Dr. Gila Kurtz
Dean of the Faculty of Instructional Technologies
Holon Institute of Technology (HIT)
Holon, Israel
Dr. Gila Kurtz’s Talk
Navigating the Future of Academic Learning and Teaching: Opportunities and Challenges of GenAI Integration in Higher Education
The breakthrough of Generative Artificial Intelligence platforms (often referred to simply as Generative AI or GenAI) such as ChatGPT, Bard, Midjourney, and others is leading to far-reaching changes in the employment market, learning, and humanity in general. On one hand, there is the promise of potential for enhancing the efficiency, comfort, and quality of academic education, such as by introducing innovative methods that tailor learning experiences to individual students based on their unique needs, knowledge gaps, and prior understanding. Additionally, GenAI can offer novel ways to extend an academic education to underserved populations and equip students for the future job market.
On the other hand, this transformative shift presents significant prospects and unique challenges for higher educational institutions. In this presentation, I will examine the latest developments in GenAI and the possibilities of leveraging it to benefit academic learning. I will map the opportunities that GenAI application integration offers academic learning, such as providing students with an AI buddy to study with and shortening the time needed teaching and learning. Further, I will elaborate on challenges and note some dangers relating to the use of AI to acquire academic skills and knowledge, such as issues of transparency, fairness, integrity, inclusion, and equality. Finally, I will introduce my recommendation for a "hybrid intelligence" approach that can merge human and machine capabilities in higher education.
About Dr. Gila Kurtz
Dr. Kurtz is the Dean of the Faculty of Instructional Technologies at the Holon Institute of Technology (HIT) in Israel. She has a wealth of experience, having served as the Academic Vice President at a company specializing in e-learning solutions for the corporate sector for several years. Other positions: a member of the Steering Committee of the European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN) and the Editor-in-Chief of The Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Skills and Lifelong Learning (IJELL). Dr. Kurtz has been a visiting scholar at the University of Maryland University College, University of California Berkeley, Syracuse University and University Roma, TRE.