As Americans live and work longer, many now find themselves needing to change jobs and careers several times within their lifetimes.
Now, Georgia Institute of Technology has created a new college to serve just these learners. Georgia Tech last week launched its College of Lifetime Learning, which will combine degree programs with non-degree programs, and seeks to educate 114K students by 2030. That would enable the university to double the current number of degrees granted and nondegree students served.
“What we’re hearing is that with the advancing pace of digitization taking place, changing demographics, people working longer, for example, higher ed needs to do something in addition to what it already has been doing” says Nelson Baker, interim dean of the new college.
Now a quarter way through the 21st century, higher education is again in need of a reboot. Post Covid, colleges are closing one per week. More than 40M U.S. learners have started college but never finished. Nearly two-thirds of those learners would complete their degree but can’t afford to. Student debt now sits at almost $2T. Americans are losing faith in higher education.
Enter the apprenticeship degree, where students can earn a debt-free, four-year degree entirely embedded within a full-time, paid job. In the U.K., with government tax incentives, the apprenticeship-to-degree model has surged in eight years from zero to 50K new enrollments, making progress toward an expected 20% of postsecondary starts within the decade. As I have previously written, I believe the apprenticeship degree is just what American higher education needs to meet the moment.
This week, as I kick off the 20th cohort of my AI-Learning Design bootcamp, I decided to do some analysis of the work habits of the hundreds of amazing AI-embracing instructional designers who I’ve worked with over the last year or so.
My goal was to answer the question: which AI tools do we use most in the instructional design process, and how do we use them?
Here’s where we are in September, 2024:
…
Developing Your Approach to Generative AI — from scholarlyteacher.com by Caitlin K. Kirby, Min Zhuang, Imari Cheyne Tetu, & Stephen Thomas (Michigan State University)
As generative AI becomes integrated into workplaces, scholarly work, and students’ workflows, we have the opportunity to take a broad view of the role of generative AI in higher education classrooms. Our guiding questions are meant to serve as a starting point to consider, from each educator’s initial reaction and preferences around generative AI, how their discipline, course design, and assessments may be impacted, and to have a broad view of the ethics of generative AI use.
AI technology tools hold remarkable promise for providing more accessible, equitable, and inclusive learning experiences for students with disabilities.
AI can help educators focus more on human interaction and critical thinking by automating tasks that consume time but don’t require human empathy or creativity.
Encouraging students to use AI as a tool for learning and creativity can significantly boost their engagement and self-confidence, as seen in examples from student experiences shared in the discussion.
The speakers discuss various aspects of AI, including its potential to augment human intelligence and the need to focus on uniquely human competencies in the face of technological advancements. They also emphasize the significance of student agency, with examples of student-led initiatives and feedback sessions that reveal how young learners are already engaging with AI in innovative ways. The episode underscores the necessity for educators and administrators to stay informed and actively participate in the ongoing dialogue about AI to ensure its effective and equitable implementation in schools.
AI can be a powerful tool to break down language, interest, and accessibility barriers in the classroom, making learning more inclusive and engaging.
Incorporating AI tools in educational settings can help build essential skills that AI can’t replace, such as creativity and problem-solving, preparing students for future job markets.
Right now, high schoolers and college students around the country are experimenting with free smartphone apps that help complete their math homework using generative AI. One of the most popular options on campus right now is the Gauth app, with millions of downloads. It’s owned by ByteDance, which is also TikTok’s parent company.
The Gauth app first launched in 2019 with a primary focus on mathematics, but soon expanded to other subjects as well, like chemistry and physics. It’s grown in relevance, and neared the top of smartphone download lists earlier this year for the education category. Students seem to love it. With hundreds of thousands of primarily positive reviews, Gauth has a favorable 4.8 star rating in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
All students have to do after downloading the app is point their smartphone at a homework problem, printed or handwritten, and then make sure any relevant information is inside of the image crop. Then Gauth’s AI model generates a step-by-step guide, often with the correct answer.
From DSC: I do hesitate to post this though, as I’ve seen numerous posting re: the dubious quality of AI as it relates to giving correct answers to math-related problems – or whether using AI-based tools help or hurt the learning process. The situation seems to be getting better, but as I understand it, we still have some progress to make in this area of mathematics.
Educational leaders must reconsider the definition of creativity, taking into account how generative AI tools can be used to produce novel and impactful creative work, similar to how film editors compile various elements into a cohesive, creative whole.
Generative AI democratizes innovation by allowing all students to become creators, expanding access to creative processes that were previously limited and fostering a broader inclusion of diverse talents and ideas in education.
