There is a post by an “evangelist”, I’m not linking because why would I, I am not interested in debate (especially when any arguments put forward will probably have been generated).

First of all let me declare my bias. I am skeptical of GenAI, I worry about things like algorithmic conformity, I worry about cognitive off loading, I worry that these systems are so young and we have not tested the impact on learning or teaching, and yet they have been rolled out anyway.

I should also declare that I am currently in a project capturing data about their use in research and research processes, and I am beginning to understand and believe that they can help in, and relieve, some of the administrative and process burdens that academics are currently struggling with. I’ve seen good practice. And I use AI! I have dyslexia and I use Grammarly, mostly when I am not co-authoring with colleagues, but writing for myself.

This morning though I want to talk about an argument that I have heard in universities and seen online a lot. It goes something like…

Arguing against teaching AI because we don’t fully understand black-box models is wrong. By that reasoning, we shouldn’t teach neuroscience, cognition, or psychology either, as we don’t fully understand the brain.

In this mornings case the post was accompanied by a sad looking middle aged lecturer holding a brain, with the blackboard reading “Sorry, Neuroscience is cancelled because we don’t know how this works” with an arrow pointing to the brain.

Here’s the thing. The human brain is a product of millions of years of evolutionary refinement, robustly developed through natural selection, adaptation, and complex ecological interactions.

Our incomplete understanding of cognition arises from the intrinsic complexity of biological evolution, not from deliberate opacity.

But right now, the current crop of generative AI systems are ‘black boxes’ intentionally designed by commercial entities that prioritise performance, sometimes at the expense of transparency and accountability. The lack of transparency is neither inevitable nor natural, it’s a choice driven by commercial interests, control, and intellectual property protection (ironic given the widescale scraping of data to train them).

You cannot compare the evolution of the brain with GenAI, AI systems are owned, controlled, and rolled out by vendors who set the terms of accessibility, how they interpret the data they have, and ethical scrutiny.

The first thing we should teach students about AI literacy is that GenAI lacks rigorous transparency, ethical clarity, and accountability. Teaching  AI literacy should first and foremost be about ensuring that these systems are responsibly managed and ethically governed. But GenAI “evangelists” to often dismiss legitimate concerns about the opacity of AI as “liminal anxiety”, they overlook genuine risks such as embedded biases, misinformation propagation, and intellectual dependency on commercial interests.

We need to have critical conversations about AI in education, they need to be grounded realism about what these technologies represent, they are commercially controlled tools, don’t compare them to evolutionary phenomena to support your arguments about why you can’t explain how they work. You can’t explain how they work, because vendors don’t want you to know.

GenAI literacy, all literacies  start from a foundation of critical inquiry and robust ethical frameworks, not from an oversimplified analogy.

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new issue of the Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change: The future of student engagement and student-staff partnerships to enhance higher education

At a time shaped by post-pandemic recovery, the rising cost of living, and the emergence of generative AI as a disruptive force, this issue explores how deep student engagement and student-staff partnerships can anchor hope, creativity, and equity in higher education.
Eleven contributions comprising case studies, research articles, reflective essays and opinion pieces offer fresh ideas and insights highlights co-creation as a transformative practice—one that not only enhances curricula and assessment but also reimagines relationships, promotes belonging, and centres wellbeing in institutional decision-making. Together, these articles offer timely insights and practical approaches for navigating complexity and driving meaningful change.

Read the full issue here:

We hope these contributions spark new ideas and conversations across the sector.
For questions or feedback about the journal, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

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The University of Plymouth is proud to be the host of the 12th Change Agents’ Network (CAN) Conference in May 2025, supported by Jisc.

The University has a long-standing history of working with students in our sector leading peer learning initiatives. We are delighted to share and build upon our transformative approach to peer led learning through discussions with students, students’ unions, professional services, academics and university leaders to address the continued need to innovate higher education with students.
This year’s conference theme is ‘The impact of student–staff partnerships on learning in an ever changing higher education environment’ and we welcome contributions from students and staff, new and returning to CAN, along the conference sub-themes below.

Conference sub-themes

– Celebrating and recognising students as experts by their experience and involvement in educational activities.
– Students as change agents in the community and the role of universities in civic responsibility.
– Use of AI in the educational experiences of diverse students however they study with us.
– Shaping the evolving offer of education with students, co-designing and rethinking curriculum design.

Find out more information from the conference website

Current Issue
Vol. 10 No. 2 (2024): Reimagining partnerships to generate new learning opportunities – Part Two

The aim should always be for FE institutions to manage data as an asset to support the effective delivery of many key priorities. Improving data maturity sounds complicated at first, but the Data Maturity Framework helps you break down your institution’s data culture and practices into manageable, actionable areas. It helps you evaluate key components, broken down by five elements: 

Decision making 

Decisions are made across the organisation on an almost minute by minute basis. But how informed are the decisions and what evidence does the individual have to ensure it is the correct one? This goes to the very heart of data maturity where an organisation’s culture could either hinder or enhance the operational efficiencies on the ground. By evaluating the data management and culture around data, you can encourage all decision makers to see it as a trusted asset and determine if your data is there to validate or challenge your decisions.  

