc) and the categories of these shortages (including 'quality gap' -enough applicants but not of sufficient quality; skills mismatch). Reported on work in progress to expand the VET evidence base - VET national data access and Registered Training Organisation (RTO) typology. JSA is relatively 'new' but working hard to provide sufficient evidence base for better decisions for learners, employers, industry, providers etc. 

A ministerial address from Minister Brendan O'Connor follows. Thanked researchers for their work which help inform on how policies etc. impact on communities. Supported the importance of VET to Australia. Skills shortages creates challenges and also opportunities. Announced increase from Commonwealth to all the States to fund VET, to enable more inclusive VET so all Australians are able to skill up and contribute to the occupations which are experiencing shortages. Reiterated the importance of research to inform how these initiatives impact where they are targeted and how they can be improved to provide better solutions. JSA created to provide stronger evidence to inform future development of VET. Support for sustainability/green jobs to help Australia meet carbon zero targets. Care and support sector also prioritised. Support provided to lift the status to VET and also the number of VET researchers. Suggested opportunities for research - understand why half VET learners do not finish; getting more women in to male dominated occupations; 4000 RTOs and how to assure quality and consistency and how they operate, business models etc; how to extend TAFE and what does it look like into the future; and high quality VET workforce required. Evidence informed actions needed in these. 

The conference is then officially opened by Craig Robertson, CEO for the Victorian Skills Authority. Updated on Victorian education space; detailed underlying principles to think through VET; and how the new world of collaboration across VET. Helped to 'connect the dots' between federal and state requirements - moving away from national compliance etc. towards impactful implementation that works at the state level. 

After a short morning tea, presentations then follow across three streams: Challenges of our time, challenges that lie ahead and challenging times.

Notes of presentations I attended follow:

Associate Professor Gary Husband on 'revealing challenges faced by further, adult and vocational education providers through a detailed study of college governance in the UK'. From the project - Process and practices of governing colleges of further education in the UK: Uncovering the complexities of governing - a large 3 1/2 year project. Shared the range of research questions which revolved around the role, and relationships, practices, processes, strategic decision-making, accountability and aspirations and enactments inherent in the governance of further education colleges. Summarised research method which used observations of board meetings, interviews with key players and desk research of governing body paperwork. Then ran through context for the study. One of the rationales was that 45% of colleges were at financial intervention and guidance on governance was seen to one solution towards improving viability. Then summarised findings: non-standing items were key components which often did not receive sufficient attention. Outlined the policy churn and related impacts caused by Brexit and the pandemic which became crucial focuses for college councils, and the impacts of constitutional changes and financial pressures. National economic drivers and funding foci also impact on outcomes and experiences of learners. Concluded that colleges could respond to external factors, both positive opportunities and difficult challenges presented, colleges need to be able to respond quickly especially given the significant future changes. Also shared future work. 

Then Professor Antje Barabasch on 'Radical institutional change - the transformation of the New Zealand VET system'. Data gathered across 6 months in Aotearoa whilst working on another project. Worked on finding how NZ VET works, how is work integrated learning facilitated and what innovations were availed? Interviewed 60 people - government reps, managers, lecturers, industry, students and apprentices. Detailed the profound changes - see book for more detail. Summarised some of the challenges possibly inherent in the new system caused by creation of new entities. Then discussed the various institutional change theories which need to be drawn on to assist the shift of the sector into newer system. Ran through some of the characteristics and justifications for radical change - the market, externalisation, economic, organisation and social inclusion arguments. Compared apprenticeships in Switzerland and Aotearoa NZ contexts. Range of programmes from foundation to post-graduate post a challenge for VET providers i.e. Te Pūkenga. Discussed what may happen - continuation of RoVE; possible reversal as proposed by currently opposition political party; and delays requiring compromises. Encouraged development of VET research, especially to study the system, its efficacies and future possibilities. 

Professor Stephen Billett presents on 'Vocational education futures: purposes, processes and practices'. New challenges are being presented with current increased in geopolitical tensions leading to the need for national self-sufficiency. Development of further adaptable occupational capacities enabling problem solving and to initiate and secure workplace innovations and to remake their occupational practices. Reviewed the personal capacities required - canonical occupational knowledge, situational competence, adaptability. Workplace contributions include ability to innovate and maintain sovereign capacity. Focuses for VET future - assist identifying of occupations which suit; initial occupational preparation; continuing education and training; informing and engaging young people in VET and occupations; and initating and enacting workplace innovations. Without adequate interest and engagement by sufficient numbers and kinds of students, VET occupations' future is perilouf; personal and institutional investments wasted, initial occupational preparation needs to promote adaptability as a foundation for future applicability; CET provisions aligned to working people's needs. 

Therefore need to enhance engagement in VET as a worthy education sector; assistance in identifying 'suitable' occupations; initial occupational preparation needs to include occupational adaptability; educational processes promoting adaptability; provisions for CET needs to be accessible, flexible and responsive; possessing lots of work experiences, making it relevant and engaging. Workplaces provide access to knowledge required for both occupational capacities and situational performance. Initiating and enacting workplace innovations needs to be supported. Therefore localised engagements important and the need to promote learner agency and engagement. 

Followed by Dr. Don Zoellner on 'Optimising Australia's conceptually confused National Training System: One economic option for post-market VET'. Went though with an analysis of the VET policy trail in Australia. Understanding how policy has been made in the past informs what might be possible post-competitive markets with optimisation of a system rather than contestability amongst thousands as one solution. Declining VET markets is part of the market cycle. Applied Foucault's archaeological era discourse analysis to understand the discontinuities. Warns of conceptual confusion, especially in VET research. Multiple realities exists, requiring 'field experts' to interpret into various contexts. Proposed six maps of the notional national VET system and discussed each chronologically with their impacts. 

Lunch provides good opportunity to network and catch up with many across the AVETRA community. 

AVETRA - workshops

In Melbourne for the first f2f conference since 2019!! The Australasian Vocational Education and Training Research Association runs across 3 days, beginning today with several workshops.

Kira Clarke opens the workshops with a welcome to country and an overview of AVETRA.

Workshop one is with Rakesh Saha who presents on phenomenon-based learning (PhBL) which arose from an ISS scholarship visit to Finland.

His workshop began with defining PhBL, the advantages, how it is implemented in Finland and how this can be implemented. PhBL is a pedagogy that encourages students to explore a phenomenon which could be a topic, an event etc. The pedagogy encourages holistic, interdisciplinary, personalised, collaborative, enquiry-based and hands on learning. Of note that Finland, already considered having a successful education system, is working at initiating and promoting PhBL as it prepares learners for the future. PhBL helps promote well-being but also gives student agency, improves critical thinking, collaborative learning etc. and greater pedagogical flexibility for teachers. In Finland, 7 transversal competencies are identified: Thinking and learning to learn, cultural competence, taking care of oneself, multiliterarcy, ICT, working life skills and entreprenuership, and participating, influencing and building a sustainable future.

Then Professor Sarojni Choy and I facilitate a workshop on publishing in the International Journal of Training Research, of which we are co-editors. We went through the submission, peer review and publication process and worked with the participants to draft a plan for their paper and provided resources to write an abstract.

