Are the AI tools just noise, simply distracting us from the real issue we have to address? What is the impact of Generative AI in Education? The way we have traditionally educated people is no longer fit for purpose and until we reimagine education, the tools we use will simply perpetuate the stale state of affairs.
The evolution and widespread integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in online education, coupled with the education industry’s post-COVID transformation, continues the disruption in the educational landscape and prompts us to rethink the traditional playbook that’s been guiding AI in online education and university systems for years.
Within learning design and course creation specifically, a surge in tools and technologies promises a significant transformation. Yet prudent skepticism is necessary regarding their ultimate utility. Are these tools really the game-changers they claim to be? Do we truly need these cutting-edge technologies, or can simple GenAI tools, combined with skillful design and heretical thinking, drive real change that matters?
We are currently working on more than 80 projects, spanning higher education, governments, and corporations. The subject-matter experts (SMEs) are often at the top of their fields internationally, and they are creating online education that caters to discerning learners who are expecting superior returns on their education investments. We are also increasingly helping universities manage a transformational step-change at a speed and scale that is breathtaking.
Enter GenAI… the noise, hype, and sheer number of articles and ‘thought leaders’ professing to either predict the demise of the learning designer or the radical transformation of the industry is astonishing. Social media platforms and related press are full of commentary around the disruption of the field and the implications for the online education industry. We keep abreast of the developments and on an almost daily basis, we have companies offering us seemingly ‘game-changing’ tools and technologies that promise to revolutionize our ways of working.
We duly test, check, and ‘look under the hood’ of some of the tools, and what we have found is a mixed bag. The tools typically fall into 4 categories:
What smart use of these tools does is fundamentally disrupt conventional input costs and associated outputs, resulting in a revolutionary change to the speed to market and ability to scale internationally with multiple languages. Many of the larger learning management systems have quickly embedded GenAI tools and processes into their systems, making their use ubiquitous and easily accessible.
However, while these tools will change the way we work, perhaps it’s missing a fundamental point in that we don’t want to only do what we have always done better, we also need to fundamentally change the way we approach AI in online education.
As Simon Sinek encourages, we should ‘Start with Why’.
Why are they interacting with the learning experience in the way they do?
What is the student’s intention that causes them to embark on the learning experience?
Why are they committing time and financial resources to this specific education?
Do they have technical, time, or resource constraints?
It is only by starting from that point that we can choose the best tool for achieving the intended outcome for them.
What I can say for sure from our collaborations with leading higher education institutions and corporations internationally, is that no tool can replicate the profound creativity, motivation, and engagement embedded within the learning experiences co-created by learning professionals and subject-matter experts who are at the top of their fields for satisfying the ‘why’ of the learner.
We need to look beyond the tools and focus more on delivering education that resonates deeply with students’ aspirations and intentions.
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