Edtech

Education technologies have revolutionised university teaching, facilitating immersive learning, gamification, hybrid education and AI-adaptive learning – find out how

digital transformation concept

Why the ‘machine says no’: how asking for less can get you more…

Under-investment and lack of future proofing of core digital systems have left many universities with creaking legacy infrastructure that cannot support increasing demands. Here, three digital adopters suggest that incremental improvements could be a way forward

Craig Walker, Lisa Harris, Sarah Dyer

HEdway Group, University of Exeter, University of Manchester

A robot hand takes a survey using emoji faces

How AI can revolutionise the way we analyse student surveys

Student surveys provide a potential goldmine of data. Kirsty Bryant suggests deploying AI to maximise your insight

Kirsty Bryant

University of Westminster

Digital marketing concept

Transforming marketing lectures with AI and simulations

How do we teach students marketing theory while preparing them for an evolving professional landscape? Rohim Mohammed looks at how artificial intelligence and simulations foster practical, interactive learning

Rohim Mohammed

University College Birmingham

A man holding a laptop top gazes at a screen displaying a graph

The what, why and how of data visualisation for higher education

Wondering how to get started with data visualisation? Andrew Moles lays out the basics and offers his advice

Andrew Moles

The London School of Economics and Political Science

Webinar graphic

Campus webinar: Can universities keep pace with digital transformation?

Three Australian digital education experts from the Campus+ network explore the benefits and risks of AI and VR in teaching and learning, and gauge higher education’s pace of digital transformation

Edward Palmer, Julie Lindsay, Karen Blackmore

The University of Adelaide, University of Southern Queensland , The University of Newcastle, Australia

Podcast title card

THE podcast: microcredentials are knocking. Will higher education answer?

Tips from 10 years of Moocs at the University of Edinburgh and a call to arms to embrace technology for greater equity and financial sustainability

Melissa Highton, Michael D. Smith

The University of Edinburgh, Carnegie Mellon University

A hand holds a tiny globe wearing a mortarboard

Tips for mastering the Global Shared Learning Classroom

The Global Shared Learning Classroom can help extend internationalism beyond traditional exchange programmes. Jorge Alvarez offers advice

Jorge Alvarez

Monterrey Institute of Technology

Pupil in a class

How to use YouTube videos in a flipped classroom system

With students’ attention spans decreasing, it’s important to find engaging ways to help with pre-class preparation, writes Aravind Reghunathan

Aravind Reghunathan

Loughborough University

A small figure kicks over the first in a line of towering stone dominoes

How small universities can make big digital changes

Even tiny institutions can punch above their weight when implementing changes. Chris Porter shares the lessons learned from overhauling library digital services at Birmingham Newman University

Chris Porter

Birmingham Newman University

Saddle pressure mat used to teach horse riding

Get off your high horse: using technology to make equine courses more inclusive

A group of educators at Scotland’s Rural College have reached more diverse students by using wearable technology to update traditional methods of teaching horse riding

Jennifer Fitzpatrick

Scotland's Rural College

VR can be used to improve students' mental well-being

How the shores of a VR island promote student well-being and social connections

Virtual reality environments can create safe and relaxing spaces for students, offering them mindfulness meditation and social connection, says Pete Bridge

Pete Bridge

University of Liverpool

A hand adds the final building block to a small tower

How to help students get the best out of blended learning

What are students looking for in their hybrid classrooms? Bavani Divo, Miriam Wun and Eric Chua discuss their recent findings from student focus groups on the subject

Bavani Divo, Eric Chua, Miriam Wun

Singapore Institute of Technology

A woman sits in front of a laptop with a Zoom meeting taking place onscreen

Want to advance students’ self-learning? Look at your course design

Building self-learning into your blended learning courses will help students grow in confidence. Tan Chin Pei outlines the structures and support needed

Tan Chin Pei

Singapore Institute of Technology

AI concept

Learning the machine: shaping the future of creative education

Educators should engage with artificial intelligence and other technologies not just as users but as influencers, write Ed D’Souza and Sunil Manghani

Ed D'Souza, Sunil Manghani

University of Southampton

A yellow toy robot waves hello

How hard can it be? Testing the dependability of AI detection tools

Students are using artificial intelligence to write essays and other assessment tasks, but can they fool the AI detection tools? Daniel Lee and Edward Palmer put a few to the test

Daniel Lee, Edward Palmer

The University of Adelaide

Metacognition with AI

How to strengthen your metacognitive skills to collaborate effectively with AI

To follow their previous piece on why metacognition is crucial for collaborating with Generative AI, Sidra and Claire Mason reveal how to boost those specific metacognitive skills

