Category: EdTech tool

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Text to Image – a look at Midjourney’s parameters

The field of GenAI technologies is rapidly evolving, regularly introducing exciting new applications, features and updates. In this blog post, I’ll explore a particular text-to-image (T2I) tool that has seen some cool updates in the past couple of months.

So we are returning to Midjourney to see what the new features are, but also to give you an overview of the most important parameters which make all the difference when prompting for something more specific. You might want to read up on the basics which I have written about in this previous blog post called Harnessing AI – the Midjourney case.

Caravaggio’s painting depicting the cutest white mouse ever, eating cheese on a kitchen table, soft light coming in from a window

I’ll be using the latest version available which currently is Midjourney version 6 Alpha (April 5, 2024) moreover, my preferred method of prompting is through the web browser. This is now possible in version 6 to users who have generated more than 1000 images in Midjourney (MJ). The Discord interface is too overwhelming with all the servers, emojis and you needed to remember the names for the parameters, which in my case lead to a lot of typos. Now, with the clean browser interface, you have the prompt line at the top of the page and the parameters are buttons and sliders – very easy to use.

Screenshot of web browser interface 1
Screenshot of web browser interface with parameters

All prompting that is done through the web browser can be done through the Discord interface too, don’t worry, just remember to start your prompt with /imagine. When using parameters you need to indicate this with two dashes in front of the parameter itself. For instance, if you want to instruct MJ to create an image with an aspect ratio of 5:7, meaning that the sides are 5 units wide and 7 units high you need to write: –ar 5:7. In the browser you just move the slider to the desired ratio. If you prefer writing dashes and parameters you can still do this in the web browser. Please note, Mac has the habit of combining the two dashes, so don’t worry if in this post you see a long line instead of a double dash.

Having a common baseline is important, thus my prompting will use the default settings which you can see in the second image with the parameter options open. There is one exception, under Model the Mode should be Standard, not Raw, but we’ll come back to this. If I use Raw I will let you know in the prompt.

MJ has quite a few parameters and I won’t discuss them all here, just the ones I think need explaining and may be the most impactful ones. You can familiarise yourself with the ones I am not discussing at MJ’s own Parameter list. Here are the ones I will cover, some in more depth some less:

  • No
  • Tile
  • Character Reference
  • Style Reference
  • Stylize

Raw vs. Standard

a woman sitting in a café, frontal view
a woman sitting in a café, frontal view
a woman sitting in a café, frontal view
a woman sitting in a café, frontal view
a woman sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw
a woman sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw
a woman sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw
a woman sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw

Let’s go back to the Raw vs. Standard Mode question. Raw can be considered another parameter expressed as: –style raw. It is used in MJ’s own words:

to reduce the Midjourney default aesthetic.

If you compare the two sets of images above, you notice the difference, although both sets have the exact same prompt: a woman sitting in a café, frontal view. The first four use the Standard Mode and the last four Raw. For me, Raw is the equivalent to photo-realistic in other words, if you aim for life-like, photo-realistic images (of people) you most likely succeed when using Raw and not the MJ default aesthetic, Standard. It’s not perfect, mind you, always check for mistakes like excessive fingers, limbs etc.

No

Ever wanted to create an image but you couldn’t get rid of an element? Well, the parameter –no works quite well in certain cases, where you have something specific you want to exclude. Just add the parameter and in this case you need to add it manually even in the browser version, since this one as some others is not available as a button. The prompt for the following images is: a delicious hamburger, lush, vibrant colours, french fries –no cheese –style raw.

a delicious hamburger, lush, vibrant colours, french fries –style raw –no cheese
a delicious hamburger, lush, vibrant colours, french fries –style raw –no cheese
a delicious hamburger, lush, vibrant colours, french fries –style raw –no cheese
a delicious hamburger, lush, vibrant colours, french fries –style raw –no cheese

Tile

This parameter is more of an artistic one. It helps you to create a never ending pattern.
The image may stand out on its own, yet its full potential unfolds when used repeatedly to craft a larger composition, integrated onto an object’s surface, or utilised as a desktop background. To get a seamless pattern you need to use for instance Photoshop where you can create a pattern from the image and apply it to whatever you want.

a few simple snow flakes in the style of fractal –tile –stylize 500
a pattern created in Photoshop from the base image above

Character Reference

Now we are getting to the newer and interesting stuff. You may or may not have noticed character reference (–cref + image URL) is not on MJ’s list of parameters. In short, –cref allows you to use a reference image and to tell Midjourney you want for instance this same person with say different clothing and maybe in a different environment. To achieve better results it pays off to define the character more thoroughly, a mere a woman sitting in a café, frontal view will not necessarily yield good results. To highlight this I first used as the reference image the same woman from the café series earlier above – it’s the second image from the left side. After this you will see my second test run with a more elaborate prompt. 