The third workshop on 'making a transformational difference: Steps to address inequity in VET' presented and facilitated by Kit McMahon and Sally Thompson, convenors of Women in Adult and Vocational Education (WAVE). The workshop sought to scope out and explore inequity in VET; discover what role VET has to address inequity; and learn the evidence and practice through applying a gender lens. Activity involved selecting a card which represented self and another representing inequity. These formed the basis of conversation through the session. Individual's presented their perspectives and these collated on flipchart. Brought the many contributions into discussion on the Gender Equality Act (Victoria) - implications, challenges, actions and ways forward. Many items still to address - gender pay gap, sexual harassment rates in workplaces, domestic violence etc. continuance of gendered occupations. Need to not be gender blind or perpetuate inequality. Research should create equity, not just find out that it exists! Define the issues and assumptions, understand the context of your policy/programme of service, create and define options - analyse choices for equality, and make the recommendation or case for adoption for intersectional gender equality.

Fourth workshop is with Carmen Basilicata who is Executive Director for Market Performance and Engagement at the ASQA. She overviews the self-assurance process to focus on quality and continuous improvement. Ran through update on ASQA and the broader regulatory reform. Focus is on provider self-assurance. Details of the draft co-designed model presented. Summarised the items required in provider annual declaration of compliance. Some similarities to the NZ system, principles and objectives are similar but processes are 'local'. 

A welcome to the conference reception followed.

UNESCO report - AI, ChatGPT and higher education

 A general introduction to AI and ChatGPT released in April by UNESCO.

Provides  'start up' instructions and then progresses into suggestions on how to leverage ChatGPT to encourage critical thinking, along with implications. Table in page 9 and some suggestions for its use to support research are useful.

OECD report - Is education losing the race with technology?

 This OECD report makes for interesting and challenging reading. The report surmises that in a few years, AI would be able to surpass most humans if it was to take the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIACC). By 2026, AI would be able to solve the literacy and numeracy tests and its results would exceed that of 90% of adults in literacy (gulp) and 57-88% in numeracy. 

At present, literacy and numeracy skills are used daily by large sectors of the workforce. What are the implications, when AI is able to perform these tasks? The usual recommendations are for education systems to strengthen foundations skills for students and to also ensure 'AI' literacy becomes part of the curriculum.

The report is a warning for all educators, to not ignore the increasing capabilities of AI. Instead of avoiding the technology, educators need to become AI savvy, to understand the strengths and limitations of the technology and to be able to help guide their learners, towards using the essential human skills of communication, critical thinking and problem solving to be able to work synergistically with AI.

Augmented Education in the Global Age

 Augmented Education in the Global Age is a topical book, providing good overviews and discussion of the implications and impact of various technologies on education, in particular the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it will disrupt education as it is now framed.

The book is published by Routledge, edited by Daniel Araya and Peter Marber with parts available as 'open access'. I read the copy lodged as an ebook in the institutional library. 

The book is divided into 3 parts with 17 chapters.

An introductory chapter by the editors, summarises each chapter.

Part one has 6 chapters on 'augmented work in the global age'

The first chapter 'augmenting human intellect: A conceptual framwork'  is a reproduction of D. C. Engelbert's 1962 seminal report which has influenced many major players in the IT industry.

The second chapter by J.M Fung and S. Hosseini, connects AI to a context of new education for work as proposed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Of note is the claim that the lifespan of some contemporary occupations is becoming shorter, falling to around 5 years! with many having to re-invent their careers 8 times across their working lifes.

In the next chapter, M. Chui et al. (Mckinsey research team) define the 'bio-revolution' and how AI contributes to improving healthcare, food production and alleviate climate change.

The fourth chapter, J. Gregg, proposes the economic and employment opportunities for the 'Cosmos economy' and the role of AI in augmenting deep space research.

Next, Columbia University's Climate School inaugural dean, R. Defries advocates for the shift to a new curriculum towards multi-disciplinary approaches to address the many challenges posed by climate change etc.

Chapter six by E. Brynjolsson discusses the question of whether machines will increase productivity and lead to more leisure for humans or drive greater social inequality. Should AI be used to automate or to augment is the key question. History shows us that automation is often where economical focuses lead to by augmentation is actually, in the long run, much more humane and sustainable.

Then a collection of 6 chapters on the impact of AI on education systems.

Chapter seven by A. Papaspyridis and J. La Greca, provides contemporary examples from the HE and school sectors in the US of A on how AI in curriculum design is used for student 'training, grading and special needs education.

Then a chapter by K. Shiohira and W. Holmes, reiterating AI as a tool which is in on way perfect. AI outputs can be biased and inaccurate and ethical issues require addressing before AI is implemented.

In Chapter 9, A. M Paul advocates for the merging and partnership of digital and human smarts as a way to inform curriculum development.

J. Burmeister addresses the question in the next chapter, of what will happen to human lives when it is not dominated by work and the kind of education required to allow for this to occur. 

Chapter 11 focuses on HE, whereby P. Marber argues for HE to focus on creativity and problem solving.

Then D. Araya and M. A. Peters discuss the global implications of AI on learning, using the influence of China's belt and road initiative as a case study.

The last section focuses on policy planning for the augmented future.

Chapter 12 overviews China's AI policy and provided examples of how AI is applied towards the country's education system.

Then the next chapter, looks at the US of A response and how it needs to be better poised to deal with the challenges posed by AI on education.

In chapter 15, I. von Weitershausen of MIT, comparing German and American responses, highlights the well-known mismatch between the needs of employers and industries and the skills of workers.

T.Wadhwa provides another perspectives from India. In particular, how India must address the disparities within its society to assure the betterment of all its citizens into the future.

The last chapter, revisits the concept of Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a measure to deal with the predicted large scale disruptions.

In all, the first two sections are useful in providing meso viewpoints on how AI impacts society and the role of education in addressing the challenges posed by the rise of AI. AI could be a solution, helping humanity through augmentation of our biological intelligences, to alleviate the many 'weaked' problems faced by the world. Yet, AI may also be applied to creating unrest, wrought by its impact on how work is currently enacted. Therefore, it is important for all countries to think through implications and work at the macro policies which frame how AI contributes (or not) to individual countries' development.

The importance of writing in an AI world

 In this article, the importance of learning the skill of writing, is supported. Not only to be able to write but to write well is required for humans to articulate what they have learnt and understood.

As per my blog after 10 years of blogging, the process of learning to write well, is a learnt skill requiring much practice. To be able to summarise new concepts learnt and to connect these to one's ongoing schema, requires one to reflect, ruminate and write.

Being able to fluently communicate complex ideas and synthesise novel solutions is also all good and well. However, it is important to disseminate these, so others may also learn, critique, and re-work to their context and needs. In doing, progress is made towards solving some of the 'wicked' challenges facing the world today.

GAN (Global Apprenticeship Network) - Presentations from the future of apprenticeships conference in Melbourne/Auckland

 The presentations made at the GAN conference which ran from Melbourne and then Auckland in February, are now available online.

The three keynotes from the Honounourable Brendan O'Connor, Minister of Skills and Training in Australia, Laurent Friexe, CEO of Nestle and Nazrene Mannie, Executive Director of GAN Global, are recordings/videos.

