MEET OUR KEYNOTES

Implementing learning analytics and learning design at scale

Educational institutions considering implementing learning analytics with the increased availability of learner and learning data must consider these questions: Where do you start? What should you do first? Is the data accurate? What about ethics and privacy? How can we effectively support our staff to use data? How do you know that this is a cost-effective and pedagogically sound approach? Does it actually work? Bart will share insights from 10 years of large-scale implementation at the Open University in the UK - what has worked, what has not, and evidence from over 100 studies on the use and effectiveness of learning analytics, and how we can effectively support the key stakeholders in learning analytics: educators and students.

Bart will help you:

• Understand where to start with learning analytics

•  Understand how to effectively support your staff to use data

•  Critically review whether learning analytics is something for your organization

Cultivating positive cultures and communities through gameplay

Play is a vital part of individual learning in the K-12 context. It is the learner’s chance to tinker with constructs and develop positive dispositions towards bodies of knowledge. Play can be even more powerful in a social and community building context. Through multiplayer play students have the opportunity to engage in a ‘lived curriculum’. Gameplay and game creation open up spaces for computational thinking, social emotional learnings, creative and critical thinking, and community building. Students are learning how to be in the world by engaging in a microcosm of that world where teamwork, leadership, mentoring, collaboration, and competition are readily actionable and highly valued.

During her keynote, Bron will

• Demonstrate how constructivist and constructionist pedagogies are supported through playing and creating games

• Explain the importance the social context of multiplayer play (whether physical, tabletop, or digital) and how that brings the greatest benefits

• Provide practical examples from indigenous play, student created games, educational programs, commercial game offerings and recent research

• Explore the ways in which gameplay is instrumental in the sense making and social growth of our students.

Applying the Science of Learning to Become a Strategic Learner

Our modern classrooms have implemented very few lessons gained from the considerable research done on how people best learn. One of the main reasons for this is that many of these findings are counterintuitive. Educators who understand the truth behind these myths can help their students learn better. Using his unique perspective as an educator and physician, Robert will provide insights on learning and provide examples of how you can help your students use this knowledge for optimal learning.

In his session, Robert will help you to:

• Identify examples of the counter-intuitive nature of how people best learn, and why we often employ the wrong strategies to learning optimally

• Illustrate the many influences on how we learn and understand why a holistic approach to learning is needed

• Summarize the differences between knowing about strategies on learning versus knowing how to implement these strategies.

AI and Assessment: Navigating the Watershed Moment for Education

The rise in popularity and adoption of generative AI systems, like chat GPT, has challenged traditional beliefs about the capabilities of AI in producing coherent and seemingly intelligent texts that meet the quality required for assessments. This moment signals the need for a fundamental shift in the way we approach assessments in education. In this keynote, Rose will discuss the impact of AI on the education system and the need for changing assessment practices. The irony of the situation is that AI is both a catalyst for change and a potential solution to the challenges posed by its presence. The judicial application of AI within education can enable formative assessments that contribute to the teaching and learning process and provide evidence of each student's level of understanding and skill. She will also explore how AI gives us the tools to assess self-awareness, self-regulation, metacognition, and other essential skills required for future-proof careers. These skills need to be nurtured, and AI can help us achieve that by providing insights from data for teachers and learners which ensure that students are effective learners; that they are good at learning to learn.

In her session, Rose will highlight:

• Ways in which we can navigate this watershed moment for education 

• How to leverage the potential of AI to create better assessment processes that are more meaningful, accurate, and inclusive.

The quantum computing revolution

Quantum computation has been regarded as the next revolution in information technology. It is still a nascent technology in spite of the hype around the topic. Yet, quantum computation does present a new way of thinking which may ultimately affect our daily lives and the way we teach the next generation of school children. Recent development in optical technology may also provide an intermediate step towards the goal.

In this Keynote, Prof Kwek will help you understand:

• Why quantum computers

• What quantum computers can and cannot do

• The importance of knowingquantum computation as an educator

Generation: Bridging the employment gap with a skills-based training and placement approach

The session will spotlight Generation's impactful work globally and in Asia, focusing on their rapid boot camp training and placement support for underserved individuals, leading to high-quality job placements. Their innovative approach integrates job-specific skills through direct collaboration with employers, resulting in an impressive 90% or higher job placement rate - equipping job aspirants with market-driven skills with a curriculum built in direct collaboration with employer partners. Dr Jeremy Fox, Generation's Regional CEO, will provide compelling success stories and insightful strategies for tackling the hurdles and prospects in Asia's education-to-employment arena. Drawing from Generation's extensive work both in Asia and worldwide, these tales of achievement will not just engage the audience but also offer practical wisdom for effectively manoeuvring the dynamic landscape of education-to-employment in the region.

In his session, Jeremy will share about:

• Generation's global methodology and its successes

•The importance of a skills-based approach to training and hiring

•How organisations and institutions might apply aspects of Generation’s approach to their own context

Leveraging hybrid learning spaces to take on 21st century challenges in education

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, the advancement of technology and the internet brings forth a plethora of promises. With each passing year, a discourse emerges—some asserting that educational technology, or edtech, is unnecessarily complicating matters, while others firmly contend that its true potential remains largely untapped. Amidst this debate, the crux of the matter lies in the delicate balance between human interaction and technological innovation.Within the contours of this keynote address, we embark on a journey to share our narrative—the stories of how we, alongside our partners, are translating these ambitious missions into reality through the conduit of technology