The rise of AI has sparked both excitement and apprehension within higher education. A recent webinar, "Navigating AI in Higher Education: Live Panel", hosted by Sarah Hardy, Demand Manager at Genio, featured insights from Genio's CTO, Josh Nesbitt, and James Hall, Tech Director and Co-founder at Parallax. The discussion centered on effectively integrating AI into higher education to enhance, rather than diminish, learning experiences.
Embracing integration of AI in education
The statistics are clear: 92% of undergraduates are already using AI tools. Despite this widespread adoption by students, only 36% are receiving support to develop AI skills, even though 76% of institutions believe they can detect AI in assessments. This disparity highlights a critical need for institutions to evolve their understanding of meaningful learning in an AI-powered world.
We believe that the goal is not to eliminate challenges from education, but to differentiate between productive and unproductive friction. Productive friction, such as reflecting on complex ideas, is essential for growth.
As Josh stated, "AI has reshaped what it means to teach and learn, and the path that we choose now will determine whether that transformation deepens learning or dilutes it". AI can reduce unproductive friction, like the stress of taking notes, while preserving the friction that fosters deeper learning.
For example, AI can transcribe notes, freeing students to engage more in class, but entirely summarizing notes without student input removes a crucial step in comprehension and retention
Addressing AI concerns and cultivating a productive mindset
A significant barrier to AI adoption in education is fear. Many faculty and students are hesitant due to concerns ranging from AI taking over the world to its potential impact on job prospects and the relevance of degrees.
James noted that "people have sort of turned AI into this almost like a living thing. And when actually it's just really fancy maths" It's crucial to understand the root of these fears, as much of it may stem from hype and misinformation rather than a lack of understanding of how the tools work.
One major concern is AI "hallucinations," where the AI generates incorrect information. However, tools are evolving to include citations, allowing users to verify information. The key lies in teaching critical thinking and due diligence.
As James put it, "You should never just trust information, whether it's AI generated or a new source, you should always have some level of appreciation".
Just as students learned not to blindly copy from Wikipedia, they must learn to interrogate, refine, and build upon AI-generated content.
For institutions and educators, overcoming resistance involves:
- Encouraging Experimentation: Allowing faculty and students to use AI tools in low-risk scenarios, such as sifting through large documents or brainstorming ideas. Josh emphasized, "encouraging experimentation and encouraging, you know, dipping your toes in and figuring out how how these things work is really, really valuable"
- Open conversations: Discussing the pros and cons of AI to understand specific concerns and address them.
- Highlighting practical applications: Demonstrating how AI can enhance efficiency in tasks like note-taking, freeing up time for deeper learning.
- Emphasizing AI as a tool: Positioning AI as a partner in exploration rather than a replacement for human intellect or a shortcut to completion.
- Policy and data transparency: Addressing IT concerns regarding data residency, processing, and terms of service when integrating new AI tools.
Developing skills for future success in an AI powered world
The rise of AI underscores the importance of 21st century skills like creativity, critical thinking, and adaptability. Learners need to understand not just content, but process, and how to interact with AI in ways that enhance their thinking. This means shifting from passively consuming machine generated answers to interrogating, refining, and building upon them.
"The student is not just the recipient of the knowledge, but an active participant in its construction," Josh explained. He further elaborated, "AI becomes the partner in exploration, not a shortcut to completion"
AI can be a powerful ally in addressing key learning challenges for diverse student populations, including adult learners, first-generation college attendees, and those with disabilities or neurodivergence. It can help address:
- Lack of time and attention: By automating tasks like note-taking and knowledge testing, AI allows students to focus on deeper learning.
- Lack of preparedness: Students need support in understanding how to use these tools wisely, and how to frame questions, interpret outputs, and apply the results to their own work and thinking.
- Individual barriers: AI can offer real time translation or explanations in simpler terms for ESL students, and provide multimodal content or flexible pacing for disabled and neurodivergent learners, provided accessibility is designed in from the start.
However, challenges remain, such as the cost of AI tools and the need for high-speed internet, which contribute to digital poverty and exclusion. True equity requires addressing these structural gaps.
The future of AI in education: A collaborative approach
The future of AI in education hinges on collaboration and a thoughtful approach to development and implementation. Technology companies, institutions, and learners must work together to build systems that support genuine learning. This could mean:
- Embedding equity in design: AI tools should be developed with equity in mind from the outset.
- Listening to learners: Technology companies must view learners as partners in the design process, understanding their needs and how products support actual learning.
- Co-creation: Institutions, with their real-world understanding of learning, should co create tools that align with their curriculums.
- Encouraging active engagement: Students should be encouraged to question and refine AI outputs, fostering productive friction rather than passive consumption and dependency.
- Focus on soft skills: AI's growing capabilities emphasize the heightened need for human soft skills like communication and critical thinking.
Ultimately, the vision for AI in education is one where it acts as a personalized tutor, catering to individual learning styles and providing infinite time to support students.
This includes alleviating the burden of note-taking and assisting with knowledge organization without replacing the fundamental thirst for understanding. By embracing AI thoughtfully and collaboratively, education can become fairer, more human, and more meaningful for everyone.
As Josh reflected, if these tools had been available when he was at school, "It would have just really changed what learning meant to me and and what I was capable of because I struggle with some of these areas too, and I think some of it really does level up the playing field and, and provide that support to learners, which is really exciting".