Powerpoint presentations are available for a range of topics including VET research, VET collaboration, digital higher apprenticeships, the Swiss dual system, importance of VET, and quality apprenticeship framework.

Professor Antje Barabasch on VET in Switzerland - new learning cultures in enterprises

 Notes from this afternoon's presentation by Professor Antje Barabasch, head of research at the Swiss Federation University of VET who is currently in Aotearoa NZ for several months. She has been exploring the NZ VET system and presents on work undertaken to study VET attitudes of enterprises (business entities); innovative approaches to apprenticeship; and conditions shaping innovative learning culture (processes, strategies in training, forms of work organisation).

Began with an overview of the Switzerland, the Swiss education system, the various pathways through the system from school into tertiary/VET and how the dual track VET works. 73% of each school leaving cohorts enter apprenticeship. Explained how apprenticeships work. Firstly, the apprentice needs to find the position. A contract is set up and the apprentice is paid by the company. Training occurs on job with a competency orientation. In general, 3 - 4 days work in the company and 1 - 2 days at VET school. 'Branch course' also may occur in specialists occupations (equivalent to block courses).

Funding comes from the federal government, the cantons (regions) and private sector. 

Rationale for studies include external competition leading to structural and cultural innovations. Work organisation changes and innovation evolve in apprenticeship traning due to changes in the organisational culture. Study undertook 10 case studies across 6 industries - telecommunications, public transport, postal service, pharmaceutical industry, retail, and machine-engineering).

Learning culture - learning is embedded in cultural settings. 

Shared one major move to 'transversal skills' critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, communication, flexibility etc. Apprenticeships also need to be supported to attain and maintain motivation and enthusiasm. Motivation can be supported by providing opportunities to increase competency and confidence; provision of autonomy is important; and the work in different teams and be open to new team members etc. (i.e. teamwork skills). 

Reported some findings. Used the fitness training enterprises as an example. Then shared a collation of the 'innovations in workplace learning' which help enhance apprentice learning. Themes include mobility and exposition, take over responsibility and entrepreneurship, preparatory courses and special training, and supporting creativity. 

Closed off by summarising how to translate industry expectations into workplace learning. Innovative ways to extend and augment apprenticeships lead to increased attractiveness of the industries and better recruitment. Commitments required from enterprise management to allow for success in innovations. Important for VET teachers and trainers have sufficient skills to ensure coaching and teaching is also able to be flexible to support innovative approaches. Also shared the challenges as it takes time, effort, commitment and good systems to support innovation. 

Using technology (and AI) to support the research process and research writing

 Chanced on some YouTube videos posted by Dr. Andrew Stapleton through dipping in and out of various videos and other resources on ChatGPT. The initial video on how ChatGPT can be a game changer for researchers let me to several others. The main focus is on quantitative research in the science and technology fields, but there are good ideas, across the video series / channel, which are useful for all researchers. Of note also is this  series on research tools and apps, which introduces and evaluates, from a research perspective, a range of apps and resources (yes, books are included). 

Included are recommendations on completing post-graduate qualifications and post-PhD career pathways and processes.

From the learner point of view, Francis Madden provides pointers on using ChatGPT to do an Oxford PhD. Of note is the need to not 'copy and paste' but to check all sources (i.e. to ensure the information is triangulated), evaluate, finetune and rework the original ChatGPT outputs. All leads to engagement with the extant literature, more reading, critical thinking and improvement of academic writing skills. Time is saved, but also learning is extended and perhaps also improved.

So, there are ways AI can be leveraged, in a considered manner, to support research work. Resources from keen scholars, willing to share their experiences, helps all others save time as part of the hard work of finding and evaluating tools is done. Again, important to contextualise the types of tools/apps/resources recommended to meet individual researcher needs. 

ChatGPT Forum - Massey University

 Notes from a zoom presentation hosted by Massey University on ChatGPT - a cross universities' forum.

Professor Giselle Byrnes begins with an overview of the technology and introduced the speakers. Each speaks for 10 minutes and a Q & A session follows.

Dr, Mark Nichols (Open Polytechnic / Te Pūkenga) begins by starting that AI has no ethics, morality, conscience. Therefore, it should not be anthromorphised. AI can be used for good or for evil but has great potential for education. AI draws on two negative traits - one is that we think we know more than we know and the other is that we are programmed to take shortcuts. Therefore, AI needs to introduced carefully with understanding of its potentially and limitations. It is important to realise that although the outputs of ChatGPT look impressive, they are not always correct. It lies and makes up references. 

Undertook an overview of the Polytechnic's learning design process and how AI can be used to augment their work. User education must be undertaken to address deception and ignorance - the enemies of scholarship. AI / not-AI boundaries are now blurred, banning AI is naive. 

Dr. Karaitiana Tairu continues by bring a Māori lens to the discussion. Overviewed the constitutional and legal considerations on data sovereignty. the use of Māori data can be considered as drawing on Māori taonga. Contends that there is a re-colonisation of Mātauranga Māori as it is not part of the ethics, etc. of the algorithms behind - for example - ChatGPT. At the moment, much of Mātaurange is not digitised, draws on Māori data and ignores Māori data soverignty. ChatGPT is creating false Māori histories and produces pepeha / karakia with mistakes!! Intellectual property rights and Te Tiriti are not followed. However, ChatGPT is relatively good at te reo!! could be useful and contribute to learners of Māori. 

Lee Hicken (microsoft) acknowledges the sense of fear and awe with regards to how AI has developed and advanced. Used ChatGPT to synthesis some thoughts. Referred to Atthur C. Clarkes 3 laws to describe what is now occurring. We cannot block or go back. How can we move forward?? AI does not know anything, but has a strong 'grasp' of how language works and therefore uses linguistic patterns to work out 'answers'. Generative AI is now a blank piece of paper, when we ask it questions, we train it. It learns our biases etc. It is therefore our responsibility to ensure that how we use ChatGPT is done in a carefully thought out manner. We are its teacher!! and it will reflect our thoughts. It is important to teach our students how to work and live with AI. In particular to ensure critical thinking is a key to how we use AI.

Then, Dr. Colin Bjork from Massey University presented on AI and cheating. Rather than stop students from cheating, it is important to look into why students are shaped by inequality / access due to issues of unresolved inequities etc. Experiences that shape our perspectives on the world - language, gender, age, ethnicity, social economic status etc. etc. also colour how we may interact with AI, leverage off its uses, and understand and think through the implication of AI. Banning AI in education will likely hurt those who may benefit from its use (those with disabilities etc.). Worries that the language used by AI becomes the status quo and that access/lack of access exacerbates the inequalities that already exists. 

Graeme Smith from Ako Aotearoa. The future is here but it is unevenly distributed. Summarised and discussed the various items introduced by the other speakers. What can teachers working with a class do? ChatGPT will not likely replace a teacher. Working with ChatGPT can be used to augment our work as teacher. AI will only accelerate from this point on. Learn early and be familiar with the tool. Cool stuff can be build using Chat GPT. We need to work in conjunction with AI. When we can 'clone' ourselves with our own customised AI, we may offload the 'boring' stuff and indulge in the creative and interesting things.

The webinar closed with encouragement to continue the conversation, opportunities for research and dialogue. Another channel opened further discussion. 

The age of AI

 A few readings from last week, on the increasing power and acceptance of AI into our lives.

