AI could undermine meaningful learning unless feedback stays rooted in connection, study recommends "The rise of generative AI in higher education is reshaping how feedback is delivered, but meaningful learning could be undermined if its use is not carefully guided by principles of care, trust and connection, according to new research led by the University of Surrey. Published in Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, the paper explores how generative AI technologies, including chatbots such as ChatGPT, are transforming feedback for students—highlighting both the opportunities and risks of AI in education."

"While AI can generate responses at speed and scale, researchers...call for a "care-full" approach—one that treats feedback not as a set of comments, but as an ongoing process of dialogue, reflection and growth." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

The New AI Risk Isn’t What Models Say. It’s What Agents Do "AI agents are starting to look less like chatbots and more like services. They can coordinate tasks, call tools and make changes in production systems without a human reviewing every step. For large enterprises, that autonomy is both an opportunity and a risk. The question is no longer whether an AI system can generate a good answer. It is whether you can govern what the system does."

"When software is allowed to 'do,' not just 'say,' governance becomes an infrastructure requirement." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

The Rise Of AI Policy Firewalls: Why Every AI Agent Will Need A Guardrail Layer "Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly moving beyond chatbots and copilots. A new generation of AI agents is beginning to perform real actions. These agents can access APIs, move money, retrieve data, write code, interact with customers and even coordinate other agents.   That shift raises a simple but critical question: Who is watching what the agent actually does?"

"A policy firewall sits between the AI agent and the systems it wants to interact with. It acts as a checkpoint that intercepts and evaluates every action before it happens." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Video: AI v The Mind: Who has the edge? In a new series, we will test the limits of the latest AI technology by pitting it against human experts.

"The lines between human and AI capability are increasingly blurred. For some that's terrifying, for others it will open up new worlds of possibility." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Learning Mindset: How To Build It In The Age Of AI Explore the concept of a learning mindset and its importance for organizations in today's fast-paced, AI-driven world.

"As AI and automation reshape how work gets done, roles evolve faster than job descriptions can keep up. The half-life of skills is shrinking, which means what employees know today may lose value much sooner than expected." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Responsible Use Is The New Acceptable Use: One District's Pragmatic Playbook for the AI Era Conversations with Kevin Hogan—Pineville ISD technology coordinator Kenzo Vanhaesebroeck explains why vague-on-purpose policy, a grading scale for AI use, and teacher-to-teacher modeling are the best defenses a small district has against an overnight technological revolution

With every other platform, we had a little bit of a heads up...With AI, we didn't even have a chance to really put policy in place before Google, Meta, all these big companies just said, 'Hey, it's here, it's integrated.'" #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

What Do We Teach Now? What are you doing to ensure that the degree and certificate candidates at your institution are prepared to thrive in the new environment that is emerging in this year and next? Technologists, economists and visionaries are warning us that in the next three to 18 months, we are going to experience rapid and pervasive disruption of our professional lives, workplace models and distribution of income. Professional positions requiring college degrees will be lost, remade into highly productive, cost-efficient, hybrid human-AI models where human contributions and compensation will collectively shrink and evaporate.

"What are you doing to ensure that the degree and certificate candidates at your institution are prepared to thrive in the new environment that is emerging in this year and next?" #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Designers finally have a say in the product they design. "AI didn’t teach designers to code. It gave them back the decisions that were always theirs."

"For designers who’ve spent years watching their craft get approximated on the other side of a handoff, that’s a meaningful change. The gate was never locked. We just needed tools that made it obvious." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Gradually Reclaiming Responsibility The article explores the concept of resistance in educational contexts, especially with the rise of GenAI technology. It examines how students must actively maintain ownership of their learning and critical thinking, especially as AI takes on more responsibility in the learning process. The traditional gradual release of responsibility model is adapted to consider AI's impact, emphasising that resistance is essential for genuine learning.

The Gradual Release of Responsibility model is common throughout education. But what happens when responsibility is released onto AI? #ArtificialIntelligence #AIEducation #AIEdu #AIInEd #AIInEdu

Hot Takes on AI and Education "[T]he emergence of AI has produced a bonfire of hot takes about what it all means for education. Three and a half years on from the November 2022 unveiling of ChatGPT, let’s try to sort through a handful of them."