a woman sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw
a woman standing in a street corner –style raw
a woman standing in a street corner –style raw
a woman standing in a street corner –style raw
a woman standing in a street corner –style raw

And here is my second –cref run with a more elaborate prompt: a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair standing in a street corner. The more you define the character the less you give MJ room to come up with variations, for instance having Caucasian in the prompt you eliminate characters from other ethnic backgrounds, the same goes for the hair colour etc. Well, as you can see it’s not nearly perfect, but this is something you can now work with. Try a couple of Reruns and pick the best matching image from the iterations.

a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair standing in a street corner –style raw
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair standing in a street corner –style raw
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair standing in a street corner –style raw
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair standing in a street corner –style raw
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair standing in a street corner –style raw

Despite a specific prompt, it’s good to understand that prompting and re-prompting, doing variations is essential to achieving good results – especially when you prompt for something particular. Some sort of expectation management is in place here, I believe. It’s illusory to expect that all four images depict the very same character as referenced to and it’s actually impossible, if you think of it, there exists no such person after all!

Style Reference

Similar to character reference, style reference (–sref + image URL) allows you to use a reference image to tell Midjourney you want to transfer the style of the reference image to the new image. Now, style includes stuff like the over all feeling, colour scheme and so on, but not necessarily the style itself and certainly NOT the objects or subjects.

Style as a term in this particular case is problematic as there is the possibility of confusing two different usages of style when working with MJ. When prompting for a specific art style like in the very first image in this blog post: Caravaggio’s painting depicting the cutest white mouse ever, eating cheese on a kitchen table, soft light coming in from a window. You could also prompt: The cutest white mouse ever, eating cheese on a kitchen table, soft light coming in from a window in the style of Caravaggio’s painting. In my (granted, no so extensive) testing I have not been able to transfer Caravaggio’s style as such to new image using –sref. Instead the new image would receive the over all feeling and colours of the reference image. I say this – again – to curb expectations. Furthermore, –sref doesn’t work too convincingly when referencing from Standard mode to Raw mode or vice versa.

My reference image is the snow flake from the Tile section above and I applied it to the second case (woman in her thirties) in the character reference section. As you can see some of the colours and ornamental elements are clearly depicted in the new image.

a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –stylize 1000
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –stylize 1000
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –stylize 1000
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –stylize 1000

The second image I applied the reference to is the burger. Here too you can see the influence of the reference image, be it in a creative way, for instance in the last one 🫐.

a delicious hamburger, lush, vibrant colours, french fries –stylize 1000
a delicious hamburger, lush, vibrant colours, french fries –stylize 1000
a delicious hamburger, lush, vibrant colours, french fries –stylize 1000
a delicious hamburger, lush, vibrant colours, french fries –stylize 1000

Stylize

And finally, we come to Stylize (–stylize or just –s). In the browser version you have it as a slider called Stylization under Aesthetics. According to MJ Low stylization values produce images that closely match the prompt but are less artistic (https://docs.midjourney.com/docs/en/stylize-1). My interpretation of this is that the lower the value the “more raw” the image becomes and the higher the value the more freedom MJ is given to apply an artistic touch to the image. Compare the following two series.

a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw –sylize 0
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw –sylize 0
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw –sylize 0
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw –sylize 0
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw –stylize 1000
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw –stylize 1000
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw –stylize 1000
a 30 years Caucasian woman with black hair, sitting in a café, frontal view –style raw –stylize 1000

How do you interpret the clear difference between these two series? I think it is a significant one. The ones with low stylize values look more ordinary, like you and me as opposed to the ones with a high stylize value that could easily be models, used in commercials, tv ads or on a runway. Now, it seems that our society’s current beauty standards would consider the stylised ones to be more beautiful.

Before I let you go I want to make the following point. It’s crucial to reflect on an important issue within GenAI: bias. Although Midjourney has made notable progress in recognising and addressing diversity, including but not limited to gender, ethnicity, and age. However, true inclusivity extends far beyond these categories. It encompasses understanding and actively working against biases related to generational differences, sexual orientations, religious and spiritual beliefs, disabilities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. When utilising any image creation tool, it’s important to apply the same level of critical scrutiny and questioning that we use with text-to-text GenAI systems (ChatGPT, Claude etc.) to the images and texts we get.

Thank you for reading, happy prompting!

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Kwizie – passive video watching bye bye

EDIT 22.2.2024 – DISCLAIMER – Global campus has received full access to Kwizie for testing purposes. The findings have not been influenced by Kwizie.

