Futurespective on Educational Technology Use in Computer Science Higher Education

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption in higher education delivery worldwide and catalysed extensive experimentation in educational approaches. In all disciplines (including computer science), there has been an increased use and dependency upon educational technology to support many aspects of learning, teaching and assessment. Recently, there has been an explosion in the use and application of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in education. The rise of generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT, CoPilot, etc.) has the potential to drive similar transformative changes.

This workshop aims to co-create an understanding of challenges and benefits arising from using technology and how it impacts the learning, teaching and assessment approaches we adopt in teaching computer science in universities. Using the sailboat retrospective approach, workshop participants will engage in discussions and generate ideas. The sailboat retrospective is a common technique where a team envisions sailing a sailboat towards a tropical island. At the proposed workshop, attendees will work in small groups and will address the following aspects:

(1) Wind: Lessons learned during the pandemic and from the use of generative AI technologies.
(2) Island: Ideal outcomes for the use of technology in the learning process
(3) Anchor: Existing challenges in integrating technology into HE practices
(4) Icebergs: Future challenges that may arise in the adoption of technology.

Teams will classify these issues according to their impact and the level of difficulty in addressing them. The workshop will conclude with each group summarising their findings, enabling the identification of common themes and insights. The workshop builds upon an earlier version delivered at the Advance HE Learning and Teaching Conference 2022.