Data Governance  

Whilst data governance and data quality go hand in hand, they can be overlooked and seen as just policy guidance or documentation. In practice they are the network and flow of your data through your organisation. Think of it as a bit like the management of water coming from your taps at home. Governance ensures that the right people with the right tools are responsible for maintaining and protecting the network it travels around. Quality ensures it doesn’t get contaminated and that the input is the same quality as the output. Encourage people to see data like any other asset in your business. It needs to be maintained for people to see its value. 

Reporting 

When you consider the number of both internal and external consumers, it’s easy to understand why there is such complex and diverse demands on the reporting offer. It’s common to see significant challenges around the transformation of the huge volume of raw data available into meaningful information that can be easily understood and utilised by such a broad audience. This often translates into inefficient manual workarounds even if automated reporting exists elsewhere. 

Processes & systems 

The above puts further pressures on what can sometimes already be outdated and fragmented systems that hinder data flows, leading to, at best, inefficiencies and at times, incorrect information being used to inform critical decision making. To have informed and effective decision making, consumers need confidence in the information being relayed. Can you point to a single source of truth and does your team understand master, reference and meta data and why you need them? 

Data strategy 

It still feels quite novel to have a defined data strategy in place. It could even be part of your digital strategy. Whether you have one, are thinking about one or not in that space yet, the implementation is just as critical as the definition. It’s common to face difficulties in defining clear objectives whilst ensuring that data initiatives support broader outcomes, notably learner ones. And whilst significant coordination and investment is required, collaboration, skills and knowledge growth are as crucial as any financial commitment. 

AI and data maturity  

No conversation around data would be complete without touching on AI – data maturity is no different. In fact, it is critical. By understanding and improving your data maturity, you’re not just improving day-to-day operations—you’re laying the groundwork for a transformative future. With reliable, high-quality data as your foundation, providers will be better positioned to adopt advanced technologies like AI, foster data-driven decision-making, and ultimately enhance outcomes for staff and learners alike. 

Alongside the data maturity framework, we have also developed a self-assessment which is currently being piloted in both the FE and HE sectors. Whilst the challenges are common, one thing we have seen in the results so far is that maturity levels are slightly higher in FE than HE. There is some way to go with the data and analysis of the pilots, but I think this points to the suggestion that the FE sector is sufficiently dynamic and agile to identify and action some of the key areas of development. This gives me hope and underlines the role data maturity can play in the development and improvement so critical to the long-term future of the sector.   

Want to know more? 

• Learn more about data maturity by completing our free eLearning course  

• Apply to be part of our self-assessment pilot  

• Join us for our free webinar on 22nd May.

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Time to think and plan

We decided to use Territory mapping to help people envisage their ‘worlds’ in a different format. By stepping back and drawing their world in a more abstract way, the community could consider what they wanted to achieve by highlighting areas of purpose, or their fire, or what they wanted to protect, hunt for or grow. It allowed the community to pick out the processes, departments or individuals that might help or even hinder progress and provide for themselves a map towards achieving their aims.

Navigating digital worlds

In a buzz of chat and coloured pens, the community split into different groups to draw, talk and digest their reflections. The discussions moved from rivers of support to swamps of procedural or financial challenges and allowed people to share similar experiences to consider new ways of navigating complex landscapes. The chats allowed our community to build new and strengthen existing networks and many shared contact details to carry on the conversations.

The digital capabilities team enjoyed the session too:

‘Territory mapping provided a creative and safe space to explore our roles in enhancing digital capabilities within organisations. The maps I saw captured the local situations really well. Explaining them to others highlighted commonalities and opportunities for broader discussion.’

Mike Cameron, senior consultant

 

‘The conversations I had led us to discuss the discovery tool in more depth and fostered an interest in getting to grips with using the tool in their organisations to progress digital mindsets’

Louisa Stamatelopoulos, consultant

 

‘It was great to see the community come together and share their different experiences of embedding and using the discovery tool, or broader digital skills, within their institutions. Hearing about the barriers and challenges they encounter helps us better understand how we can further support the sector. It was heartening to hear how much value is place around people and knowledge’

Cath Foster, head of digital capability

 

“The community sessions at Digifest are always a fantastic opportunity to connect with our subscribers and hear their stories and experiences in supporting digital skills within their institutions. This year, given the sector’s challenges, it was particularly meaningful to engage with the community on the importance of fostering a digital mindset, not only at an individual level but also across entire institutions. These in-person conversations are incredibly powerful, and meeting our subscribers face-to-face and reconnecting is always my favourite part”.

Becki Vickerstaff, HE senior consultant

Thank you to all who made this event

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