The Interactive Journey with Kwizie

In an era where digital innovation is at the forefront of educational transformation, Kwizie has the potential to redefine the way we engage with video content for learning. This platform bridges the gap between passive viewing and active, gamified learning experiences. Here’s a quick look at how Kwizie could reshape educational engagement through its innovative features and user-centric approach.

Transforming Passive Videos into Interactive Learning Experiences

Kwizie makes learning more dynamic and interactive. By converting in theory any video into a comprehensive quiz, it introduces a novel way to learn, catering to diverse subjects and languages. This flexibility is a testament to Kwizie’s commitment to making learning accessible and engaging.

Who is it for? Obviously teachers will benefit from this handy and user-friendly tool. In as little as 8 mouse clicks you can prepare an Instant Quiz – just like that. It takes some more clicks if you want to customise the quiz and have more control over the number of chapters and questions.

But a life long learner just as well can benefit from this tool. Say you have a concept you always wanted to learn properly. In my case it was the internal combustion engine, how does it work? I never really cared about this, but think it is part of general knowledge. Now with Kwizie I learn this in minutes. Care to test it yourself? For this purpose I chose a different topic, in the true spirit of sustainability – Global campus’ main theme: How does composting works? Have a go!

Kwizie live tab
Kwizie, live tab

Core Features Unveiled:

  • Multilingual and Multifaceted: With support for numerous languages, Kwizie ensures that learners can access content in their preferred language, breaking down barriers to education.
  • Optimised for Mobile Learning: Recognising the importance of mobile accessibility, Kwizie delivers a pleasant experience across devices, ensuring learners can engage anytime, anywhere.
  • Customisation at Your Fingertips: The platform offers a variety of customisation options, allowing educators (the Quiz Master) to tailor quizzes to their audience’s age and learning objectives, providing a personalised learning experience.
  • Effortless Sharing Mechanisms: Sharing knowledge has never been easier, Kwizie’s uses  QR codes for quiz distribution, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

 

Kwizie – How to, phase 1

Kwizie – How to, phase 2

Kwizie – How to, phase 3

Kwizie – How to, phase 4

Uncovering Kwizie’s Potential

To truly understand Kwizie’s impact, I embarked on a comprehensive testing journey, exploring its capabilities across a spectrum of videos and subjects. From environmental science to theoretical physics, the platform’s versatility was put to the test, revealing insightful nuances about its functionality and user experience. Here are my takeaways:

Insights from the Field:

  • Ease of Use: Creating quizzes is a breeze, thanks to Kwizie’s user-friendly interface that guides you through the process, from video selection to finalising quiz questions.
  • Interactive Learning: The platform’s use of timers adds an element of excitement to quizzes, though the option to pause between questions would enhance user control.
  • Educational Value: Kwizie excels in reinforcing learning objectives, with automated chapter summaries and key concepts highlighting its utility as a robust educational tool.
  • Room for Improvement: While already an impressive tool, I have encountered  a few things that in my opinion need attention. I found found some Youtube videos that did not work as expected eg. Analysing video phase never finished or when in the Live tab Creating a new Quiz was not possible. Accessibility wise there is an issue with failing WCAG AAA, a minor issue in the field of colour contrast I admit, but something easily corrected. I have reported back to Kwizie about my findings.

Reflections on Kwizie’s Educational Impact

Through testing, Kwizie’s role as an innovative educational platform became evident. Its  LMS integration (via API) and the ability for learners to contest answers exemplify its potential to not just educate but to also engage learners in meaningful ways. The call for a broader array of question types and improved accessibility features presents an opportunity for Kwizie to further refine its offerings.

Envisioning the Future of Digital Education with Kwizie

As we look towards the future, Kwizie offers a platform that not only enhances the learning experience but also empowers educators and learners alike. Its ongoing evolution and adaptation to user feedback will undoubtedly continue to shape the landscape of digital education.

Wrapping Up: Kwizie as a Catalyst for Educational Evolution

Kwizie’s digital education platform and its ability to transform video content into interactive quizzes represents a meaningful step forward in educational technology, offering new pathways for learning that are both engaging and accessible. As digital education continues to evolve, platforms like Kwizie will play a central role in shaping the future of learning, making it more dynamic, inclusive, and effective for everyone involved.

A short walk through

Finally I recorded the making of one quiz, so you can see how easy it really is.

Do you want to take this quiz too? No problem, here is the quiz about sauna in English.

 

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Pushing the boundaries

Imaginative landscape from Abbott's Flatlands. Image generated in Midjourney

When an intriguing call for papers appeared exploring AI co-creation, I felt compelled to test boundaries despite having slim to none academic publishing credentials. The concept resonated instantly, though self-doubt crept in studying full details. Could conversational technology collaborate on speculative scholarly work? Curiosity won out over uncertainty’s paralysis. If nothing else, illuminating ethical application merits investigation.

