It’s not often a dictionary’s word of the year correlates so closely with a year in learning and teaching, but Collins opting for ‘AI’ and Merriam-Webster choosing ‘authentic’ sums up our 2023 at UTS rather well. From an early call-out to use AI effectively and ethically to more recent explorations of how generative AI can (or can’t) be used in assessment, Generative AI was the topic of 13 of the 23 ‘most-read’ stories listed below. Even Zoom didn’t quite have this dominance as a theme in 2020, our ’emergency remote’ year.
But there were many other themes emerging in 2023, from frameworks for the student experience and quality assurance, to trauma-informed pedagogy and Indigenous Graduate Attributes. Let’s start the countdown!
#23-13
23: 2023 UTS Learning and Teaching Awards and Citations – the recently published list of award winners for 2023.
22: Introducing 10 FFYE grants for 2023 – this year’s round of successful FFYE grants from Kathy Egea.
21: Support to embed the Indigenous Graduate Attributes across UTS courses – Annette Gainsford introduced the Indigenous Teaching and Learning Team and the support they provide through a new website and workshops.
20: 5 things we learned at the AI x L&T week – a wrap-up of events from August’s week of collaboratively exploring GenAI usage in learning and teaching.
19: Ethics of care: 6 principles of trauma-informed pedagogy for your classroom – Renee Jones introduced principles of trauma-informed pedagogy that will benefit those affected by trauma but also enrich the learning experience of all students.
18: 5 quick wins for adapting your assessment in the age of AI – a selection of short-term assessment adjustment solutions helped promote the newly released AI in learning and teaching resources.
17: Assessment, academic integrity and GenAI at UTS – your Town Hall questions answered – an abundance of questions asked at a midyear Town Hall led to Kylie Readman (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Education & Students) responding with this follow-up piece.
16: How should students be referencing their use of AI at UTS? – The UTS Library updated us on the latest advice (in March) from APA on referencing AI tools.
15: How to apply for an FFYE grant – details on how to apply for an FFYE grant (see #22).
14: “Books, minds and umbrellas only work if they’re open” – in the lead-up to the popular Open Education Week (see #9), Mais Fatayer explored the power of the open textbook.
13: Student engagement with ChatGPT: where to next for AI? – Simon Buckingham Shum summed up our journey with AI at the mid-year mark and revealed 3 key things that UTS students told us they wanted from us moving forward.
#3: Quality standards framework 
#7: ChatGPT-proofing exam questions 
#8: Student experience framework 
#5 and #20: AI x L&T week
#12-2
12: 4 UTS case studies of Generative AI in assessments – Anna Lidfors Lindqvist, Samuel Yu, Evana Wright and Mike Rennie discussed how AI has reshaped their assessments.
11: Let your students know exactly how they can use GenAI in their subject – this post communicated a new ‘Use of Generative AI in this subject’ Canvas template.
10: Contribute to the 2023 UTS Learning and Teaching Forum – a call for contributions to the recent full-day forum.
9: UTS Open Education Week 2023 – a post promoting the full program of events for the Open Education Week in early March.
8: 4 themes to explore in the Student Experience Framework – The UTS Student Experience Framework is introduced, with a focus on 4 themes that intersect with each other and connect to the core goal of student success.
7: Tips for ChatGPT-proofing your exam questions – this piece by Ann Wilson quickly became the ‘go to’ page for revising questions in the lead-up to exams.
6: ChatGPT and me: 3 FEIT academics address the advances in AI – Phil Tang spoke to 3 academics about how ChatGPT could be used as a tool to prepare students for an AI-literate workforce.
5: Look toward the future at AI x L&T Week – the full program of events for the mid-year AI x L&T Week.
4: In a nutshell: ChatGPT and other Generative AI – our first blog to address the ChatGPT explosion was an introductory piece; one of it’s main contributors, David Yeats, wrote some excellent blogs on AI and data ethics back in early 2022.
3: A framework for quality standards in digital design – the Postgraduate Learning Design Quality Framework is unveiled as a topic for a Learning Design Meet-Up – with plans to give the framework broader usability in 2024.
2: OMG it’s ChatGPT: how you could adapt your assessments – OMG, look what the runner-up is! Ann Wilson and Caroline Havery offer tips for rethinking assessment in light of AI advancements.
And coming in at #1
AI is nothing new, but when ChatGPT really made its presence felt at the start of this year, there was limited time to get academics and students across a consistent way to engage with these tools before Autumn session. As everyone came together to have conversations, uncover case studies, build resources and templates, and engage all parties in workshops and events, this post put forward a strategy of being effective and ethical in AI usage and exploration, and to enhance assessment while considering impacts on academic integrity. A truly representative top blog for the year and a conversation that is ongoing, well beyond 2023.
Returning in early 2024
We look forward to hearing your stories next year and sharing them with the learning and teaching community. If you’d like to contribute a blog, email us your idea at LX.lab@uts.edu.au. In the meantime, we are taking a short break and will see you back on the blog in the second week of January. Here’s to an authentic 2024!