AI-Powered Instructional Design at ASU — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman How ASU’s Collaboration with OpenAI is Reshaping the Role of Instructional Designers
The developments and experiments at ASU provide a fascinating window into two things:
How the world is reimagining learning in the age of AI;
How the role of the instructional designer is changing in the age of AI.
In this week’s blog post, I’ll provide a summary of how faculty, staff and students at ASU are starting to reimagine education in the age of AI, and explore what this means for the instructions designers who work there.
India’s ed-tech unicorn PhysicsWallah is using OpenAI’s GPT-4o to make education accessible to millions of students in India. Recently, the company launched a suite of AI products to ensure that students in Tier 2 & 3 cities can access high-quality education without depending solely on their enrolled institutions, as 85% of their enrollment comes from these areas.
Last year, AIM broke the news of PhysicsWallah introducing ‘Alakh AI’, its suite of generative AI tools, which was eventually launched at the end of December 2023. It quickly gained traction, amassing over 1.5 million users within two months of its release.
Majors like hers are part of a broader wave of less conventional, avant-garde majors, in specialties such as artificial intelligence, that are taking root in American higher education, as colleges grapple with changes in the economy and a shrinking pool of students.
…
The trend underscores the distinct ways schools are responding to growing concerns over which degrees provide the best return on investment. As college costs soared to new heights in recent years, saddling many students with crippling loan debt, that discourse has only become increasingly fraught, raising the stakes for schools to prove their degrees leave students better prepared and employable.
“I’m a big believer in the liberal arts, but universities don’t get to print money,” he said. “If enrollment interests are shifting, they have to be able to hire faculty to teach in those areas. Money has to come from someplace.”
From DSC: Years ago, I remember having lunch with one of the finalists for the President position of a local university. He withdrew himself from the search because the institution’s culture would be like oil and water with him at the helm. He was very innovative, and this organization was not. I remember him saying, “The marketplace will determine what that organization ultimately does.” In other words, he was saying that higher education was market-driven. I agreed with him then, and I still agree with that perspective now.
Terrific Tools for Teachers — from wondertools.substack.com by Jeremy Caplan Try these for your workshops or classes
As a new school year starts, I’m excited to be back teaching at the City University of New York’s Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. In my role as Director of Teaching & Learning, I love studying and sharing the skills, mindsets, tactics and tools that help teachers lead engaging, impactful classes. In this post I’m sharing resources you might find helpful whether you’re a teacher, leader, or anyone who brings people together. .
This is not your standard back-to-school story, about school supplies or first-day butterflies.
It’s about how school-aged members of Gen Z — that’s 12- to 18-year-olds — are feeling about school and the future. And according to a new national survey, those feelings are a little worrying.
School engagement is down. The middle- and high-schoolers surveyed find school less interesting than they did just last year, and only about half believe they’re being challenged “in a good way.” The problem is especially acute for teens who say they don’t want to go to college right out of high school.
“The conversations that [K-12 schools are] having with middle-schoolers and high-schoolers are predominantly about college,” says Zach Hrynowski, a senior education researcher at Gallup. “Even the kids who are like, ‘I don’t want to go to college,’ what are they hearing the most about? College. We’re not talking to them about apprenticeships, internships, starting a business, entrepreneurial aspirations or jobs that don’t require a college degree.”
The Success Rates report and data files show the number of degree-seeking students who enter a Michigan postsecondary community college or public university and achieve a successful outcome. This includes data for Michigan’s 28 community colleges and 15 public universities, along with aggregate metrics for the community college and public university sectors broken out by race/ethnicity and gender.
Successful outcomes include:
Earning a certificate
Earning an associate degree
Earning a bachelor’s degree
Transferring to a university (for community college students)
These rates capture both part- and full-time enrollment for all degree-seeking students as well as mobility between institutions.
The report and data files are updated in late spring. See the Recently Posted Reports page for when they were last updated.
Interested in exploring in-demand jobs in Michigan? Explore Michigan’s Hot 50 Job Outlook through 2030, which includes the anticipated job growth, the average wage and the minimum education requirements for each occupation through 2028. The publication is intended to provide valuable career information to students in high school, vocational and community colleges, as well as job seekers. Additional occupational forecasts and research are available in Michigan’s Online Job Demand, a publication from Michigan’s Labor Market Information.