It was a Special Issue Call by the Irish Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning (IJTEL) with the title: The Games People Play: Exploring Technology Enhanced Learning Scholarship & Generative Artificial Intelligence.

I chose Claude, an AI assistant from Anthropic, entering an intensive weekend iteration. There were three options to choose from 1. Position Paper, 2. Short Report or 3. Book Review. I went with the book review. I fed Claude an 1884 novel called Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott. Claude rapidly generated an abstract and book review excerpt about Flatland’s dimensional metaphors. However, hurried passes produced explanations minus critical analysis to create cohesion. Through clear prompting, I pushed Claude to incorporate additional theories, doubling the length of certain passages. It relied completely on my explicit redirects to shape fragments into cogent framing. After ten iterations I felt confident we had a useful book review.

Our accepted article examined generative AI’s promise and pitfalls, affirming Claude’s usefulness accelerating drafting under firm direction. But truly comprehending nuance and context without significant human oversight appears premature. Still, well-defined augmentation roles provide productivity upside versus total autonomy today. In other words, the current sweet spot for AI writing tools involves utilising their ability to rapidly generate content under a researcher’s close direction and oversight, rather than granting them high levels of autonomy to complete complex tasks alone start to finish.

More pressingly, this collaboration underscored ethical questions arising as generative models gain sophistication. If AI meaningfully impacts literature reviews, translation works or even initial thesis drafting one day, how can scholars utilise those productivity benefits responsibly? Tools excelling at prose introduce complex attribution and usage monitoring challenges threatening integrity.

Rather than reactively restricting technology based on risks, proactive pedagogical probes enlighten wise integration guardrails. Insights from transparent experiments clarifying current versus aspirational capabilities inform ethical development ahead.

Imaginative landscape from Abbott's Flatlands. Image generated in Midjourney.
Imaginative landscape from Abbott’s Flatlands. Image generated in Midjourney.

Forward-thinking educators can guide this age of invention toward positive ends by spearheading ethical explorations today. Our thoughtful efforts now, probing human-AI collaboration’s realities versus ambitions, construct vital foundations upholding academic integrity as new tools progress from speculative potential to educational reality.

We have the power to shape what comes through asking tough questions in times of uncertainty. As educators we shoulder the responsibility to model how inquiry protects core values even amidst rapid change. And through ethical leadership, we just might uncover new sustainable and inclusive ways to progress.

Want further reading on this topic?

Ethics of Artificial Intelligence – UNESCO

Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI – by the EU

Ethics of AI – a MOOC by the University of Helsinki

If you are interested in reading my more personal account about this project you can do so here.

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Introducing the Visual Consistent Character Creator: A New Era with GPT Builder

Introduction

Welcome to an exciting exploration of the innovative new GPT Builder tool (by OpenAI) and my ambitious first project with it — the Visual Consistent Character Creator, an attempt to unlock the holy grail of the text to image sphere. This pioneering tool represents a major leap forward in AI-assisted creativity, combining GPT Builder’s capabilities with the user’s unique imagination.

What exactly does it do? The GPT Builder assists you in creating your own personal AI assistant tailored to your needs – in a nut shell.

In this case, my aim was not just to create a character generator, but to come up with a tool that allows me to construct aesthetically pleasing and above all consistent looking AI-generated characters. As a cherry on top I had the GPT Builder formulate the prompt in a Midjourney readable syntax.

John, a fictional character generated using a tailored GPT with OpenAI’s GPT Builder. The initial generation of John by DALL-E.

The Innovative Process: Enabling Detail and Consistency

My Visual Consistent Character Creator enables this through three key capabilities:

  1. Comprehensive trait selection — this allows for diverse and highly customised characters.
  2. Sequential, step-by-step trait selection — this ensures (or at least strives to achieve) coherence and precision in line with GPT Builder’s innovative approach.
  3. Quality check through AI-enhanced portraits using DALL-E — as a first step to ensure some level of consistency has been achieved before moving to Midjourney (or other text to image generators).

By combining these strengths, my tool can cater to a wide spectrum of creative needs while maintaining visual consistency and artistic flair. Let’s have a look at the process.

The Innovative Process: Detail and Consistency

1. Comprehensive Trait Selection At the outset, I focused on defining a wide array of character traits, mainly physical attributes (and some secret ingredients I am not revealing). I created a template for this, a matrix of sorts. This was done keeping in mind the need to match the high standards of character portrayal as seen in Midjourney. Every trait was carefully chosen to ensure that my GPT Builder could cater to diverse creative needs while maintaining a high level of detail and visual consistency.