Bill Gates writes on AI and compares the advent of and argies that the arrival of AT chatbots exampled by ChatGPT, heralds a revolution in how humans used digital technology. The arrival of the internet and the ubiquity of mobile phones, are presented as other important milestones. In education, he posits that finally, after decades of desultory application of technology to enhance learning experiences of learners, that AI will finally be usefully deployed to improve access to 'personalised' learning and level the playing field for learners.

A Bloomberg op ad warns that the introduction of GPT-4 could make work even more demanding as AI is used to augment work tasks and drives productivity up higher than normally achieved by mere mortals. AI as players of chess and Go provide some indication of what happens when AI is able to accomplish feats many humans, apart from the top players, hope to aspire to. In some ways, AI could be use to accelerate learning in these games, but also adds some dampening to humans wanting to get to the top of the game. It becomes a case of not only being able to compete against other humans at the top level, but also AI players.

Last up from the week's gleanings, is this article from Quanta magazine. Warning of unpredictable behaviour from emerging large AI models. Therefore, it is important to be wary of the outputs from AI as the capabilities are still emergent and algorithms are still being worked through. Critical evaluation is required, when using AI to generate content!

Adobe Creative Cloud suite - online introductory session

Participated in a presentation, on the Abode Creative Cloud - 'Low-lift, high impact - Adobe pedagogy-focussed workshop. Hosted by Peter Nock from Ara Institute of Canterbury and facilitated by Manuela Franceschini -Adobe pedagogical evangelist.

Mainly a demonstration of what Creative Cloud is with emphasis on digital story telling. 

Began with introducing the post-text future, with the screenage predominating the ways we connect and interact with each other. Story telling is now even more important. However, short form videos (i.e. TikTok), captured, shared and viewed on mobile phones is now predominant.

Being an author means being able to tell the story on many mediums. 

Creative skills are now in higher demand., along with analytical skills, ability to solve complex problems, build and maintain relationships etc. Robot-proof higher education in the age of AI 

Introduced the concept of 'humanics' where by being human is even more important. 

Digital story telling is the creative process of using digital technology as a medium of as a tool of expression. For teaching and learning, not the tools but the skills, not creating media but meaning, not just telling but also contributing a collaboration, not an isolated story but sharing and connecting, not a transfer of knowledge but about amplifying and not substituting analog sources but transforming stories.

Include collecting, connecting and communicating in creating a story. Creative Cloud can be envisaged as a virtual maker space to produce and circulate intellectual work, to critically and creatively create solutions within the context of the 4th industrial revolution. 

Shared examples of student work using various Adobe tools / platforms. 

Important to support learners to become critical digital creators - not just viewers or users but creators, using evaluative and critical thinking skills. 

Demonstrated several examples.- videos, infographics, webpages, etc.

Moved on to focus on Adobe Express - for image/photo editing and Adobe Rush - for video editing - with Jason Grant. Went through the various steps for pre-production, production and post-production to build a story.

Flipped learning - does it work?

 Edsurge summarises and comments on a meta-analysis of how well flipped learning works. 

The study discovered that there were many versions of 'flipped learning' and in the main, there was little shift in pedagogy. Instead, especially in higher education, students watched a videoed lecture and when in-class sessions occurred, were subjected to another lecture!! Even when 'active learning' was undertaken, the learning outcomes did not eventuate, mainly due lecturers not 'closing the loop' to ensure learners had engaged with and learnt the material.

The article's title, summarises recommendations "Fail, flip, fix and feed' that is, there is a need for 'flipped learning' to allow students to 'test their learning, obtain feedback and learn, before moving on to the next concept.

An important article to read, digest, understand and apply to learning design. 

Ai and what it does to our critical thinking

 A cartoon on Planet Warriors sparked this blog post. The cartoon shows pedestrains, all concentrating on their phones whilst on the side, two robots read and learn. The cartoon reinforces contemporary life (see 2017 article by NY Times 'Hooked on our Smartphones) whereby people check their phones over 100 times a day and live a life which revolves interacting with the various messages and items delivered to their phones.

With the ascendency of AI and the present hype around platforms exampled by ChatGPT, it is important to understand the many challenges still faced by AI to 'replace' the essence of humanness. In particular, the ways individuals, with their knowledge-bases collated through life experience and how they comprehend and apply 'research' off the internet to their daily lives (see this techradar commentary for one example). Almost a decade ago, I read Matthew Crawford's book - The world beyond your head - (see here for overview) warning about how the distractions available and bombarding us through various media, creates a barrier for us to have time to reflect, ruminate, and think. The concepts in the book are even more relevant now, as we need to be even more cognisant of what we read, hear and see.

Critical thinking is now, more important than ever. Leveraging off AI is one way to draw on the advantages presented, but with the caveat of always carefully evaluating information presented to us through contemporary media. Cult of Pedagogy  recommends the use of ChatGPT as an 'example machine' to help students learn how to critique information gleaned off the internet. Instead of relying on AI to generate content for completing assignments etc. teachers should use AI to generate various versions of content, and use this to help students learn how to evaluate/judge what is valid and the quality of writing. This approach helps learners to contrast and compare 'good' and 'poor' writing helping them discern 'truth', accuracy of information, track back on assertions to locate collaborating references, learn how to write within disciplinary genres, and attain critical thinking skills which can be generalised to other aspects of their learning.

As usual, it is not the tool to be blamed but how we use the tool which is the important aspect to follow through. 

Professor Laura Czerniewicz on digital equity and education for the greater good

 Today, two presentations by Professor Laura Czerniewicz from the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT), University of Cape Town, South Africa at the University of Canterbury's Digital Education Futures Lab.

The first is on the topic of Digital inequality in Higher Education -"Problemising digital inequality"

Worked on the topic for many years but the challenge still remains.

Began by asking  ‘what does the digital divide make you think of?

Saw the book - Inequality – A NZ crisis and wondered why, compared to South Africa the issue of inequality is challenging many countries including ones perceived to be egalitarian.

Digital equality is not simple. Access to electricity is not availed to all the world’s people. Connectivity is ubiquitous in urban areas but not so in rural areas. There is a 30,000% difference between the cheapest data and the most expensive. The affordability gap and value-for-money gap is large.

Therefore, digital inequalities are inseparable from social inequalities, technology and inequality are multifaceted, intersects with postdigital datified society and is fluid and emergent.

Summarised the shift from analogue to digital, networked digital and SMART (self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology).

In general level one digital divide is access to digital devices, then to digital skills and then level 3 whereby the ways lack of access accentuates when 1 and 2 are unavailable.

There are always aspects and challenges of use, participation, benefit, sovereignty, agency and transparency. For many, there is no choice and poor access to information on what platforms / tools they are required to engage with. The pandemic exposed many social inequalities in education and the digital divide. The risks are playing out unevenly and deepen the divides.

Summarised what can educators do to address digital inequalities, through formal/informal and/or individual/group activities. Research is one way to find out what can be done.

Introduced a toolkit to help study digital inequality.

-          For access – Resource Appropriation Theory

-          Theory of practice – Bourdieu – forms of capital

-          Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT)

        Critical pedagogy and digital liberation

2) Her second presentation in the evening was more academic covering the genesis, direction, and overview of a book she is currently working on titled ' Higher Education for Good'.