Sidra, Claire Mason

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

Artificial intelligence represented by a digital image of a human head

Artificial intelligence and academic integrity: striking a balance

A look at how universities can encourage the ethical and transparent use of artificial intelligence tools to support learning while guarding against misconduct

Georgina Chami

The University of the West Indies

online buttons

Why buttons press our buttons

A design system can underpin consistency and content standards in university website and digital services, but it does not replace good design decisions. Here, Ayala Gordon offers guidance to content design teams

Ayala Gordon

University of Southampton

A robot acting as a lecturer

ChatGPT and generative AI: 25 applications to support student engagement

In the fourth part of their series looking at 100 ways to use ChatGPT in higher education, Seb Dianati and Suman Laudari share 25 prompts for the AI tool to boost student engagement

Seb Dianati, Suman Laudari

Charles Darwin University

Two colleagues working together at a computer

ChatGPT and generative AI: 25 applications to support administrative tasks

In the third part of their series looking at 100 ways to use ChatGPT in higher education, Seb Dianati and Suman Laudari share 25 prompts for the AI tool to assist with administrative duties

Seb Dianati, Suman Laudari

Charles Darwin University

AI robot checking writing

Enhancing manuscript clarity and ethical credibility with ChatGPT

Ikenna Uwanuakwa shares experience and tips for using ChatGPT to improve academic writing without falling foul of ethical considerations

Ikenna Uwanuakwa

Near East University

A robot holds up a sign showing two people talking

Harness human and artificial intelligence to improve classroom debates

A guide to using artificial intelligence to support nuanced class debates that train students’ critical thinking and communication skills

Elmar Kutsch

Cranfield University

Robot and human connecting over light globe

Universities, AI and the common good

Higher education must find paths for meaningful engagement with artificial intelligence, to leverage its potential, explain the problems and mitigate the hazards, writes Rajani Naidoo

Rajani Naidoo

University of Bath

Human brain and metacognition

Collaborating with artificial intelligence? Use your metacognitive skills

Metacognition in humans holds the key to ‘collaborative intelligence’ – making the most effective use of the complementary strengths of human and artificial intelligence

Claire Mason, Sidra, Andrew Reeson, Cécile Paris

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

young smiling woman using laptop

Nudge technology can help students re-engage

Early-intervention initiatives to tackle student disengagement can be challenging to implement. A centralised, targeted approach using a communication nudge can encourage students to re-engage with online learning

Ellie Kay

Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury

Medical student in virtual reality headset

Using VR to change medical students’ attitudes towards older patients

A five-minute virtual reality exercise has the power to dramatically shift students’ understanding of and empathy for dementia patients’ experience

János Kollár

Semmelweis University

Universities on Fire climate change podcast

THE podcast: the AI university is coming

AI expert Ashok Goel is back on the podcast to help us understand the implications of ChatGPT for higher education and what will happen next

Ashok Goel

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

hands using laptop

Digital accessibility is real and tangible

A workshop using real-life examples and first-hand experience of how assistive technology works can result in a deeper understanding of accessibility needs

Tharindu Liyanagunawardena

University of Reading

A person using artificial intelligence tools in their work

Useful applications of AI in higher education – for which no specialist tech knowledge is needed

The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence has left users struggling to keep up. Cato Rolea explores practical applications of these tools in higher education

Cato Rolea

Nottingham Trent University

Asian woman looking at laptop

Quality assurance of online transnational higher education

Online and hybrid degrees are booming, but work needs to be done to maintain the reputation of Australian online university degrees in the transnational education space, writes Fion Lim

Fion Choon Boey Lim

University of Technology Sydney

Illustration of man in keyhole-shaped light from hole in wall, escape concept

You wake up in a locked room… Using digital escape rooms to promote student engagement

Game-based learning can unlock students’ motivation to learn and develop skills such as critical-thinking, teamwork and problem-solving, as Steven Montagu-Cairns explains

Steven Montagu-Cairns

University of Leeds

A student learning AI literacy

Teaching AI literacy: how to begin

Students urgently need to develop their AI literacy skills if they are to gain graduate-level jobs and help society tame the perils of the technology, write Christine O’Dea and Mike O’Dea

Xianghan (Christine) O’Dea , Mike O'Dea

University of Huddersfield, York St John University

Incorporating new tech into your university class

A beginner’s guide to implementing new technologies in your classes

Adela Vega shares practical strategies for overcoming the stress associated with using new tech, so that teachers can instead embrace it as part of their practice

Adela Vega

Monterrey Institute of Technology

Learning design illustration of computer screen, light bulb, pencil and books

Learning designer may be the best job you’ve never heard of

This role is the bridge between students and academia – and makes use of many transferable skills you may already have in your toolkit