2. Sequential Interactivity for Enhanced Precision A standout feature of the Visual Consistent Character Creator is its methodical, step-by-step trait definition process. Reflecting the innovative approach of the GPT Builder, this process ensures that each character trait is not only distinct but also contributes to a coherent overall portrait. This phase was somewhat tricky as the GPT Builder, although always complying, not always “remembered” my instructions and occasionnally would show signs of hallucinations.

3. AI-Enhanced Portrait Prompt Meeting Midjourney Syntax In the final step, after the Visual Consistent Character Creator has summarised the character’s traits and the user has confirmed them I instructed the tool to generate two types of portraits — a detailed close-up and a full-body image with DALL-E which conveniently sits in this workflow as it is part of OpenAI’s ecoystem, so the user never has to leave the browser window. At the very end the Visual Consistent Character Creator creates a prompt the user can copy&paste into Midjourney.

After some testing however, I have to say that the consistency of the characters is quite impressive, but only when generating with DALL-E. When exporting the prompts to Midjourney, the consistency is less evident. A major advantage of integrated DALL-E in ChatGPT is the possibility to discuss the result with GPT and ask for modifications on the generated image. This is huge!

John, a fictional character generated using a tailored GPT with OpenAI’s GPT Builder. The initial generation of John by DALL-E.

John, a fictional character generated using a tailored GPT with OpenAI’s GPT Builder. The initial generation of John by DALL-E.

The Potential Impacts: Opportunities and Challenges

By significantly enhancing the character design process, a visual character designer assistant like I just build with GPT Builder could revolutionise creative sectors like gaming, animation and graphic novels. The ability to quickly generate consistently looking, detailed and high-quality characters could greatly accelerate production and encourage more experimentation.

However, this also risks reducing human input in creative roles. As AI becomes increasingly capable of mimicking human artistry, important questions around originality and authenticity arise. While AI art tools offer exciting new opportunities, maintaining a balanced perspective regarding their applications will be vital so that we can benefit from their potential while responsibly managing their risks.

Overall, as an innovative new frontier in AI-assisted creativity, this tool promises to take character design into an exciting new era. By harnessing its capabilities thoughtfully, we can unlock immense creative potential.

Screenshot of ChatGPT interface creating iterations of John, a fictional character generated using my tailored GPT with OpenAI’s GPT Builder. Generated by DALL-E.

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Serendip – an Immersive Sustainability Learning Adventure

Launching Serendip project on November 9, 2023!

When we started the Global campus project in 2022, we were given the freedom to experiment the limits of online learning. We were expected to do really bold, even risky EdTech experiments. So, we thought very carefully how we could use our time wisely. We wanted to know what this university wants or needs? What could be something bold that would benefit all the members of the university community regardless of the faculty and beyond?

One of the strategic goals for the University of Helsinki is to advance ecological sustainability and responsibility. The University is dedicated to integrate the themes of sustainability into all education programmes.

Well-designed digital and physical environments for work, teaching and learning will enhance ecological sustainability and promote encounters with others, support creativity, renew forms of collaboration and improve accessibility.

(University of Helsinki Strategy 2021-2023)

Following this mission, sustainability became a topic that would be the glue of our work. In the design process, we asked from teachers and students what they are missing regarding sustainability education. We learned that a virtual space where students would gather together around the world to solve the sustainability challenges would be the secret wish of the sustainability teachers.

Students, on the other hand, wanted to travel in 3D worlds and learn how to influence stakeholders. They wished to improve their skills in finding the intervention points in decision-making processes. Students also desired to see hope and use their all senses. We knew we wanted to do this. And this was the foundation for a bold EdTech experiment, the project called Serendip*.

Based on our pedagogical framework, we believe that learning should be engaging and fun but also at the same time personalized and efficient. By offering students a visually appealing virtual reality learning environment with diverse multi-disciplinary learning content and a chance to actually train the sustainability competencies, we can help students to become the change agents this world needs.

The learning content has been developed together with researchers, teachers and students from different disciplines. The research-based content together with state-of-the-art technologies make an engaging learning experience. In virtual reality we could make impossible possible, travel in time and place and practice empathy.

Also, we identified that by taking the AI tools to the next level, we could increase the interaction between a student and the learning content. Therefore, we designed virtual AI-powered characters for different pedagogical purposes for the game. Each discussion is different and personalized, based on the student´s own interests.

The first game episode, the Boreal Forest, one of the tipping elements in earth´s climate system, is an adventure through snow and woods. It combines forest economy, forest ecology and well-being with Indigenous studies. It helps the students to practice their systems-thinking, values-thinking and intrapersonal skills.