The Roadmap to Opportunity highlights in-demand, high-wage careers. Explore hot job career pathways that require a certificate or an associate degree. Hear from Michigan residents who have chosen these careers and why. The website includes pathway information for the careers, including information on available programs, hourly wage rates, and cool classes you can take.
Pure Michigan Talent Connect is your launch pad for new jobs, careers and job fairs. It is a tool connecting Michigan’s job seekers and employers and serves as a central hub linking all public and private stakeholders who support Michigan’s workforce. Pure Michigan Talent Connect serves as the state’s labor exchange system.
The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has partnered with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) and other statewide stakeholders to develop a post-graduation opportunities informational packet available on LEO’s Pathfinder resources page.
To comply with Michigan law*, districts are required to distribute the link above to all students in grades 8-12 by October 1 of each year. The information below is supplemental and focused on local opportunities and resources, assembled by Kent ISD staff.
I’m Not Sure / Assess My Skills The Educational Development Plan (EDP) tools listed on the Pathfinder site are free and very useful. However, most school districts supply students with EDP software such as Xello, Naviance, and Mavin for Career Development starting in 7th grade. Parents and teachers of enrolled students have access to their students’ EDP data through (and, in some cases, past) graduation. Consult with your school district for access to this resource.
DC: While I’m glad that wasn’t part of my K-12 experience, I’m sad for our kids and the younger generations growing up in such a time. What if we truly cared about each other? How would our society look/be different? https://t.co/SySp78NAwk
From DSC:
I realize that’s a gross generalization, but I think we all experience numerous times these days when businesses and others don’t really care about us.
What An Agent Is
Agents are computer programs that can autonomously perform tasks, make decisions and interact with humans or other computers. There are many different types of agents, and they are designed to achieve specific goals spanning our lives and nearly every industry, making them an integral and unstoppable part of our future.
Learning: AI agents will transform education by providing personalized learning experiences such as one-to-one tutoring. ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) are providing access to all digital knowledge now. An “agent” would act as a more personalized version of an LLM.
The hacking and control of an AI agent could lead to disastrous consequences, affecting privacy, security, the economy and societal stability. Proactive and comprehensive security strategies are essential to mitigate these risks in the future.
New Microschools for a New School Year — from the74million.org by Kerry McDonald As parent demand for more individualized education options grows, everyday entrepreneurs are stepping up to meet that demand by launching microschools
Microschools and similarly creative schooling options gained increased popularity in the wake of the pandemic, and they continue to gain momentum. Not only are new schools and spaces opening across the U.S. but existing ones are expanding.
New data from VELA, a philanthropic nonprofit organization and entrepreneur community, reveals that over 90 percent of the unconventional learning environments it surveyed had more learners last fall than they did at their launch date, and the median compound rate of growth for these programs was 25 percent a year.
86% of students globally are regularly using AI in their studies, with 54% of them using AI on a weekly basis, the recent Digital Education Council Global AI Student Survey found.
ChatGPT was found to be the most widely used AI tool, with 66% of students using it, and over 2 in 3 students reported using AI for information searching.
Despite their high rates of AI usage, 1 in 2 students do not feel AI ready. 58% reported that they do not feel that they had sufficient AI knowledge and skills, and 48% do not feel adequately prepared for an AI-enabled workplace.
The Post-AI Instructional Designer— from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman How the ID role is changing, and what this means for your key skills, roles & responsibilities
Specifically, the study revealed that teachers who reported most productivity gains were those who used AI not just for creating outputs (like quizzes or worksheets) but also for seeking input on their ideas, decisions and strategies.
Those who engaged with AI as a thought partner throughout their workflow, using it to generate ideas, define problems, refine approaches, develop strategies and gain confidence in their decisions gained significantly more from their collaboration with AI than those who only delegated functional tasks to AI.
Leveraging Generative AI for Inclusive Excellence in Higher Education — from er.educause.edu by Lorna Gonzalez, Kristi O’Neil-Gonzalez, Megan Eberhardt-Alstot, Michael McGarry and Georgia Van Tyne Drawing from three lenses of inclusion, this article considers how to leverage generative AI as part of a constellation of mission-centered inclusive practices in higher education.
The hype and hesitation about generative artificial intelligence (AI) diffusion have led some colleges and universities to take a wait-and-see approach.Footnote1 However, AI integration does not need to be an either/or proposition where its use is either embraced or restricted or its adoption aimed at replacing or outright rejecting existing institutional functions and practices. Educators, educational leaders, and others considering academic applications for emerging technologies should consider ways in which generative AI can complement or augment mission-focused practices, such as those aimed at accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Drawing from three lenses of inclusion—accessibility, identity, and epistemology—this article offers practical suggestions and considerations that educators can deploy now. It also presents an imperative for higher education leaders to partner toward an infrastructure that enables inclusive practices in light of AI diffusion.