Set the scene with a check in on how people have experienced the last few years. A variety of responses reinforced her view of the pandemic as ‘the same storm’ but with countries and individuals being on ‘different boats’.

Overall, many in the world have the perspective of a world being in crisis and these are leading to austerity, deepening inequalities, surveillance capitalism, rising authorianism, war, ongoing stability, and multiple challenges and uncertainty within HE.

Shared the need to be more optimistic and to use the opportunities presented. Worked through and wrote the book edited by Catherine Cronin and herself.

Five sections in the book – finding fortitude and hope; making sense of the unknown and emergent; considering alternatives; making change through teaching, assessments and learning design; and remaking HE. Chapters across various genres with critical reflections, poems, conceptual essays, visual/audio dialogue, graphics and artwork. 

While working on the book, also discussed ‘a manifesto for HE for good’ consisting of the following principles:

-          Name and analyse the troubles – need to understand the negatives so as to work toward solutions. Naming and understanding provides power and agency to address them. Check work of Achille Mbembe. Discussed how datafication and surveillance capitalism in HE is often invisible from users. Leading to datafication as a form of coloniality, whereby profit is made, natural resources are exploited, all made on a promise of progress and improvement. 

-          Challenge assumptions and resist hegemonies – reiterated the need to recentre by bringing voices and views from the margins; crossing the borders (geographical, disciplinary, status, genre)[; and challenge the dominant perspectives and views. Encouraged puriversal knowledge in practice by ensuring citations which are diverse and inclusive, otherwise we miss valuable perspectives.

-          Make claims for just, humane, and globally sustainable HE – need to claim and grow theory for good. What is public, social, common good? We need to make claims for regulatory frameworks which support for the good of all. Where does the data collected, for example by various learning platforms going? Who is gleaning the data and what is it being used for!!

-          Courage to imagine and sharing – “Imagination is about remaining human” – Ursula le Guin. We need to imagine a more egalitarian, less extractive world which is supportive of all. Recommended reading some speculative fiction – Ursula le Guin’s the left had of darkness; Tade Thompson’s Rosewater and Kim Stanley Robinson’s The ministry for the future. Also to explore the work on socio-techno-eco futures.

-     - Imagine alternative HE futures – Used Keri Facer’s black elephant (what is being ignored?); the pink swan (outlandish and invisible); and the rainbow jellyfish (everyday and potentially transformative) as a way to envisage and make positive changes here and now. Changes can occur as a ‘shock’ or in small steps leading to a ’slide’. Encouraged us to be ‘streams that become rivers’ 😊

Referenced ‘Utopia for Realists’ by Rutger Bregman on – ‘how we can build the ideal world’ and the need to be ready for change. Stressed the need for communality and coalitions as a way forward.

 A thought provoking presentation followed by interesting Q & A.

Professor Thomas Deissinger - University of Konstanz on

 Professor Thomas Deissinger from University of Konstanz in Germany, is in Aotearoa NZ to look into the NZ VET system, especially post- RoVE. Today, he visited Ara and provided Te Pūkenga kaimahi (people) with an overview of the German VET system. 

Professor Deissinger's visit comes near the end of his travels to Australia (Brisbane, Adelaide) and Aotearoa (Wellington and Christchurch). His research includes study of anglophone VET systems in the UK, Canada and Australia and Aotearoa is now being added to his sphere of research.

I met Professor Deissinger at several of the INAP (Innovative Apprenticeship) conferences and it always good to be able to touch base f2f with someone who is researching in a similar area. 

Notes taken at the presentation this afternoon:

Covered the German VET context; Teacher Education in VET and the University of Konstanz context.

Summarised the German Education and how VET fits into the overall scheme of things. Highlighted different pathways learners may progress through. There are 1.26 million young people in 2021 who undertook apprenticeship through the dual system.

There has been a decline of demand for apprenticeships from school-leavers. Companies and vocational part-time schools train young people in 324 different occupations. Summarised characteristics of the dual system. 'Chambers' of industry bodies are supervising bodies for in-company training. There is no direct progression to HE. Teachers and trainers have formal qualifications. Trainers qualifications are supervised by the chambers.

Described the 5 'sub-systems' of school-based VET and then detailed the various types of vocational teachers - Master / degree in teaching and discipline, other disciplines degree, technical teachers, side entry from employment with degree in discipline. 

For 'scientific teachers' (the ideal) 5 years to complete Master degree, proof of practical work experience (as apprenticeship) and passing a state exam after 18 months of initial teaching. 

In general, students have one major or two in their discipline degree, take on 'seminars' for training and further education (pedagogical knowledge), then 2nd phase of 18 months of internship (teaching 11 lessons instead of 25 a week) before taking the state exams.

ChatGPT and assessments

 One of the main challenges facing educators when digital tools can be used for a host of writing tasks, is that of assessments. How can the integrity of assessments be safeguarded when students are able to use nefarious means to complete their assessments.

Over the last two months, there have been a large number of articles discussing the issue. 

- FENews proposes the use of a variety of question types, effective proctoring systems and different testing types e.g. using oral presentations or practice-based assessments instead of written exams.

- The conversation advices the need to rethink assessments. In particular, to ensure they are authentic i.e. connected to personal context or the course specific material. Project-based, group and inquiry/problem based learning are recommended.

- workhe.com recommends that educators trust their students and to take on the possibility of discussing with students, the pros and cons of using AI to augment, or scaffold their work.

- Pulse in the context of teacher education reminds us that learning is a process, not a product or artefact. Hence authentic assessments are the way to go.

- uts provides good ideas on how students and teachers can draw on AI to support their work. Good ideas include asking students to use ChatGPT to generate a response to the assessment and then set up the criteria to critique the response and provide feedback to improve on it. 

In all, it is important to include context into assignments and to ensure students take ownership and responsibility for their learning. AI in the form of Chatbots able to provide responses which mimic those of humans, are here to stay. They will also improve rapidly as they learn from the feedback to responses provide by users. Therefore, it is important to ensure educators understand the implications and work through the consequences. The opportunity is now provisioned to improve learning and assessment processes, so that assessments are for learning and not of learning. 

Awkward intelligence - where AI goes wrong, why it matters and what can we do about it

 This book by Professor Katherina A. Zweig provides an overview of AI, especially on the caveats of depending on its outputs and the need for ethics when drawing on AI as a collated / sifter / decision maker.

Of note is an explanation of the computer science behind the algorithms which underlie AI. This is of especial importance as new generations of AI, exampled by ChatGPT and the incorporation of this technology into search engines - see the article by the Guardian on Google and Microsoft's swift moves into integrating AI. The main caution is that the algorithms governing how AI generates it's outputs, are far from perfect. Decisions made on outputs from prompts entered into the system contain bias, as the outputs are only as good as the data from which the outputs generated are made.

The argument in the book is that AI may be best for situations where things are 'black and white' eg. as in playing chess or go. Given the inherent fuzziness of the human condition and the greyness / continuums of things for may situations, AI may not be able to respond authentically, ethically or creatively to challenges which do not have clear cut answers. 

Innovative approaches to Technology-enhanced learning for workplace and higher education

 This is a compilation of papers from the 'Learning ideass' conference held in 2022. The proceedings are edited by D, Guralnick, M. A. Auer, and A. Poce ad published as a book by Springer. 