"[T]he most promising path may entail recommitting to the buzz-free fundamentals of cultural literacy, academic knowledge, device-free contemplation, and in-person interaction." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Beyond the Hype: 5 Actionable Steps for Higher Ed to Master AI in 2026 AI has arrived as a powerful, pervasive reality, bringing with it a whirlwind of innovation, new tools, and pressing questions. Here are five practical steps to help your institution navigate this rapidly evolving landscape and accelerate its path to real transformation.

"Successful AI integration requires strategy and dedicated expertise: Institutions should establish dedicated roles or teams to guide AI strategy, oversight, and governance." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Canvas Unrolls AI Teaching Agent The new AI agent aims to save faculty time on “low-value tasks,” but stops short of fully automating grading. But some experts worry that the rise of agentic AI could lead to a dead classroom, where computers teach other computers. Weeks after an outside agentic artificial intelligence tool called Einstein caused an uproar over its ability to complete entire courses in the learning management system Canvas, Canvas has unveiled an agentic AI tool of its own. But instead of helping students cheat—or automating instruction—its creators say it’s designed to enhance teaching and learning.

"Although Canvas’s AI agent can create customized assignments and generate personalized feedback...the idea of AI agents grading the work of other AI agents as “dystopian” and something Instructure wants to avoid." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

The AI Use Case Question Teachers Are Still Asking "Over the past several years, schools have been urged to respond to the rapid emergence of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT with limited information and a lot of hype and horror stories. Some have framed the technology as potentially transformative for teaching and learning, while others claim the opposite. Yet in many classrooms, adoption has been slower and more selective than the surrounding hype might suggest."

"When professionals encounter a tool that is widely marketed but still evolving, they ask a basic question: What does this actually help me do better?" #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

AI Course Mistakes: What Adult AI Learners Actually Want To Know Delve into what beginners actually want to know about Artificial Intelligence and how to design an AI course that works for them.

"Understanding how AI works matters, especially around safety and privacy. But the sequence matters more than the content. Do first, understand later. That's how most adults learn new technology anyway." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Build The Intelligence Layer When Building A Learning System Relying entirely on a vendor’s AI means adopting their hidden assumptions, which is why teams should build their own intelligence layers.

"As basic platform features become easier to access, the new competitive frontier is owning your AI intelligence layer." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Who (Or What) Filled Out Your Course Evaluation? Canvas will introduce its first AI agent directly into the LMS later this year, arriving in a chaotic landscape where few institutions have considered how agentic AI will impact faculty teaching and student learning.

"Anyone, including a student, can use an agentic browser...to not only automate their assessments but also complete the very evaluations that teachers and institutions use to gauge how faculty performed in the course." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

From “Hello, World!” to AI: What Skills Actually Prepare Students for the Future? "A little over a decade ago, schools were swept into what many described as a movement to prepare students for the future of work. That work was coding — “Hello, world!”   Districts introduced new courses, nonprofits expanded access to computer science education and a growing ecosystem of programs promised to teach students the skills needed to enter the tech workforce. For many, it felt like a necessary correction to a rapidly digitizing world. But over time, a more complicated picture emerged."

"The “learn to code” movement raised an important question that still lingers today: Which skills actually endure when technologies change?" #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

The next wave of K-12 innovation: How educators are shaping the future of edtech Edtech innovation can come from teachers who remove learning guardrails and show students the joy and excitement in trying something new.

"[I]n districts’ rush to innovate, we often allow technology and convenience to replace the curiosity and joy in learning." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Colleges are adopting AI faster than they can govern it Colleges’ rush toward artificial intelligence is outpacing oversight, policy, and academic safeguards--that's the danger of AI.

"[T]he current higher education story is not simply about innovation. It is about whether institutions will allow the logic of platform adoption to outrun the educational values they claim to defend." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Are Educators Overusing AI? One New York City education leader has seen an uptick in AI use across emails, grant applications, newsletters, and education-related projects, but just like in the classroom, there are appropriate and inappropriate times to use AI.

"In the AI era, it has become a cliché that AI shouldn’t be used to outsource thinking, but...some educators may need a reminder of that." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

US universities pivot to AI degrees as campuses race to match the machine age "Artificial intelligence has moved decisively from research corridors into the core of undergraduate education across the United States, forcing universities to redraw academic priorities with unusual speed."