An example way to leverage AI:
How to Leverage AI for Identity Inclusion Educators can use the following strategies to intentionally design instructional content with identity inclusion in mind.
Provide a GPT or AI assistant with upcoming lesson content (e.g., lecture materials or assignment instructions) and ask it to provide feedback (e.g., troublesome vocabulary, difficult concepts, or complementary activities) from certain perspectives. Begin with a single perspective (e.g., first-time, first-year student), but layer in more to build complexity as you interact with the GPT output.
Gen AI’s next inflection point: From employee experimentation to organizational transformation — from mckinsey.com by Charlotte Relyea, Dana Maor, and Sandra Durth with Jan Bouly As many employees adopt generative AI at work, companies struggle to follow suit. To capture value from current momentum, businesses must transform their processes, structures, and approach to talent.
To harness employees’ enthusiasm and stay ahead, companies need a holistic approach to transforming how the whole organization works with gen AI; the technology alone won’t create value.
Our research shows that early adopters prioritize talent and the human side of gen AI more than other companies (Exhibit 3). Our survey shows that nearly two-thirds of them have a clear view of their talent gaps and a strategy to close them, compared with just 25 percent of the experimenters. Early adopters focus heavily on upskilling and reskilling as a critical part of their talent strategies, as hiring alone isn’t enough to close gaps and outsourcing can hinder strategic-skills development.Finally, 40 percent of early-adopter respondents say their organizations provide extensive support to encourage employee adoption, versus 9 percent of experimenter respondents.
Change blindness — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick 21 months later
I don’t think anyone is completely certain about where AI is going, but we do know that things have changed very quickly, as the examples in this post have hopefully demonstrated. If this rate of change continues, the world will look very different in another 21 months. The only way to know is to live through it.
Over the subsequent weeks, I’ve made other adjustments, but that first one was the one I asked myself:
What are you doing?
Why are you doing it that way?
How could you change that workflow with AI?
Applying the AI to the workflow, then asking, “Is this what I was aiming for? How can I improve the prompt to get closer?”
Documenting what worked (or didn’t). Re-doing the work with AI to see what happened, and asking again, “Did this work?”
So, something that took me WEEKS of hard work, and in some cases I found impossible, was made easy. Like, instead of weeks, it takes 10 minutes. The hard part? Building the prompt to do what I want, fine-tuning it to get the result. But that doesn’t take as long now.
The start of the school year can be stressful, but parents of neurodivergent children are more likely to report feeling overwhelmed, unprepared and scared than other parents, according to a new survey shared with The Hechinger Report.
About 2,100 parents answered the survey this summer from Understood.org, a nonprofit that publishes resources for people with dyslexia, attention deficit disorder and other learning differences. Those with neurodivergent children say they were stressed about their child’s social life, whether the school would meet their child’s needs and whether their child would have access to adequate resources to succeed in school. About 82 percent of those parents said neurodivergent students are often misunderstood by their peers, and 76 percent said they are often misunderstood by teachers.
Over 500 private, nonprofit four-year institutions have closed in the last 10 years, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. That is three times what it was in the decade prior. Rachel Burns, a senior policy analyst at SHEEO, estimates at least 1.25 million students were affected by these closures. (Many more for-profit institutions have closed in this period as well.)
Around two-thirds of incoming college seniors said college has significantly contributed to their ability to land a well–paying job, according to a new survey from job platform Handshake.
A slightly higher share, 72%, said higher education has appreciably improved their ability to secure a meaningful job. And 85% of surveyed seniors said college significantly helped them understand their own career goals.
College seniors also indicated that higher education has helped them beyond their career development. According to the survey, 88% said college significantly contributed to their personal growth.
We are excited to announce the publication of the 2024 US Instructor Survey. This survey, adapted from our longstanding US Faculty Survey, provides a detailed snapshot of over 5,200 faculty members from different disciplines, institution types, ages, and titles across the US at four-year institutions. This new report offers a comprehensive overview of how college instructors across the country are navigating and shaping the current educational landscape.
