Blog

Reflections on the closure of the OER Foundation and the implications for OER policies worldwide

Posted on by Paul Bacsich

The recent announcement of the impending closure of the OER Foundation (based in Otago in New Zealand) has drawn attention again to the sustainability (or not) of major OER initiatives and the longevity of OER policies. Acting on this we decided to do one of our rapid AI-assisted reviews of the current state of the OER domain. The results were challenging. For speed, this review initially started with a series of seven questions put to ChatGPT (version 5.2) - which we have used a lot over the last three years for policy anal

“Honey, I tringed your assignments”

Posted on by Paul Bacsich
middle-aged Latina elf woman with Tex-Mex styling - featuring warm brown skin, dark hair with gray streaks, laugh lines showing her maturity, and beautiful southwestern-inspired clothing with turquoise jewelry and colorful embroidered details. She has pointed elf ears and the magical sparkles as she effortlessly produces her assignment on Russian hybrid warfare using AI assistance.

The discussion emphasizes the rising use of AI tools like ChatGPT among students to complete assignments, prompting universities to update academic integrity guidelines, albeit slowly. The concept of "tring" is introduced, highlighting how AI can reduce assignment effort significantly. Detection methods are limited, and reassessing assignment processes is crucial to prevent issues with academic standards.

A thought-provoking encounter on a train

Posted on by Paul Bacsich

Below is the AI wishy-washy rewrite of my deliberately raw post on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bacsich_a-weekend-ago-i-was-travelling-back-home-activity-7394477618529533952-WQC0?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAABVpRwBndzgy_gXa77UFNt_ZXmJovKbFf8 Talk about muting the message to make it more palatable to scholars and researchers and managers! A thought-provoking encounter on a train journey sparked reflections on the authenticity of student assessments. As I made my way from Manchester to Sheffield, … Continue reading A thought-provoking encounter on a train

Ways of reducing the cost of online and blended courses in post-secondary education

Posted on by Paul Bacsich
Group of five people sitting around a table in a bright office, engaged in discussion. One man with grey hair and glasses is pointing at a laptop while others listen and smile

Summary I am delighted to be attending and speaking at the ALT-C 2025 Conference taking place in Glasgow on 23-24 October 2025. I will be leading a workshop on my current favourite topic: how to reduce the cost of teaching in higher and further education, particularly in the context of digital, online and blended learning. … Continue reading Ways of reducing the cost of online and blended courses in post-secondary education

Lessons from COVID-19: Scotland’s Educational Response Reimagined, by ChatGPT 4.5 Deep Research using a prompt from Paul Bacsich

Posted on by Paul Bacsich

A Counterfactual Response to COVID-19 School Closures in Scotland (2020–2022): universal online provision at school level Introduction and Context When Scottish schools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, education officials faced an unprecedented challenge: how to ensure continuity of learning for over 700,000 pupils across Scotland​ (en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org). In reality, Scotland relied on ad-hoc remote teaching … Continue reading Lessons from COVID-19: Scotland’s Educational Response Reimagined, by ChatGPT 4.5 Deep Research using a prompt from Paul Bacsich

What’s Happening Around the World with Online and Hybrid Learning

Posted on by Paul Bacsich
children studying online from home

This presentation. joint with Michael Barbour, was given yesterday at the Digital Learning Palooza being held online this week (Tuesday through Saturday). To some extent it is a follow-on (and to other extents, not) to the paper some of us presented at the EDEN conference last summer.

Reflections on Graz and EDEN

Posted on by Paul Bacsich

The EDEN 2024 conference in Graz was an eagerly anticipated event for Paul Bacsich, offering the opportunity to share his research message, reconnect with colleagues, and engage with the latest developments in online learning. His positive experience in Graz included insightful presentations and discussions on AI, leadership in digital education, virtual schools, the history of online learning (and lessons to learn from it), and the chance to explore the city's scenic offerings incljuding the Cathedral, CIty Park and the Schlossberg.

National Tutoring Awards “Online School of the Year” – f2f and livestreamed Friday 21 June

Posted on by Paul Bacsich

As one of the pair of judges of the "Online School of the Year" award for The Tutors'​ Association I am looking forward to the National Tutoring Awards tomorrow evening (Friday 21 June) at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City. Looking forward to meeting virtual schools and tutoring providers.

What schools can learn from virtual schools – final presentation at EDEN 2024 Graz

Posted on by Paul Bacsich

On behalf of the joint authors Paul Bacsich presented the team's report What schools can learn from virtual schools (and online universities) and sought feedback from the research community. He also invited further experts to contribute papers to the Education Sciences journal Special Issue on Virtual Schools for K-12 Education: Lessons Learned and Implications for … Continue reading What schools can learn from virtual schools – final presentation at EDEN 2024 Graz