"The growing popularity of AI degrees is not just about the emergence of a new subject. It actually signifies a change of the very basics of higher education." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Survey: How Should Universities Prepare for the AI Era? Learn about the results of a survey by the Digital Education Council in collaboration with Tec de Monterrey's IFE about AI in education.

"[T]eaching practice is evolving in the age of AI: 48% of teachers believe that task redesign is necessary to ensure their effectiveness and preserve learning outcomes." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

University of Phoenix scholars publish study on academic applications of generative AI tools in higher education University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies scholars Patricia Akojie, Ph.D., Marlene Blake, Ph.D., and Louise Underdahl, Ph.D. have published new research exploring how generative artificial intelligence tools (GenAI) are being used in academic environments. Their article, “Academic Applications of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools: A Scoping Review,” appears in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Digital Society.

"Institutions may need clearer policies and guidance to support responsible AI adoption in research and teaching." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

Leading disruption before it leads you "Today’s leadership mandate requires more than long-term strategy. In a recent interview with McKinsey’s Eric Kutcher, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna had advice for fellow leaders: “You’ve got to be willing to ‘do’: As opposed to getting disrupted by somebody else, disrupt yourself while you still have the cash flow and clients who value your capabilities.”

"[T]he goal of AI transformation isn’t automation layered onto old workflows—but redesign from the ground up." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

We Need Smarter, Not Faster, AI-powered e-Learning Authoring Tools "Focusing on polish and production speed over pedagogy creates a fundamental problem across the industry: Most e-learning authoring tools emphasize digital interactions and visual templates, while providing minimal guidance on pedagogical principles [1]. As a result, users can inadvertently equate an engaging interactive brochure with an effective learning product."

"Current AI implementations focus almost exclusively on course content generation...Nearly all tools emphasize speed rather than pedagogical soundness." #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

University leaders grapple with the upside and downside of AI "Florida’s public university leaders are consulting in-house and private-sector artificial intelligence experts to help formulate the state system’s approach to the technology...   The state is compiling a report about recommended AI use across the system in the “near-term,” governor Ed Haddock said. Haddock chairs the newly formed Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity."

“Suddenly, AI seems to be everywhere in our lives and in our work. Our job is to prepare students for this reality, even as it evolves,” #edtech #ILoveEdTech #ImFutureReady #elearning #AIEdu

The image is split into two sections: a dark header reading “New Publication: Documenting & Disclosing AI” with a Substack URL, and a lower section showing an article preview. The article headline reads “From Prompt to Practice: A Framework for Transparent GenAI Use in Higher Education,” credited to Carol Damm and Lance Eaton, dated March 18, 2026. Additional elements include category tags, an “Editors’ Pick” label, and a short excerpt describing a four-level transparency framework.

wherein Carol & I talk about some of the reasons for our recent publication:

#HigherEd #AIEdu #AIUsage

aiedusimplified.substack.com/p/new-public...

A Taxonomy of Agentic AI The evolution of AI agents, particularly since 2024, has shifted from marketing hype to practical applications across various levels of capability. AI agents, defined as large language model-based applications, perform semi-autonomous tasks using code. This taxonomy categorises AI agents from simple code-using chatbots to complex teams executing multi-faceted projects, highlighting their growing significance in educational settings.

This new taxonomy categorises AI agents from simple code-using chatbots to complex teams executing multi-faceted projects. #ArtificialIntelligence #AIEducation #AIEdu #AIInEd #AIInEdu

yellow book cover with text: Leon Furze Practical AI Strategies 2 - The Critical Guide to GenAI in Education on left. Right side shows a purple mailing list sign up page.

So. What are you waiting for? Go and join the list already and stay up to date.

Clicky linky: leon-furze.kit.com/pais2

#ArtificialIntelligence #AIEducation #AIEdu #AIInEd #AIInEdu #EduSky #artificialintelligence #practicalaistrategies

The Effort Economy of Slop The concept of "AI slop" highlights the imbalance in effort between creators and consumers of content generated by artificial intelligence. As production becomes effortless, the burden shifts to the consumer.

The concept of "AI slop" highlights the imbalance in effort between creators and consumers of content generated by artificial intelligence. As production becomes effortless, the burden shifts to the consumer. #ArtificialIntelligence #AIEducation #AIEdu #AIInEd #AIInEdu