5 Takeaways from EDUCAUSE 2023

The WGU Labs team recently attended EDUCAUSE’s Annual Conference, both to present key takeaways from our Faculty EdTech Survey with Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) — a member of our College Innovation Network (CIN) — but also to get a bird's eye view of the EdTech landscape in 2023. Here’s what we learned:

1. AI is in the air, but hasn’t come down to earth. We were intrigued by a number of AI-based sessions, however, we found that most lacked tangible takeaways, case studies, or actionable use cases. That said, a shocking number of vendors have already incorporated AI and large language models (LLLMs) into their product offerings. As is often the case, profit motives have moved forward faster than academia can process, leaving us wondering how we might move forward together more quickly to ensure the best of AI is utilized, with an eye toward mitigating unintended biases and negative outcomes. We also couldn't help but notice a lack of research on student’s experiences with these tools, especially across diverse learner groups. Future research should focus on how students are perceiving and interacting with these tools.
2. Data data everywhere — but what about personal experience? Everywhere we looked, folks were extolling data as a panacea for HiEd, from solving the enrollment crisis to streamlining administrative costs. In fact, institutional resilience (based on a foundation of data) was the core theme of EDUCAUSE’s Top 10 Issues list. While we certainly value data — we are a research organization, after all — we fear that the student-centeredness of campuses may be lost in a sea of numbers. Without an equally insistent push for greater qualitative understanding of what works, for whom, and under what conditions, as well as a push for more reasonable workloads for employees, we could see an increase in existing tech fatigue and challenges for student belonging.
3. We must mind the margins. Several sessions stressed the importance of using data to better understand the student experience and to improve tech solutions for students. Missing from many of these conversations, however, was a discussion of how students from historically under-resourced and excluded groups experience technology. A core tenant of our research at Labs is to identify sources of inequity by paying particular attention to students from under-resourced groups, so we hope to help drive conversations about equity in data use and analysis in the future.?
4. How do we support Gen Z learners on their ed-venture? The next phase of higher education was top of mind for conference organizers, presenters, and attendees. Several sessions spoke to trends, predictions, and how to prepare and create better learning environments for future generations. Naturally, a lot of focus was on Gen Z, many of whom are now navigating higher education and beginning to enter the labor market. As technology rapidly changes the way we work, we need to reevaluate the best ways to support learners and better prepare them for the job market. At Labs, for example, we found that awareness and usage of ChatGPT is particularly low among first-generation students compared to their continuing-generation counterparts, which could widen inequity gaps and leave under-resourced communities unprepared for the tech-enabled future of work.??
5. Actions speak louder than demographics. Predictive models that use student data to predict key outcomes like performance, course completion, and retention, and to flag students for additional support have become increasingly popular in higher education. Several sessions highlighted the benefits of using behavioral data over demographics to predict student outcomes and flag students who may need additional support. Behavioral data, which includes things like logging into course software, completing assignments, posting on discussion boards, offers a fuller picture of students than demographic characteristics, which often place students in boxes.?

One of the things that energizes us about the world of education is how many people are always striving to make it better, and attending conferences like EDUCAUSE is a reminder of that collective goal. While there’s still work to be done (and likely will always be work to be done), we’re excited about technology’s continued potential to transform the learning experience.?