There are 56 papers. The bulk of the papers come from the conference's main stream with 4 - 5 papers in two special tracks - emotional approaches and inclusive learning. 

Abstracts and references are available for all the papers. Several papers of interest to dip in and out of. 

Presentation on - AI-Powered Productivity: Unlocking the Potential of ChatGPT and Other Tools in your Training Business

 Notes from the presentation organised by Skills Education PD (Australia) with Tracy Sheen on zoom.

Approached AI from a small business perspective. Shared popular AI tools along with the websites which up-to-dates onAI apps/platforms. 

Began with a demonstration of ChatGPT. Assured everyone that AI has been around quite a long time but not as visible as with Chat GPT. Currently, available in the US of A, upgrade for US$20 a month provides quicker access at all time. Upgrades rolled out across all countries over the next few weeks. Consensus across the audience was that they would not pay for the service.

Of interest during the demonstration, is the iterative process of providing greater specificity with each prompt, to allow for generation of more refined output at each pass. Also, to use the content in several contexts - as per marketing spiel, suggest course names, as a blog, convert to email etc. Posits the need to focus on critical thinking to come up with the right prompts and then to use the right parameters to refine the outputs to meet envisaged quality/usability etc. of the product. ChatGPT's strength is to be a nudge/scaffolding tool to get things started.

Canva 'Magic Write'  provided as an example by one of the participants. Only available for paid educational account users. Similar to ChatGPT which works within a document. 

Grammarly or Quillbot have basic tools with more functions for the paid version provide further refinement to the outputs generated by ChatGPT. 

Cody provides the ability to collate and work on organisational / business documents. A database of company documents, policies, web content etc. can be drawn on to provide customised business documents.

Futurepedia and Futuretools collate AI apps / platforms as they are launched, have search tools to help find specific AI tools and archives AI related news. Many image and video AI generators along with the usual text generators. 

Recommends synthesia (paid subscription) as a video generator, especially if your video needs a customised avatar to present content. Customisation of gender, race, language, accent and add background music! Another option is pictory

otter.ai is a voice meeting notes and transcription tool suggested.

So, it is now possible to have AI generated content, presented by an AI generated avatar on an AI created video and have the video transcript AI generated as well. 

As always, what is the objective and how can AI be used to trigger creativity, save time / increase productivity, and generate content. Good session with lots of participation from everyone attending. 

Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education - open access

 This open access book published by Springer at the end of last year and edited by Olaf Zawacki and Insung Jung, collects a contemporary range of articles on open, distance and digital education. This field is very large and the book captures some of the work and projects undertaken.

The book has 80 chapters. An introductory chapter by the editors sets the scene and providers a summary of each of the six sections. Sections include:

- the macro level overview of the field with history, theory and research

- collated global perspectives and internationalization

- the meso level reports on institutional perspectives, management and organisation with leadership and change

- meso level infrastructure , quality assurance and support systems

- the micro level with learning and teaching including learners, teachers, media and technology

- design, delivery and assessment.

All in, a good range of articles to dig into as the need/interest arises. The entire book can also be downloaded as with each chapter. 

Assessment in the age of AI - open access journal article

 An interesting and timely article published Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence. A relatively new journal with articles across the year compiled into an annual volume.

This article in volume 3 (2002) discusses the challenges of assessment in the age of AI and proposes some ways to leverage assessment practices which draw on AI approaches. The article critiques current assessment practices. The ways AI can be useful include automating assessment construction, AI assisted peer assessments, and using AI generated text to conduct 'writing analytics'. The challenges and caveats for introducing and using AI to support assessments are also presented with a focus on how AI may disfranchise educators from assessment processes.

A good reference article to use for supporting discussions on the impact of AI on assessments.

Presentation on Integrating technology into Swiss Vocational education - Professor Alberto Cattaneo

Last evening, we had the privilege of attending a presentation from Professor Alberto Cattaneo from the Swiss Federation University of Vocational Education and Training on various technology-enhanced learning projects carried out over the last 15 years.

The presentation came through connections made with  Professor Antje Barabasch, who is head of research at SFUVET and is currently on sabbatical in Aotearoa NZ, hosted by the University of Canterbury. 

Professor Cattaneo provided a overview of the Swiss 'dual system' and then detailed some of the projects. More detailed information is available in the recently published book on 'Educational Technologies for Vocational Training: Experience as Digital Clay'. In the decade and a half since the SFUVET began their work, they have progressed from static to moving multimedia (videos) and now work extensively in MR including AR and VR. Of note is their use of multimedia to engage learners and to use the records to nudge learners into reflective practice. Examples shown and discussed across the presentation provide us with affirmation of the work we have undertaken so far and goals to aspire to into the future. 

National Institute of Digital Learning (Ireland) - top 10 good reads for 2022

 The National Institute of Digital Learning maintains a topical blog with congent updates on the introduction, application and evaluation of digital technologies into education.

One of their latest blogs, summarises the top 10 reads in 2022, prefaced as -from theory to practice and back again. All the articles featured are open access and there is one recommendation from the 'closed' literature.

The blog provides links and undertakes a good overall survey across the articles (journals published in , countries etc.) and summary of each of the articles. Articles include two on the topic of learning design; Stephen Downes update on constructivism; topical ones on the metaverse and AI; and papers on research theory and how they can inform practice.

ChatGPT - impact on vocational education

 Just before Christmas, the internet was alight with various pieces on ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot which is able to generate written pieces/articles, generate code and compose songs and poems in various styles. Users input a small list of items, and ChatGPT produces the goods. The AI learns continually through Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback (ELHF).

The platform is free (for the moment) with over a million users signed up within hours of launch, leading to it being often unavailable due to the sheer number of people using it. A larger number of information summaries, blogs, opinion pieces (some written by ChatGPT) have flooded the internet. These users, help the AI learn through its interactions, helping to increase the authenticity and realism of the outputs.

Relevant articles include ones related to how AI disrupts industries, its effect on education / classrooms, teaching practice and learning, how it could transform learning, the higher education response, including a 'if your can't beat them, join them idea '. 

 As usual, there is no available response contextualised to vocational education (sigh).The types of jobs threatened by AI bots include copy/content writing, customer support, and software developers /programmers, although the general consensus is that these jobs are safe for the moment, given the germinal nature of ChatGPT. Given the AI tends to provide written responses, similar challenges to those brought up in the articles above within school and higher education contexts arise when ChatGPT is used to develop written material for vocational education based assessments. For example, project proposals and the ensuing report, can be generated when an outline is presented to ChatGPT. Thankfully, practice-based assessments are the mainstay of vocational education and the learner still has to perform the required skills to the expected standards. 

How can vocational learners be prepared for the use of increasingly powerful AI tools that generate images and text when provided with the right cues? To begin, it is important for learners to understand the strengths and weaknesses of these platforms. Learners also need to provide the chatbot with the right information and the right occupational jargon, to ensure the output generated is realistic. This requires learners to have a good grasp of the content/topic, before they feed in the cues that are used to generate the output. The mechanics of writing (grammar, spelling, sentence structure etc etc) may be taken care of but it is still up to the user, to check, evaluate and finalise the resulting piece of writing.

