In January, Arizona State University announced a major partnership with OpenAI to explore the potential of ChatGPT in education. We caught up with ASU CIO Lev Gonick to find out more about that collaboration, how the university is approaching the use of generative AI across campus, and what the key takeaways have been so far.

Resource links:

• Arizona State University Partners with OpenAI to Explore Gen AI Potential in Education
• ASU Artificial Intelligence

Music: Mixkit

Duration: 35 minutes

Transcript

Recently Educause released its inaugural AI Landscape Study, which polled the higher education community about AI strategic planning and readiness, policies and procedures, impact on the workforce, and the future of AI in higher education. We spoke with report author and Educause Senior Researcher Jenay Robert for a deep dive into some of the thinking behind the study, what the survey findings tell us about institutions' AI journeys, and how "I don't know" might be the theme of the day when it comes to AI.

Resource links:

• Educause AI Landscape Study
• Educause Innovation Summit
• National Artificial Intelligence Act of 2020
• Educause Workforce Studies
• Educause Horizon Reports and Horizon Action Plans

Music: Mixkit

Duration: 29 minutes

Transcript

David Wiley is well known as the co-founder and chief academic officer of Lumen Learning and a long-time advocate of open educational resources and access to educational opportunity. But if you follow him on LinkedIn or on his Improving Learning blog, it's clear that he also does a lot of thinking and speaking and writing about generative AI. For this episode of the podcast, we spoke about why generative AI is the logical successor to OER, AI's impact on instructional design, exciting AI developments on the horizon, and why it's too early for universities to write policies for generative AI usage.

Resource links:

• Improving Learning Blog
• OpenAI Guide to Prompt Engineering
• How I Won Singapore's GPT-4 Prompt Engineering Competition
• Arizona State University Partnership with OpenAI

Music: Mixkit

Duration: 35 minutes

Transcript

Last November, Campus Technology Editor in Chief Rhea Kelly moderated a panel on the state of AI in education at Tech Tactics in Education 2023, a new conference for education IT leaders produced by Campus Technology and its sister publication THE Journal. The conversation ranged from basic definitions, to concerns, limitations, and opportunities, as well as leadership and culture change. In this episode of the podcast, we’re sharing a recording of the discussion — it’s full of insights for anyone grappling with the impact of AI and generative AI on campus.

Resource links:

• Tech Tactics in Education

Music: Mixkit

Duration: 40 minutes

Transcript

Since 2016, the Changing Landscape of Online Education Project, also known as CHLOE, has been surveying chief online officers at colleges and universities across the country about the current state of online learning in higher ed as well as institutions’ strategic vision for the future. A joint effort between Quality Matters and Encoura Eduventures research, the project recently released its eight survey report. Among the core themes: Growing student demand for online and hybrid learning is moving higher education toward a multi-modal future. We spoke with Dr. Bethany Simunich, co-director of the CHLOE Project and one of the principal authors of the CHLOE 8 report, about key takeaways from the survey and why institutions that aren’t examining their online strategy may be putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage.

Resource links:

• Changing Landscape of Online Education Project
• CHLOE 8 report

Music: Mixkit

Duration: 35 minutes

Transcript

What skills will students need for the workforce of the future in an age dominated by artificial intelligence? In addition to basic computer science, data competencies, and the mathematics and statistics behind AI and machine learning, there are a range of social impacts to consider: AI risk, ethics, privacy, questions of bias, etc. All of the above are part of the curriculum at Dakota State University, a STEM-oriented institution with a focus on computer science, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. We spoke with DSU President José-Marie Griffiths about how her institution is preparing students for careers in AI. In addition to her experience in research, teaching, and higher education administration, Griffiths was a member of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, part of the 2019 John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act. She has also served in presidential appointments to the National Science Board, the U.S. President's Information Technology Advisory Committee, and the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. 

Resource links:

• Dakota State University

Music: Mixkit

Duration: 27 minutes

Transcript

At National University, the role of the data officer has shifted from the capture and analysis of data to a broader focus on digital transformation. As the institution's chief digital officer, Alex Chimon leads both the digital and the data realms, with the strategic goal of improving student outcomes and the student experience. Chimon comes from a diverse background, driving digital strategy in industries such as healthcare, marketing, and food service before joining NU last year. We talked about NU's key digital transformation goals, how the worrisome capabilities of artificial intelligence will impact Dx efforts, overcoming fear of change, and more.

Resource links:

• National University 

Music: Mixkit

Duration: 30 minutes

Transcript

Growth in the cybersecurity industry is quickly outpacing the number of skilled workers available to fill the need, with estimates putting the global cybersecurity workforce gap at more than 3 million people. That shortage of IT talent is particularly acute in higher education, where salaries and benefits often can’t compete with the corporate sector. In light of those issues, the University of South Carolina Aiken recently found a creative way to staff a new security operations center — and give students hands-on cybersecurity training at the same time. We spoke with Ernest Pringle, vice chancellor for Information Technology and CIO at USC Aiken, about creating a student-led SOC, helping students put cybersecurity theory into practice, forging regional cybersecurity partnerships, and more.

Resource links:

• How USC Aiken's CIO Used Regional Cybersecurity 'Buzz' to Launch a Student-Staffed Security Operations Center

Music: Mixkit

Duration: 29 minutes

Transcript