Vanessa Jefferson

Online Education Services

An architect using a 3D simulation of a building layout

Extended reality for extending education

As digital technologies like extended reality (XR) evolve, how could they be used to enhance university teaching? Drawing on experience in architecture, Martin W. Andrews and Antonino Di Raimo investigate

Martin W. Andrews, Antonino Di Raimo

The University of Portsmouth

Robot in thoughtful pose with hand to chin

Re-evaluating natural intelligence in the face of ChatGPT

Generative AI tools mean that our pedagogy, understanding of specialisation and how we value human abilities such as empathy, compassion and critical thinking must change

Elvin Lim , Andrew Koh

Singapore Management University

line of blocks with arrows on top face against blue background

‘I just wish all lecturers would use the VLE in the same way’

A consistent approach to blended teaching and learning across the whole institution can shift the student experience. Here’s a way to achieve it – from page templates to staff training

Alison Torn

Leeds Trinity University

Illustration of man in suit hurdling ahead of robots

Effective assessment practices for a ChatGPT-enabled world

Assessment methods that require students to produce authentic, novel and personalised responses can help educators stay ahead of the uncertainty and workload that AI writers create

Jonna Lee

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Illustration of man doing online course

Tips for adopting the right technology for blended learning

Start simple, practise and consider what IT support is available when choosing online tools for blended courses, advise Carl Sherwood and John Raiti, among other aspects to consider

John Raiti, Carl Sherwood

The University of Queensland

Prompt questions for ChatGPT

Prompt engineering as academic skill: a model for effective ChatGPT interactions

Gathering information from AI requires a new layer of search skills that includes constructing effective prompts and critically navigating and evaluating outputs

Adrian J. Wallbank

Oxford Brookes University

Young Asian woman in red top happy in front of laptop

Using gamification as an incentive for revision

Novelty, competition and engagement give gamification an edge when it comes to getting students to revise. Here, Teegan Green, Iliria Stenning and Rasheda Keane explain how they use The Chase from H5P in a hybrid course

Teegan Green, Iliria Stenning, Rasheda Keane

The University of Queensland

Illustration of young woman doing an online course

Three features that will make your Mooc stand out

Learning designers and educators should focus on creating value for learners that goes beyond Mooc content. In this article, Temesgen Kifle and Ben Cossalter share innovative features that drive belonging and engagement

Temesgen Kifle, Ben Cossalter

The University of Queensland

Robot looking through a microscope

AI text detectors: a stairway to heaven or hell?

The emergence of GPTZero, OpenAI’s text classifier and Turnitin’s AI detector bring a risk of over-reliance on AI classifiers. Are they a solution or a further problem to be solved?

Miguel de Carvalho

The University of Edinburgh

Image representing AI and teaching and learning

Pedagogic paradigm 4.0: bringing students, educators and AI together

How should universities navigate the emerging triad of students, educators and artificial intelligence-powered applications? Isabel Fischer offers her suggestions

Isabel Fischer

The University of Warwick

How to set up immersive VR experiences on your university campus

How to set up immersive VR lessons on your campus

Using extended reality can enable students to have experiences that would otherwise be impossible to access. Here’s how to get started

Ana Gabriela Rodríguez-Mendoza , Adriana Plata-Marroquin , Brenda Aimé Luis-Chavira

Monterrey Institute of Technology

A young woman walking down the street in headphones, reading from her phone

A Spotify model of personalised higher education

With technology offering greater potential for a personalised approach to higher education, Michael Rosemann and Martin Betts look at what universities can learn from the ubiquitous music platform Spotify

Michael Rosemann, Martin Betts

Queensland University of Technology, HEDx

Young woman in black hijab working at laptop

Four ways active learning can transform learning experiences

Edtech has facilitated a teaching approach that ties student success to collaboration, consistency and contribution. Paul Hopkinson breaks down its advantages

Paul Hopkinson

Zayed University

Illustration of robot working on laptop while young man with beard drinks coffee

How generative AI like ChatGPT is pushing assessment reform

AI has brought assessment and academic integrity in higher education to the fore. Here, Amir Ghapanchi offers seven ways to evaluate student learning that mitigate the impact of AI writers

Amir Ghapanchi

Victoria University

Student immersed in a hospital VR setting in the FMH Media Lab at University of Sydney

AI or VR? Matching emerging tech to real-world learning

Defining the problem can determine the best tech to deliver realistic training environments. Here is how one media lab demystifies technology-enabled learning experiences and empowers educators to develop their own

Martin Brown , Philip Poronnik, Claudio Corvalan-Diaz, William Havellas

University of Sydney

Edtech and the university

Universities must think smarter when devising edtech strategies for the future

The ideal vision is one where AI and faculty work together to deliver the best outcomes, rather than a two-tier system where the less privileged are left with a low-cost, automated education

Sarah Grant

Imperial College London