As someone who spent many years honing the craft of becoming an academic writer, I can see the usefulness of something like ChatGPT to generate starter paragraphs. These emergent pieces may be used as precursory summaries, to help overcome 'writers' block' or to provide some of the scaffolds for the article's argument. Having tried out the platform with several 'article skeletons' I have found the generated text to be repetitive and sometimes long-winded. However, this could be due to the cues I have provided! It also works from what the user provides, so if the cues are not factually correct, the platform will be none the wiser. 

ChatGPT represents a challenge to how young people are taught how to write when written texts can be generated. Schools could ban the platform as it reduces the writing of school reports and essays, to plugging in some items around a topic, generating the text and copy and pasting. The long journey of learning how to write through practice, trial and error, and continued improvement, becomes lost when the act of actually consolidating a string of items into a cohesive whole is lost :( Therefore assessments focused on essays will need rethinking. It is now more important than ever, to think of assessments as FOR learning rather than OF learning. ePortfolios are a means to record the learning / writing journey and assessments based on evidence of 'reflective learning' rather than the end result (essay, report etc.) are one way to work around the challenges of AI generated work. 

We also need to think through the implications, ethics and philosophical underpinnings, When AI is able to respond in ways so similar to humans, it becomes difficult to tell the difference. As humans, we might lose some of our humanity, when a machine 'takes over' thinking and creative writing from us. With it, goes the self-actualisation associated with positive feedback from putting effort into difficult tasks. Evaluating the work of others, is not a replacement from putting in the hard work required to bring a creative piece of work into being. It will be difficult to push against the tide of AI generated work. We need to think through the wide implications, one of which may be an increased valuing of artisanal work, the one off bespoke products. AI may design these objects, 3D printers may be able to produce by the millions, but 'one of a kind' human designed and crafted products may be one way to ameliorate the rise of 'non-human' designed and manufactured goods. Vocational education, especially in the trades, will need to therefore emphasis quality of skills, to meet the market for bespoke items.

Plans for 2023

 The major challenge presented across the year which will impact on my work, is the integration into Te Pūkenga organisational structures and objectives across the year.

Te Pūkenga (The NZ Institute of Skills and Technology NZIST) brought together the 16 institutes and polytechnics (ITPs) and 9 of the 11 industry training organisations, (ITOs) in Aotearoa NZ. The formation of Te Pūkenga is but one of the outcomes of the Reform of Vocational Education(RoVE). Workforce Development Councils (WDCs) tasked with setting standards through consultation with stakeholders across the industries they represent; Regional Skills Leadership Groups (RSLGs) which focus on skill needs for each region; Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) to drive innovation in VET teaching; changes in the funding structure of VET, and simplification and alignment of qualifications,  all begin to consolidate.

Te Pūkenga itself is large by international standards, led along in Aotearoa NZ, supporting over 200,000 learners, with a workforce of 10,000 ++ and a charter that sets out aspirations to be met with regards to meeting the precepts of Tirit o Waitangi, equitable access to VET and parity of outcomes for all (and especially for Māori and Pacific peoples).

At present, my team are no longer part of People, Culture and Well-being and await allocation to one of the academic divisions being formed. This year will see most of the organisational structure being defined and put in place. There will be much change as the regional structures are also confirmed and the ways we work will include collaboration across our region (presently most of Te Waipounamou – the South Island) and also across the Te Pūkenga network. Amidst all of this, day to day work continues to support our teachers to provide engaging and relevant learning to our learners.

My membership of Nga Ohu Whakahaere o TePoari Akoranga o Te Pūkenga (the teaching and learning advisory group to the academic board for Te Pukenga) provides a window into the workings of Te Pūkenga and a means to contribute as the institute organises itself. 2 days of work a month is tagged to this role. At the inaugural hui (meeting) in December, the Ohu began the mahi (work) of confirming its terms of reference with a focus on its roles and responsibilities.

On the research front, I hope to submit two journal articles, both written last year and have them published this year. Most conferences I would participate in, have shifted back to f2f interaction. This presents a challenge as Te Pūkenga is not funding any work-related travel. I plan to fall back on using the $$ attained from recent publications and the marking of theses, to fund at least one conference in Australia, likely AVETRA at the end of April in Melbourne. 

It looks like another busy year, albeit with some uncertainties with regards to where my team fits into the wider organisational structure. Things should come clearer as the year progresses :) 

2022 review

 Another busy year with the pandemic still present and causing continued disruption in our everyday lives. The arrival of COVID into Aotearoa saw many people becoming ill, with the illness somewhat ameliorated, for most, by vaccination. Across the year, students and colleagues caught the virus, along with a host of other flu related illnesses, caused by several years of isolation from the lurgies due to the borders being closed. Therefore, it has been a difficult year as students and teaching staff have had to work through illness, isolation at home if relatives or housemates became ill, or have had to work through long recovery times. Courses have had to ensure resources were available online for students to access if unable to attend class, and for students catching up with classes missed. Staff have been stretched due to having to cover for other who have been ill. Therefore, in a way, this year has been more difficult due to the unpredictability and uncertainty as to how ‘blended learning’ is structured and enacted.

Apart from the work generated by supporting our colleagues working to ensure equitable access for all our learners, there has been much activity generated by my institute’s merger into Te Pūkenga. Difficulties with the formation of Te Pūkenga and its leadership became evident earlier in the year and by mid-year, there was a change at  ‘headquarters’ and a rush to try to meet targets to ensure that the 2023 teaching and learning year was able to proceed smoothly.

Of note is my appointment to the Te Pūkenga Te Ohu Whatahaere (Ako) Te Pouari Akoranga – the learning and teaching subcommittee of the Te Pūkenga Academic Board. The Ohu met for the first time this month to establish its remit. I am hopeful this is one avenue to provide much needed pragmatic feedback to the large volume of change which is churning all around us at the moment.

On the research front, the publication of the book 'Reshaping Vocational Education and Training in Aotearoa New Zealand', edited with Nicholas Huntingdon, culminates two years of work, begining with gathering the authors for the 20 chapters in the book, organising the peer review process, responding to external reviews and the final proofreading process. Book launches was held in Christchurch and in Wellington, with many authors, reviewers and supporters attending.

I look to a break across the Xmas and New Year, with the usual opportunities to rest and recreate in the South of Te Waipounamu (the South Island). It will be good to refresh and revive as 2023 will no doubt be just as busy and challenging!

Learning design: Conceptualising a framework for teaching and learning online

 This book, published in 2016 and edited by Professor James Dalziel provides a good overview of the UK/European approaches for learning design. The chapters extend on the discussions undertaken in the same year, at a conference in Larnaca (called the Larnaca declaration on learning design) which summarised the argument and proposals for a theoretical foundation for learning design. In particular, to try to develop a notation system, to represent the components of learning and how teaching may support learners to attain the outcomes.

The book has 12 chapters and begins with a foreword from Diana Laurillard. 

The chapters deepen the conversation and discussion begun during the Larnaca conference, providing frameworks to conduct learning design from an evidence-based platform.