Overall, we heard that instructors are increasingly adopting innovative, technology-driven teaching methods, while recognizing the critical role libraries play in supporting student success. The growing use of open educational resources (OERs) reflects a commitment to affordable education, though fewer instructors create their own. Additionally, strong institutional support remains essential for effective teaching, particularly IT and with pedagogical practices. Below we share several key findings:
But starting with the 2013-14 academic year, a whopping 726 degree-granting institutions closed through the 2022-23 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That means in just nine years, 15 percent of the-then 4,724 degree-granting colleges or universities closed. … Ultimately, after all, the prediction is a result of business model failure, in which rising expenses outpace revenue, as the students cease to enroll or have the capacity to pay enough.
But non-profit institutions are in their own world of hurt as well. According to Higher Ed Dive, 18 have announced their closure this year so far. But 141 closed between 2013-14 and 2022-23—or roughly 8.4 percent.
Survey: Over Half of Rising Seniors Feel Pessimistic About Starting Their Careers — from insidehighered.com by Ahsley Mowreader New data from Handshake finds 57 percent of the Class of 2025 have low expectations for their future after graduation, largely tied to a competitive job market, student loan debt and current political climate.
Entering senior year can be a stressful time for college students as they prepare for their next step after graduation. Inside Higher Ed’s 2024 Student Voice survey found 68 percent of fourth-year students (n=703) are at least somewhat stressed when they think about their life postgraduation, with 25 percent feeling “extremely stressed.”
This year’s graduating class is feeling less hopeful than their peers before them, with almost three in five students sharing that they feel pessimistic about their immediate future, according to new data from Handshake.
The results highlight a challenging job market for new graduates, the role of affordability in higher education and how institutions are supporting students as they launch into careers.
AI is welcomed by those with dyslexia, and other learning issues, helping to mitigate some of the challenges associated with reading, writing, and processing information. Those who want to ban AI want to destroy the very thing that has helped most on accessibility. Here are 10 ways dyslexics, and others with issues around text-based learning, can use AI to support their daily activities and learning.
Are U.S. public schools lagging behind other countries like Singapore and South Korea in preparing teachers and students for the boom of generative artificial intelligence? Or are our educators bumbling into AI half-blind, putting students’ learning at risk?
Or is it, perhaps, both?
Two new reports, coincidentally released on the same day last week, offer markedly different visions of the emerging field: One argues that schools need forward-thinking policies for equitable distribution of AI across urban, suburban and rural communities. The other suggests they need something more basic: a bracing primer on what AI is and isn’t, what it’s good for and how it can all go horribly wrong.
Bite-Size AI Content for Faculty and Staff— from aiedusimplified.substack.com by Lance Eaton Another two 5-tips videos for faculty and my latest use case: creating FAQs!
Despite possible drawbacks, an exciting wondering has been—What if AI was a tipping point helping us finally move away from a standardized, grade-locked, ranking-forced, batched-processing learning model based on the make believe idea of “the average man” to a learning model that meets every child where they are at and helps them grow from there?
I get that change is indescribably hard and there are risks. But the integration of AI in education isn’t a trend. It’s a paradigm shift that requires careful consideration, ongoing reflection, and a commitment to one’s core values. AI presents us with an opportunity—possibly an unprecedented one—to transform teaching and learning, making it more personalized, efficient, and impactful. How might we seize the opportunity boldly?
California and NVIDIA Partner to Bring AI to Schools, Workplaces — from govtech.com by Abby Sourwine The latest step in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plans to integrate AI into public operations across California is a partnership with NVIDIA intended to tailor college courses and professional development to industry needs.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and tech company NVIDIA joined forces last week to bring generative AI (GenAI) to community colleges and public agencies across the state. The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO), NVIDIA and the governor all signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining how each partner can contribute to education and workforce development, with the goal of driving innovation across industries and boosting their economic growth.
Listen to anything on the go with the highest-quality voices — from elevenlabs.io; via The Neuron
The ElevenLabs Reader App narrates articles, PDFs, ePubs, newsletters, or any other text content. Simply choose a voice from our expansive library, upload your content, and listen on the go.
Per The Neuron
Some cool use cases:
Judy Garland can teach you biology while walking to class.
James Dean can narrate your steamy romance novel.
Sir Laurence Olivier can read you today’s newsletter—just paste the web link and enjoy!
Why it’s important: ElevenLabs shared how major Youtubers are using its dubbing services to expand their content into new regions with voices that actually sound like them (thanks to ElevenLabs’ ability to clone voices).
Oh, and BTW, it’s estimated that up to 20% of the population may have dyslexia. So providing people an option to listen to (instead of read) content, in their own language, wherever they go online can only help increase engagement and communication.
