2024 International VET Practitioner Fellow, Leigh Dwyer, is currently in San Antonio, USA, researching how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used effectively in the vocational education and training (VET) sector.
Before departing, he spoke to the ISS Institute about what generated his interest in AI, his views on its current use in vocational education and what impact he hopes his Fellowship research to have.
Tell us a little bit about yourself; How long have you been working in the VET Sector? What is your role at William Angliss?
October 2024 marks one year for me as Curriculum & Assessment Leader at William Angliss Institute, where my role is to lead and provide vision to the team of curriculum writers, coordinators and a desktop publisher.
I’ve been working in VET since 2009, and prior to this role, I was a Curriculum Designer at Melbourne Polytechnic where I learnt a lot of what informs my current practice. I maintain currency as an educator through teaching TESOL at Bendigo Kangan Institute and serve as board secretary of Kew Neighbourhood Learning Centre.
Please briefly tell us about your Fellowship; What is your topic? Where do you plan to visit?
My Fellowship is about using AI effectively to develop high-quality and compliant learning and assessment resources, with specific focus on how AI generated content can incorporate employability skills and real industry workflows as expected in the VET sector.
I’m travelling to Japan, the UK, and the USA.
Firstly, I’m attending the 6th International Workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Education (WAIE 2024) in Tokyo Japan, then travelling to the UK to attend the 5th International Conference on Education and Artificial Intelligence Technologies (EAIT 2024), and finally, I’m attending the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Leigh attending the 6th International Workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Education (WAIE 2024) in Tokyo
What sparked your interest in AI and its possible use in the VET curriculum?
An important part of my role is looking at systems, procedures, and workflows, and then collaborating with stakeholders to find ways to work smarter. I’ve been interested in how to find workflow efficiencies, whilst ensuring our published resources meet expected standards and are easy to use for educators and learners alike.
Hearing of the sheer speed and quality of output being achieved by different AI platforms, I was captivated by the idea of spearheading ground-breaking ways of working, and then sharing these findings throughout the TAFE network to slash the time and resources required to design and develop cutting-edge resources.
ChatGPT powered robots pictured by Leigh at The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (also known as Miraikan)
What is the current state of AI usage in the VET curriculum development? Is it being used at all? If yes, is it being used effectively?
We have working groups formulating policies to regulate AI’s use, but to give a definitive view of the current state is really hard. To name just one reason why, would be that the already extensive range of AI tools and platforms available is expanding so quickly, that even defining AI is a challenge.
When I attend workshops showcasing AI apps, for me it’s like being in a candy shop but not knowing which things to try first; and I feel like this represents where we are at the moment with VET curriculum development. Hopefully my Fellowship can provide some useful contribution in this respect.
Lastly, what do you hope you get out of your Fellowship? Who and what do you want to impact with your findings?
My dream come true would be to produce actionable findings that have a measurable effect on design and development processes in VET. It’s a big goal but would dramatically and positively affect the VET landscape.
I’m also committed to sharing the knowledge gained through the Fellowship with my dedicated team at William Angliss Institute, and I would love to deliver professional learning sessions with organisations such as the VDC. I am interested in doing a larger scale research project in the future to take the learnings of this Fellowship to the next level.
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