We see that you have a role to play in sustainability, so we are happy to invite you to participate as a teacher, a student or a subject-matter expert and co-create with us the further episodes. Learn more on serendip.fi and join the adventure by sharing us how you would like to take part by filling in the form. Can a learning environment for the sustainability education look like this?

* Serendip = The word serendipity, originating from an old Persian fairytale “the Three Princes of Serendip”, means unplanned fortunate discoveries. The Serendip Learning Adventure is based on serendipitous learning approach where, through exploration, learners might discover unexpected and interesting connections among phenomena which can lead to meaningful learning. Serendipity, as valuable unexplored sources for learning, can be fostered through engagement and interaction. We see that sustainability challenges need innovations which can be results of serendipitous events. 

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AWEXR 2023, Vienna

AWEXR 2023 - Vienna

 

Yesterday and today (24. and 25.10. 2023) I attended the AWE XR Europe in Vienna. As usual when I travel, I chose to walk as much as possible and avoid public transportation. This time too, I took the train from the airport to Wiener Mitte and from there I made my way to the event venue, a distance of about 6km. Walking allows me to truly experience a city – its beat, vibe, smells, and soundscape. It’s the best way to get a feel for the local culture.  Exploring on foot ensures at least a minimum of movement during conferences and fairs –  and take in the sensory experience of a new place. Ironically, after deliberately immersing myself in the sights, sounds and smells of Vienna, I then spent the much of the event dealing with virtual and augmented worlds.

AWEXR 2023 - Vienna AWEXR 2023 - Vienna

The exhibition area at AWE XR Europe had a different feel compared to Laval VR earlier this year, with fewer exhibitors overall. I felt at AWEXR the focus was primarily on technical and engineering XR applications. There were exceptions like for instance hixr’s Time Travel Berlin and Chronopolis.

AWEXR 2023 - Vienna

Some notable observations

The playground area featured different XR experiences like Artivive and Nettle VR. Interesting exhibitors included Copresence app for virtual collaboration, Cognitive 3D for 3D modeling and Ikarus 3D’s 3D modeling software and product visualisation in general.

For me the one of the standout exhibits at AWE XR Europe was Time Travel Berlin’s, an immersive XR experience that virtually transports users back in time to 1920s Berlin. Unlike most other exhibits focused on technical demonstrations, both Time Travel Berlin and Chronopolis highlighted the humanities applications of XR through an incredibly detailed historical recreation in the case of Time travel Berlin.
Participants are immersed in a vivid simulation of the vibrant Pariser Platz outside the Brandenburg Gate, populated with period vehicles, hotels, and pedestrian crowds. The meticulous attention to accuracy and human-centered storytelling made it feel like walking through history. It showed that while XR enables engineering feats like 3D modeling, it can also profoundly enhance fields like education, heritage preservation, and narrative experiences. This innovative humanities-focused use of immersive technology was a refreshing change from the predominant tech demos. As one of the few exhibits bridging STEM and the humanities, it was undoubtedly a highlight of AWE XR Europe.

Another interesting exhibitor was Holonet, a Croatian startup offering a VR collaboration platform using realistic hologram avatars based on user photos. Their system supports see-through capabilities on glasses that have the feature. This creates a much more immersive experience than conventional VR avatars.

Delta Reality, another Croatian company, focused on delivering exceptional, meticulously crafted XR experiences. Their talented team brings together experts across technology, design and creativity to push the boundaries of immersive content.

AWEXR 2023 - Vienna

Overall, AWE XR Europe provided a great opportunity to see the latest innovations in XR from both startups and established players. The perceived smaller size enabled more intimate networking and discovery compared to other larger events. I was able to connect with key players in the European XR ecosystem and bring back valuable insights for our team. A highlight was reconnecting with James Mifsud of ArborXR, whom I had met earlier this year at Laval XR. It was great to catch up with James and attend the afterparty together. The impromptu dinner with other attendees especially the ones from Croatia was especially enjoyable and inspirational. Events like AWEXR enable these valuable personal connections within the close-knit XR community.

AWEXR 2023 - Vienna AWEXR 2023 - Vienna

AWEXR 2023 - Vienna AWEXR 2023 - Vienna

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UniPID collaboration

Empowering Education through Artificial Intelligence

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of conducting an online workshop on the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The event, organised by UniPID, is in line with the broader vision of Global Campus to harness the power of AI and bring it to professionals in higher education.

I introduced the attendees to innovative tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney. ChatGPT, for instance, offers a conversational approach that can assist teachers in course design, from creating exercises and tasks to developing syllabi. On the other hand, Midjourney stands out with its unique ability to generate images that closely represent real-life objects, enabling teachers to bring their imaginative ideas to life in visual formats.