How Generative AI Improves Parent Engagement in K–12 Schools — from edtechmagazine.com by Alexadner Slagg With its ability to automate and personalize communication, generative artificial intelligence is the ideal technological fix for strengthening parent involvement in students’ education.
As generative AI tools populate the education marketplace, the technology’s ability to automate complex, labor-intensive tasks and efficiently personalize communication may finally offer overwhelmed teachers a way to effectively improve parent engagement.
… These personalized engagement activities for students and their families can include local events, certification classes and recommendations for books and videos. “Family Feed might suggest courses, such as an Adobe certification,” explains Jackson. “We have over 14,000 courses that we have vetted and can recommend. And we have books and video recommendations for students as well.”
Including personalized student information and an engagement opportunity makes it much easier for parents to directly participate in their children’s education.
Will AI Shrink Disparities in Schools, or Widen Them? — edsurge.com by Daniel Mollenkamp Experts predict new tools could boost teaching efficiency — or create an “underclass of students” taught largely through screens.
Using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or CoPilot as intelligent assistants in instructional design can significantly enhance the scalability of course development. GenAI can significantly improve the efficiency with which institutions develop content that is closely aligned with the curriculum and course objectives. As a result, institutions can more effectively meet the rising demand for flexible and high-quality education, preparing a new generation of future professionals equipped with the knowledge and skills to excel in their chosen fields.1 In this article, we illustrate the uses of AI in instructional design in terms of content creation, media development, and faculty support. We also provide some suggestions on the effective and ethical uses of AI in course design and development. Our perspectives are rooted in medical education, but the principles can be applied to any learning context.
… Table 1 summarizes a few low-hanging fruits in AI usage in course development. .
Table 1. Types of Use of GenAI in Course Development
Practical Use of AI
Use Scenarios and Examples
Inspiration
Exploring ideas for instructional strategies
Exploring ideas for assessment
Course mapping
Lesson or unit content planning
Supplementation
Text to audio
Transcription for audio
Alt text auto-generation
Design optimization (e.g., using Microsoft PPT Design)
10 Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Instructional Design — from er.educause.edu by Rob Gibson Artificial intelligence (AI) is providing instructors and course designers with an incredible array of new tools and techniques to improve the course design and development process. However, the intersection of AI and content creation is not new.
I have been telling my graduate instructional design students that AI technology is not likely to replace them any time soon because learning and instruction are still highly personalized and humanistic experiences. However, as these students embark on their careers, they will need to understand how to appropriately identify, select, and utilize AI when developing course content. Examples abound of how instructional designers are experimenting with AI to generate and align student learning outcomes with highly individualized course activities and assessments. Instructional designers are also using AI technology to create and continuously adapt the custom code and power scripts embedded into the learning management system to execute specific learning activities.Footnote1 Other useful examples include scripting and editing videos and podcasts.
Here are a few interesting examples of how AI is shaping and influencing instructional design. Some of the tools and resources can be used to satisfy a variety of course design activities, while others are very specific.
The world of a medieval stone cutter and a modern instructional designer (ID) may seem separated by a great distance, but I wager any ID who upon hearing the story I just shared would experience an uneasy sense of déjà vu. Take away the outward details, and the ID would recognize many elements of the situation: the days spent in projects that fail to realize the full potential of their craft, the painful awareness that greater things can be built, but are unlikely to occur due to a poverty of imagination and lack of vision among those empowered to make decisions.
Finally, there is the issue of resources. No stone cutter could ever hope to undertake a large-scale enterprise without a multitude of skilled collaborators and abundant materials. Similarly, instructional designers are often departments of one, working in scarcity environments, with limited ability to acquire resources for ambitious projects and — just as importantly — lacking the authority or political capital needed to launch significant initiatives. For these reasons, instructional design has long been a profession caught in an uncomfortable stasis, unable to grow, evolve and achieve its full potential.
That is until generative AI appeared on the scene. While the discourse around AI in education has been almost entirely about its impact on teaching and assessment, there has been a dearth of critical analysis regarding AI’s potential for impacting instructional design.
We are at a critical juncture for AI-augmented learning. We can either stagnate, missing opportunities to support learners while educators continue to debate whether the use of generative AI tools is a good thing, or we can move forward, building a transformative model for learning akin to the industrial revolution’s impact.
Too many professional educators remain bound by traditional methods. The past two years suggest that leaders of this new learning paradigm will not emerge from conventional educational circles. This vacuum of leadership can be filled, in part, by instructional designers, who are prepared by training and experience to begin building in this new learning space.
