Thanks for a great & topical #LTHEchat

A6 #LTHEchat I actally think this is part of a broader issue, & a perennial challenge, of how to balance centralised & consistent policies with autonomy of both learners & educators. My concern is that we'll find we get guidelines which are heavy-handed & perhaps too focused on assessment

A5 #LTHEchat I wonder if there are opportunities around students knowing more about GenAI than educators, though the preliminary work that I & colleagues have done suggests this is far from being the norm. Perhaps inviting their own ideas on how to balance AI & human skills now & in the future

A4 #LTHEchat I think the professional context especially given the extent to which unis are expected to prioritise employability can be a counterweight to concerns about students being instrumental. They are going into a workplace on graduation where they will be expected to know & understand things

A3 #LTHEchat I think a barrier to this (& it applied to me despite best efforts to achieve otherwise) is actual or perceived lack of understanding of what AI can do among educators

A2 #LTHEchat grumpy middle-aged academic version is to remark that handwritten exams & (if only we could find a way to implement them at scale) tutorials/vivas are also secure forms of assessment

A2 #LTHEchat a couple of things we've done quite a lot but which are in danger of getting overused. We can get students to write reflective work & as an example I asked them to submit screenshots as evidence they'd actually done particular things online (though I guess GenAI could fake these) 1/2

A1 #LTHEchat 1st immediate issue is that in my field - Business & Management - effective verbal communication & crafting persuasive text is an important skill & the fact that students might outsource this to GenAI creates challenges in how we teach & assess this 2nd issue is around information 1/2

Hi - this is Martin joining today's #LTHEchat from London

Thanks for a great #LTHEChat

A6 #LTHEChat AI makes the algorithms we work with a whole lot more complex & a whole lot less deterministic in that an individual could put something into AI multiple times & get the same answer. But understanding biases & managing them is fundamental to using AI especially determining how to prompt

A5 #LTHEChat beyond the platform comparison that I've mentioned, compare different students' use of the same platform, consider 'reverse engineering' the way that somebody has worked the algorithm to create some influence or otherwise, look at what platforms know or think they know about people 1/2

A4 #LTHEChat I think it's very much part of our teaching role & a skill & area of understanding that runs across disciplines. Also I think in a rather febrile political environment (whether that's driven in part by social media or not) understanding & respecting multiple viewpoints is important

A3 #LTHEChat I'm less conscious of it than some others but marketing academics in particular who've looked at social media campaigns have reported students getting what looks like a v skewed view of what's out there. It's an interesting digital manifestation of different staff & student perspectives

A2 #LTHEChat in principle yes but I think this is an extension of evaluating critically the relevance & authenticity of sources of information which should be at the core of being a university student. The source and nature of bias is evolving & students need the skills to adapt to this

A1 #LTHEChat put simply it's the extent to which material which we see on social media particularly is biased, whether directly through an algorithm or through choice of platform (always instructive to compare responses to an issue between BlueSky & Twitter) or how you navigate a platform

Hi - I'm Martin and a slightly late arrival (sorry) to this #LTHEChat from an unexpectedly spring-like London

A6 #LTHEchat I have colleagues on BlueSky so couldn't possibly comment! But I do get positive feedback from students especially. In terms of relationships with other staff I'd hope that the various things I do mean something to other people

A5 #LTHEchat lots of things matter in online spaces eg providing background info about different participants & encouraging them to build up personas & that influencing participation & their role in an online community

A4 #LTHEchat this is subtle: there are definitely gender differences between typical expectations around belonging although there are many other factors

A2 #LTHEchat a lot depends on attention to detail: remembering students' needs, encouraging them to be involved in activities, etc. There's also a big difference between commuter students & those on campus in how they interact with activities in the university

A1 #LTHEchat this is something that's often overlooked in dealing with students. There's huge scope for student facing staff to foster belonging eg through organising activities & through things like bringing alumni into uni activities with current students

A3 #LTHEchat this is something I've strong feelings about: a few actions around uni staff, professional as well as academics, knowing students' names & coming in with some understanding of their background, really makes a difference. A good customer relationship management system is v valuable

Hi - I'm Martin from London & a slightly late arrival for this #LTHEchat

Thanks Alina for a great #LTHEchat

A6 #LTHEchat it has to be about incorporating it into everyday conversations about practice & into whatever CPD we do &shoudn't be a bolt-on. For Business Schools there are parallels with conversations on business ethics 10-15 years ago: we couldn't just have 1 session on ethics & say it was covered

A5 #LTHEchat apart from the sort of interdisciplinary activity that @dompates.bsky.social provides in our institution I'd suggest opportunities to work on case studies etc around climate change. We've had students doing relevant placements who've been able to offer their own perspective