We delved into the potential of AI in creating personalised learning experiences, ensuring that students from diverse backgrounds can receive quality education tailored to their needs. Furthermore, we touched on the ethical implications of the use of AI in education. Global Campus emphasises the importance of responsible AI use, and it was enlightening to engage with educators and stakeholders on this critical topic.

This workshop was a reminder of the incredible impact we can achieve when we collaborate, share knowledge, and drive innovation.

In conclusion, my experience at the workshop was both enlightening and inspiring. We’re not just envisioning the future of education; we’re actively shaping it through workshops like this. I’m excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

Read UniPID’s take on the workshop: Teachers’ workshop: the use of Artificial Intelligence in virtual education.

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Online Learning and Global Trends: Insights from Edu Conferences and EdTech Events

The field of Educational Technology is rapidly evolving and the trends and advancements in online/digital learning are ever-changing with a fast pace.  Online learning has been on the rise globally, particularly with a further acceleration during and after COVID-19 pandemic as a need for a shift from traditional education to remote learning. This shift has been driven by factors such as accessibility, flexibility, and the need for continuous learning. With an increasing impact of digitalization on education and a demand for digital transformation, educational opportunities are becoming more accessible and more flexible. Education sector has to prepare and adapt itself to ensure that all students can benefit from these advancements.

During the past six months, in addition to a number of local and small events and seminars on different topics in education, I attended a few major global conferences on online learning and digital education as well as the biggest EdTech event in Europe in which I was able to participate in many keynotes, workshops, presentations, and discussions. Here, I present a reflection on my observations and takeaways of these events .

  • Online Educa Berlin (OEB): a global leading cross-sector conference and exhibition on technology supported learning and training that brings participants from higher education, workplace and government sectors to discuss how technology opportunities and challenges are transforming the world of learning.  
  • bett London: one of the biggest EdTech exhibitions in the world and a global meeting place for the educators, change-makers, startups and major companies in the field to present and discuss cutting-edge EdTech solutions.
  • EATEL Summer School : a major European event on technology enhanced learning held by the European Association of Technology Enhanced Learning which brings together researchers, doctoral students, and professors from a range of disciplines (computer science, educational science, phycology, social sciences ,and IT) to share and discuss their latest projects.
  •  EDEN Digital Learning Europe:  Europe’s leading network for advancing digital education Digital and a community to foster knowledge exchange and enhance understanding among professionals in distance and e-learning, and to promote best practices and policies throughout Europe and beyond.

As a professional in the field with hands on development who is closely following latest developments and advancements in education and EdTech sector, I can summarize the key trends and directions in online/ digital learning as follows:

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) and generative AI in education:
Image: https://www.leaderedutech.com/artificial-intelligence-in-education/

Artificial intelligence and its associated technologies have been a major point of discussion in the past few years. Lately, this has been particularly augmented by the emergence of generative AI such as ChatGPT. As a hype, it has triggered very heated debates on their applications, risks, and challenges from technical, pedagogical, social, and ethical perspectives (see UNESCO’s recommendation on the ethics of AI). On a broader level, it has got the attention of all stakeholders not only on micro levels but also macro and global change/decision makers. While there are extreme viewpoints of both proponents and opponents on the impact of AI on human being, society, businesses, and future jobs, for us educators and EdTech innovators, what is most important is the educational applications of AI. Whereas AI technologies are increasingly being used for various purposes in education such as intelligent tutoring systems, AI-powered simulations and immersive experiences, automated assessments, personalized guidance, and virtual assistants to offer immediate support to students, it will be still a big challenge in education and learning that how AI-powered tools can be implemented in a pedagogical and ethically sound way in educational settings. As such, in our Global Campus project we strive to explore the potential of generative AI as an assistive tool and content creation in online learning, e.g., Creating Videos with Artificial Intelligence. Another bigger question for educational institutions’ decision makers is how to deal with use of ChatGPT and AI-powered tools by students as it increases the risk of plagiarism and cheating.

  • Micro-learning, bite-sized contents and stackable credentials:
Image: https://iite.unesco.org/highlights/open-badges-new-opportunities-to-recognize-and-validate-achievements-digitally/