List of chapters below:

Chapter 1: The Larnaca Declaration on Learning Design – 2013 by James Dalziel, Gráinne Conole, Sandra Wills, Simon Walker, Sue Bennett, Eva Dobozy, Leanne Cameron, Emil Badilescu-Buga, and Matt Bower

Chapter 2: Theoretical underpinnings of Learning Design by Gráinne Conole

Chapter 3: Reflections on Metaphors for Learning Design by James Dalziel and Eva Dobozy

Chapter 4: Learning Design in the New Digital Age by Simon Walker and Mark J.P. Kerrigan

Chapter 5: The complementary nature of Learning Design and TPACK by Eva Dobozy and Chris Campbell

Chapter 6: The 7Cs of Learning Design by Gráinne Conole

Chapter 7: Investigating University Educators’ Design Thinking and the Implications for Design Support Tools by Sue Bennett, Shirley Agostinho, and Lori Lockyer

Chapter 8: A Deeper Understanding of Reuse: Learning Designs, Activities, Resources and Their Contexts by Sandra Wills and Chris Pegler

Chapter 9: The Use and Usefulness of Transdisciplinary Pedagogical Templates by Eva Dobozy and James Dalziel

Chapter 10: Social Adoption of Learning Design by Emil Badilescu-Buga

Chapter 11: A Framework for Adaptive Learning Design in a Web-conferencing Environment by Matt Bower

Chapter 12: Learning Design: Where Do We Go From Here? By James Dalziel, Sandra Wills, Grainne Conole, Simon Walker, Sue Bennett, Eva Dobozy, Leanne Cameron, Emil Badilescu-Buga, Matt Bower and Chris Pegler

Developing online teaching in higher education - book overview

 This book is the most recent in the Springer Professional and practice-based series. It is edited by Dianne Forbes and Richard Walker. 

The book has 16 chapters, organised into 4 sections.

The book begins with an introductory chapter, written by the editors "A continuous professional learning and development (CPLD) framework for online teaching'. The focus of the book is to present many approaches undertaken, especially through the COVID-19 pandemic, to support CPLD in a time of rapid change. They argue for the importance of CPLD in ensuring integrity and appropriateness of how online teaching is enacted. 

The first section - Inter-institutional/societal CPLD has 4 chapters.

First up is 'Professional learning for open online educators: The #Openteach story" by O. Farrell, J. Brunton, C. Ni Shē, and  E. Costello. The authors present their experiences in developing a flexible and evidence-based approach to supporting online teachers. The key principles were: social presence, facilitating discussion, collaboration online, live online teaching and supporting online students.

Then, D. Dell, M, Cleveland -Innes, N. Ostashewski and D, Wilton, write on 'Inquiry MOOCs: Privileging constructive collaborative learning for continuing professional development'. Records the experiences of faculty and instructional designers from Athabasca University, working on a MOOC to support blended learning practice.The MOOC is evaluated in terms of professional development quality and participant responses.

The next chapter by E. Kennedy, S. Sherman, N. Weitz, S. Crabbe, V. Devaney, H. Tariq et al. details and discusses the project 'Get interactive: the value of a MOOC for CPLD'. The MOOC models social and collaborative learning with technology, has run since 2017 and has engaged 21,000 participants. The pedagogy draws on Diana Laurillard's 'teaching as design science'. The chapter reports on evaluation and continual work on the MOOC as it developed and matures.

Then a chapter on 'cross-cultural mentoring in tertiary education: Enhancing self-efficacy in online teaching through collaboration and openness in professional learning' by H. DeWaard and R. Chavhan. The experiences gained through the UNESCO Open education for a better world mentoring project are shared and evaluated. 

T. Cochrane and M. Jenkins contribute the last chapter in this section on 'professional accreditation pathways in higher education: enabler or block to technology-enhanced learning professional development?'. The chapter brings up a key CPL issue. Two professional accreditation frameworks - the Advanced HE Fellowship and the Certified Member of the Association for Learning Technology (CMALT) are compared. The Advanced HE Fellowship, a traditional framework requires updating to reflect the contemporary PD of HE educators. CMALT is proposed as a means to support the process of remapping.

The next section -Institutional CPLD - has 3 chapters.

L. May and J. Denton write on 'emergency designs: lessons from the rapid implementation of online teaching'. This chapter evaluates, through autoethnographic inquiry, the efficacy of ADDIE for responding to rapid developing of courses. An adapted version of ADDIE is proposed along with structured CPLD  to support the need for agile movement of courses into the online learning environment.

Then, S. Houston, C. Milligan, A. Nimmo and A. Robertson contribute on ' providing CPLD through a toolkit design'. The ABC curriculum design framework is adapted into a 'toolkit' to aid the rapid shift of f2f courses into the online delivery mode. Also reports on a study, a year later, to evaluate the efficacy of the toolkit and the steps taken to enhancing the toolkit for better fit.

S. Ngai, R. Cheung, S. Nr, A. Wll, P. Chik,and H. Tsang on 'swift preparation for online teaching during the pandemic: the pandemic experience sharing from healthcare teaching in Hong Kong'. Has a focus on the challenges presented by 'hands-on' learning, when a shift to online learning is required. The TPACK framework was used to guide the CPLD offered to lecturers. Drawing on their learning through the pandemic, future planning of CPLD provision is presented and discussed.

The section - Middle-out programme driven CPLD - has 4 chapters.

Firstly, 'co-design as professional learning: pulling each other in different directions, pulling together' by C. Vallis, S. Wilson, J. Tyrrell, and V. Narayan. Reports on the co-design CPLD process used to support the designing, development, teaching and evaluation of a range of diverse business subjects.

Then a chapter on 'share sessions: a solution to cross-disciplinary academic professional learning and development in higher education' by S. Zeivots, D. Wardak, and E. Huber. Describes the 'share sessions' whereby innovative online teaching practices were shared via zoom. Draws on interviews with lecturers, to find out how the share sessions worked. It was found that it is important to have a planned approach, before, during and following the sessions, to maximise their effectiveness.

T. Harper and R. Holme write on 'informal, grassroots online professional learning: The experiences of teacher educators'. Overviews the specific challenges faced by teacher educators on their CPLD needs and how these may be addressed through 'grassroots' approaches.

Last chapter in this section is by J.R. Rothman, R. Lege, E. Bonner and M. Ishii who present a chapter on 'supporting emergency remote teaching via responsive professional support system'. This case study from Japan provides another perspective on the global 'emergency remote teaching (ERT) response. The CPLD approach drew on the work of Drago-Stevenson's learning-orientated mode of adult learning. 

The last section has 2 chapter around the topic - personal 'inside-out' experiences of CPLD.

R. Philip on 'pathways to creative learning and teaching online: An ecological model'. Shares the ecological model for designing creative online learning which was derived from Australian and international HE examples.

M. Lafferty and E. Roberts with 'from physical to virtual: reflections on the move from the lecture hall to the digital classroom. This UK case study studies perspectives on CPLD of lecturers in two disciplines - Law and Psychology, which have provided guidelines for the implementation of blended learning experiences.

A final chapter from the editors brings the book to a close. They write on 'CPLD for online teaching: diverse perspectives and common themes'.

Overall, a timely addition to the literature covering not only the importance of CPLD to help lecturers/teachers shift practice rapidly from the known to 'new' teaching and learning contexts, but also offers an insight into the many approaches used, across the HE sector, to support learners through online access.