Rethinking AI in Higher Education: Friends, Not Foes

Technology Enhanced Learning Network webinar Friday 11th October, 12-1pm

Title: Rethinking AI in Higher Education: Friends, Not Foes

Brought to you by SWISP Lab (presented by Sarah Healy)

In a world where academic integrity is being challenged by AI detection tools, some staff are spending more time playing detective than facilitating learning. With stories circulating about students tweaking their essays to evade Turnitin’s AI-sniffing algorithms—or worse, sweating over an innocent Grammarly check—one has to wonder: Is this really how we want to spend our days?

Fear not! There’s a brighter, more creative way forward—where AI is no longer an adversary lurking in the shadows but a collaborator pulling up a chair. In this session, we’ll explore how the SWISP Lab has been working hand-in-hand with GenAI since 2022. Spoiler alert: no, the AI didn't steal our jobs...yet.

I’ll share three innovative ways we’re co-creating with AI:

1. Our post-digital research process, where humans and AI generate material together—sort of like a research duet, minus the karaoke.

2. The Chatbot Chatterbox—a speculative thinking tool that’s as fun as it sounds.

3. The Speculative Thinking Wheel—a model for critically reflecting on AI use that will spin your thinking in new directions.

By the end, you’ll ask yourself: What if GenAI became a learning companion instead of a classroom spy? And more importantly, What if it could finally teach us how to fix that broken printer in the staff room?

Join us for some serious ideas on GenAI in education.