Recap AI in Education Month

The highlights of the Month of AI in Education

Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic, also in education. Therefore, we organised the Month of AI in Education in June. It was a cooperation between the Acceleration Plan, SURF, the Special Interest Group AI in Education and the Dutch AI Coalition. We organised several activities – think of webinars, hackathons and a blog series – and we present them in this article.

Blogs about AI

During the Month of AI in Education, we published a blog series from the Acceleration Plan zones.

• Looking back on AI by leader Robert Schuwer (Digital educational resources zone): what did AI look like thirty years ago? Read more about his PhD, the applicability of knowledge systems and the challenge of AI today.
  Read the blog here
• • Professor and leader of the zone Professional development zone Kim Schildkamp on AI in education: How do we achieve the ultimate blend of artificial and human intelligence?
  Read the blog here
• The promise of AI: read more about AI and education data in the blog of Bram Enning, leader of the Education data zone.
  Read the blog here
• AI & Human capital: Balance between hard and soft skills. In his blog, David Otten (member of the Human capital zone) discusses the question: what does the rise of AI mean for the education of (future) professionals?
  Read the blog here
• AI in education: an evidence-informed perspective. Nico Boot, leader of the Evidence-informed education innovation with ICT zone, writes about how evidence-informed work can contribute to the possibilities of AI in education.
  Read the blog here

Watch the events back

A large part of the events during the month of AI in education has been recorded, or a retrospective has been written about it.

Opening month of AI in education – June 9

Design session insight into techniques and applications in AI in Education – 11 June

Assessing the impact of an AI solution (using a grief robot as an example!)

NLAIC Open Education Working Group

Read the review of the events

A report has been written about a number of events. You will find it here:

• Looking back Vision on the use of AI in education
• Review Ethical considerations surrounding the use of AI in education

Hackathon AI in education

June 16, four teams started the Hackathon AI in Education, organised by the Facilitating professional development for lecturers zone. The assignment was to come up with a practical application of AI for higher education. To be precise: a proof-of-concept, background information characteristics of the AI solution and a reflection on inclusiveness and ethical considerations. During the kick-off, the teams received three lessons from professor and jury member Kim Schildkamp (University of Twente):

1. Don’t get lost in all the data. Start with a clear goal and target group
2. Pay attention to the quality of data
3. Think about the degree of control

The teams came up with surprising AI applications. These included linking apps that measure stress indicators (team Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Physiotherapy course) and Questinder – an application for linking students with questions about certain professional products in a regional and global network (team Avans University of Applied Sciences). The winner was the team from Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. The participants had the opportunity to present their solution on June 29 at the Dutch AI Coalition.

Find out more

Want to know more about AI in education? Then take a look at the following articles and/or websites. They give you more information about the use of AI in education and AI in general.

• Artificial Intelligence in education: what is it and what can you do with it? It is explained in this article from the Online Education FAQ.
• But how do we utilize these opportunities for all groups in the education chain? And how do we keep an eye on the societal and social aspects of AI? Questions where the education working group of the Dutch AI coalition is involved. Take a look at their website for more information.
• The SIG AI in Education wants to accelerate the deployment of AI in education by inspiring and supporting teachers in discovering the possibilities in their education. Read the articles on the community en here follow the Special Interest Group for updates.
• Overview page of SURF about the Month of AI: here you can see all videos and reports.