A4 #LTHEchat I'm inclined to separate out the really frightening & overwhelming emotions which are certainly some people's response to climate change from a broader responsibility at least in anything vocational to prepare students for an uncertain world

A3 #LTHEchat possibly that they don't appreciate the complexity of the subject. Interestingly despite some of the rhetoric which crops up on social media, including the bizarre way that net zero gets demonised, it's v rare in my experience to find outright denial of climate change among our students

A2 #LTHEchat definitely relevance but also an a-ha factor that they're seeing something in a new way or perhaps seeing new connections etc. I like to introduce frameworks & concepts on the basis it'll give students a new perspective on what they know & there're plenty of examples around climate 1/2

A1 #LTHEchat in my context it tends to imply learning with real & current issues. So a student looking at what climate change means for a business or community which they know something about & have a connection with is an example

Hi - Martin joining this #LTHEchat from a very rainy London (though the effect that it rains almost every day for quite a while is neither unprecedented nor particularly unexpected in a maritime climate so isn't in itself evidence of climate change)

A6 #LTHEchat a bit of both: it's absolutely the sort of thing that individual educators should encourage by creating effective communities but senior leaders also need to form a climate where this is seen as a worthwhile thing to do

A5 #LTHEchat maybe having templates/examples for learning activities which contribute to creating communities or at least draw out potential students' contributions. Not every part of every module needs to by like this but it's good to have a few opportunities scattered around the place

A4 #LTHEchat encourage students especially (but also staff) who might feel that this isn't for them to engage & to contribute their experience. But also recognise that a community includes members who are quite peripheral & not active but still valuable (see Lave & Wenger's work on this)

A3 #LTHEchat I think a lot depends on the staff & also identifying where building a learning community works in terms of discipline & scope for students to bring ideas. Maybe focus on particular modules etc where creating a community reaps dividends incl in student & staff morale

Also community implies bringing people together whether in a physical or virtual space. V pleased this afternoon to attend posters produced by engineering students (incl engineering with business who I teach in their 1st year) to explain final year project ideas #LTHEchat

A2 #LTHEchat if there's a critical mass within a cohort of students who are really engaged you can invite their contribution & explore what you can learn from them. In a v international group there's often scope for learning about what happens in their home countries. 1st year undergraduates 1/2

A1 #LTHEchat it's a term I use a lot & the key thing is about a university as a place of learning for both students & staff. I particularly like instances where staff, in any function & at all levels, learn things from students who bring their own experience

Hi - I'm Martin joining this #LTHEchat from London

I’m proud to say that I’ve now attained @advancehe.bsky.social Principal Fellowship (PFHEA) after some time as SFHEA. Working towards it has been an interesting, and worthwhile, exercise, and a much more complex and difficult process for me than was working towards SFHEA some years ago 1/3

A6 #LTHEchat a shift towards carrots rather than sticks in AI policies working to internalise (including in students' perceptions) that AI has potential to foster learning rather than focusing on prohibiting its inappropriate use

A5 #LTHEchat there are perhaps some fundamental points which have different implications in different disciplines notably that it shouldn't be used as an excuse to avoid learning at all & should facilitate students' ability to function through their careerss whether they're eg classicists or bankers

A4 #LTHEchat interesting that you mention both staff & students. Perhaps there's an issue as in other areas of staff modelling good practice & if staff are transparent & demonstrate deep understanding & also preparedness to learn from those arund them students are motivatd to do the same

A3 #LTHEchat I see this as a difference between the initial reaction to availability of AI and involvement in its ongoing use. Focusing on detection & academic misconduct was a reasonable response when GenAI 1st became available. It isn't an appropriate focus for continuing work on what AI can do

A2 #LTHEchat catching up - again there are parallels with early days of lots being available online: abundance when the web became available meant that students needed to know the difference between authoritative sources & a web page put together by a chancer. AI & hallucinations & rapid change 1/2

A1 #LTHEchat also there's an effect - reminiscent of what we saw in the early days of widespread use of the web outside specialised techie & academic communities - that there's a lot of buzz around AI being important which isn't related to sober assessment of what it can do

A1 #LTHEchat in studying innovation I've always used disruption to refer to changes which significantly challenge assumptions which we already have. AI is disruptive eg in challenging assumptions on what sort of assessment, including essays, is effective in HE & in what tools students use to study

Hi - looking forward to this #LTHEchat having given a lot of thought to AI beyond the initial flutter of interest. I'll need to step away for a bit at some point within the hour but still hoping to contribute

A6 #LTHEchat understanding where OfS & others fit into the picture. Having good internal experts who are committed to make things happen. Recognising the overlap between doing the best for students & scholarship & compliance with quality requirements. Agility to respond to changed circumstances