C21U's executive director explains how AI's exponential growth can revolutionize education by enabling personalized learning and fostering essential 21st-century skills.

As members of the Digital Credentials Consortium, we are eager to share the Consortium’s recent advancements in developing and deploying Learning and Employment Records (LERs) as Verifiable Credentials (VCs). The latest project has highlighted the transformative potential of VCs in securely sharing skills and achievements. Despite challenges such as the need for technical resources and clearer communication of VCs’ benefits, the pilot projects have successfully demonstrated the full lifecycle of VCs. These efforts are crucial in making LERs more accessible and meaningful for learners, issuers, and employers alike.

C21U collaborated with computer science master's student Ray Hung and other researchers to develop "Socratic Mind," an AI-powered oral assessment platform designed to enhance students’ understanding, critical thinking, and communication skills through Socratic questioning.

At 1EdTech's 2024 Learning Impact Conference, panelists in the "Intersection of AI and Education" session argued that using AI is essential for understanding and preparing for the future. Sandra DeCastro, vice president of marketing and higher education programs at 1EdTech, spoke with Tom Andriola of the University of California, Irvine, who moderated the discussion, and panelists Ryan Lufkin of Global Academic Strategy at Instructure, Steve Harmon of Georgia Tech, and Shawna Dark of UC Berkeley to share their insights in this article.

Today, the Institute announced the launch of its new College of Lifetime Learning, a cornerstone initiative in its commitment to double the number of degrees granted and non-degree learners reached by 2030. The announcement was made at the annual Institute Address by Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera, who emphasized the Institute's dedication to transformative education.

In this episode, Steve Harmon, C21U executive director, and Lev Gonick, chief information officer at Arizona State University, discuss how technology is redefining the university experience. They were both speakers at Times Higher Education’s Digital Universities US 2024 event.

(Photo: Eliza Compton, Campus deputy editor, and Steve Harmon.)

Higher education institutions must assess students' technological proficiency, readiness to utilize advanced tools, and rationale behind their usage to prepare tomorrow's workforce. In this Times Higher Education article C21U's research scientist, Meryem Yılmaz Soylu, shares strategies for equipping students to thrive in this technology-driven era.

As the director of GT Atrium's global operations, Dilruk De Silva will oversee and coordinate a broad spectrum of operations, encompassing compliance, finance, human resources, IT, infrastructure, facilities, and management. His leadership will extend to Atrium's global operations, underscoring Tech's commitment to international collaboration and excellence.

Georgia Tech received the Power Learner Potential Organization Award from the 1EdTech Consortium at the 2024 Learning Impact Conference. The award honors organizations for creating innovative, open, and trusted edtech ecosystems that empower learner potential.

Leadership and critical-thinking skills are difficult to measure. Here, Jonna Lee, C21U's director of Research in Education Innovation offers case studies that test the idea of integrating LLMs into assessment practices as a feedback tool to empower both students and instructors.

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced on April 24 a strategic investment of $90 million over five years in SafeInsights, a unique national scientific cyberinfrastructure aimed at transforming learning research and STEM education.

Warren Goetzel, director of Tech's Digital Learning team and C21U's external and faculty engagement, shares his insights on remote collaboration and strategies for building strong teams. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow Lee Hibbard hosts.

Our chief scientist, Ashok Goel, and AI-ALOE team members Chris Dede, Myk Garn, and Chaohua Ou authored this article that sheds light on the AI-powered learning and teaching assistants developed to improve adult reskilling and upskilling and revolutionize workforce development.

C21U researchers are excited about LLMs' potential to transform education by offering personalized learning experiences to students at scale. Their findings provide unique insights by analyzing individual learners' processes and outcomes and constructing predictive models to identify potential improvement areas and enhance learner engagement and success.

As extended reality continues to be adopted in colleges and universities, higher education leaders need to consider regulatory and ethical implications. The authors offer a three-phased implementation approach.

Meryem Yilmaz Soylu and Adrian Gallard, a research scientist and digital learning data analyst at C21U, presented a talk titled "Using NLP to Identify Leadership Skills for Online Master's Program Admissions" at the Affordable Degrees at Scale Symposium on December 5, 2023. The presentation delved into the significance of leadership skills in graduate education and their crucial role in admissions.

Education innovation will transform lifetime learning in two main ways: compacting instruction into digestible bites and standardizing how microcredentials are used and delivered in (and beyond) higher education.

David Joyner, the keynote speaker of the 2023 C21U Symposium and author of "A Teacher's Guide to Conversational AI: Enhancing Assessment, Instruction, and Curriculum with Chatbot," addresses the initial concerns of educators regarding the impact of generative AI on assessments. He also highlights how generative AI can empower learners and provide invaluable support to teachers.

Joyner is the executive director of OMSCS and Online Education for the College of Computing, and the inaugural holder of the Zvi Galil PEACE Chair.

In the EduTrends podcast, hosted by José "Pepe" Escamilla, Steve Harmon, C21U executive director and GTPE associate dean for Research at Georgia Tech, talks about the futures of education: machine learning, alternative credentials, blockchain, virtual reality, lifelong learning, and the significance of developing non-academic skills.

As part of the C21U 2023 Symposium, Generative Futures: Revolutionizing Learning with Artificial Intelligence panelists Dr. Ida M. Yoshinaga, Dr. Lisa Yaszek, Prof. Mark J. Leibert, and moderator C21U executive director Dr. Stephen Harmon focused on AI in pop culture, identifying its roots in turn-of-the-century scientific and social change and storytelling, its use in speculative/fantastic genre fiction and screenwriting, and the ethics and creative potential when producing original visual and musical artifacts.