With the rise of digital learning in various formats, micro-credentials are becoming more prevalent in higher education. Micro-credentials involves delivering contents in small, flexible, focused units and bite-sized formats that learners can access on their convenience with a possibility of combining them together to accomplish wider learning topics. While micro-credentials are emerging and being developed across education sector, numerous global initiatives seek to support the development, implementation and recognition of micro-credentials across institutions, businesses, and sectors. Such examples include: European Council recommendation on micro-credentials, UNESCO’s definition of micro-credentials, and OECD’s education policy perspectives, and a cross-university initiative is the Micro-credential in Sustainability by Una Europa which the University of Helsinki is part of. Combining micro-learning modules together can create stackable credentials to build up higher-level qualifications as a flexible pathway to up-skilling, re-skilling and lifelong learning. A natural result of digital transformation and micro-credentials is the development of a kind of non-degree education structure of online credentialing and digital badges. Many online learning platforms are partnering with universities and industry organizations to offer recognized credentials, such as certificates and digital badges. These micro-credentials provide learners with evidence of specific skills and achievements which can enhance their employability. While learning outside the formal education systems through online/digital formats is increasingly growing, a big challenge that faces the global education ecosystem is to find the ways to accredit alternative learning pathways. Thus, certification and accreditation of online learning is still an issue. To address this, there have been a number of initiatives to provide both technical and organizational infrastructures to promote the recognition of digital badges and online credentials. For instance, MIT DCC Digital Credentials Consortium. Another standard for verifying and issuing badges is Open Badges which is the world’s leading format for digital badges.

  • Mixed reality (XR), immersive learning and game-based learning:

Gamification as a learning and training method has been around for many years. In the recent years, however, new generations of immersive experiences have emerged and been implemented in education and learning. Immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) are being incorporated into digital learning to combine physical and virtual worlds to create interactive learning environments enabling learners to interact with digital contents and virtual objects in simulated real-world contexts.

Image: https://www.spheregen.com/augmented-virtual-and-mixed-reality-employee-training/

Applying appropriate pedagogical principles of entertainment, adventure, problem solving and exploration, virtual reality can create realistic simulations of complex environments such as historical settings, medical procedures, and science laboratories allowing learners to practice and experiment in a safe and controlled environment. The applications of XR in all its forms in education and learning are various. For example, they can cover a range of purposes such as skill development and training, collaborative learning and teamwork, storytelling and narrative-based learning, cultural interaction, art and design, and language learning. Apart from the many EdTech startups and SMEs developing their solutions on different aspects of XR, big enterprises such as ACER and Microsoft are also trying to provide tools and resources of the educational applications of these technologies. One of the main product development goals in our Global Campus project is to implement different types of XR technologies in our experiments of which we are currently focused on creating a a VR learning adventure for sustainability.

  • Data Analytics and Learning Analytics (LA)

The grow of online learning in very many formats and the emergence of massive (open) online learning environments such as MOOCs has resulted methods and tools for data mining and learning analytics. LA is both methods and tools used to collect, analyze and report data about learners, their interaction and behavior, and the contexts and harnessing the power of data to understand and optimize learning and the environments in which it occurs.

Image: https://digitallearning.northwestern.edu/learning-analytics

Data analytics and learning analytics play important roles in the field of education. A well-developed area of research in education in the past decade, LA has gained the attention of course developers, learning designers and educational institutions to implement different methods of LA in online and digital learning environments to gain actionable insights and make data-driven decisions to enhance learner performance, engagement, motivation, learning outcomes and to personalize instruction. In recent years, efforts to combine LA and learning design have been developed across universities to apply and translate these approaches into online learning development.

  • Upskilling, digital skills and the future skills:

With the ever-changing nature of the society impacted by digital transformation, the skills needed for the present and the future citizens are evolving in a very fast pace. Not only the workforce of tomorrow will need new sets of skills but also today’s workforce needs to continually learn new skills and adapt as new jobs emerge. This digital surge requires a skills revolution in Europe, as well as globally. Today’s learners need to develop both multidisciplinary competencies, soft-skills, and digital skills to be equipped with the demands of the society and the future job market. As such, Future Skills are currently being developed all over the world in various shapes and forms, and the focal point is the changing nature of  social conditions for work, education and life and the importance of the skills for workers in a digitized world (a). Digital learning is increasingly recognized as a means to upskill and reskill individuals in a rapidly evolving job market. This calls for alternative forms of learning that the stakeholders should respond to. For instance, the European Commission calls to provide high-quality, inclusive and accessible digital education and training to develop the digital skills of the citizens. Part of the Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027), European Commission launched European Digital Education Hub to reinforce cooperation between stakeholders to promote digitalization agendas. An effective approach of lifelong learning is key to ensure that everyone has the knowledge, skills and competences needed to thrive in personal and professional lives. Defining skills for citizens, Mckinsey & Company has identified 65 fundamental skills that will help citizens thrive in the future.

Image: https://www.iberdrola.com/innovation/digital-skills

  • Blockchain in education:

Alternative formats of education such as digital credentials, micro-learning and badges require appropriate standards and protocols for verification, certification, accreditation, transferability and security. One way of applying blockchain in education is to use it as a  Credentialing Ecosystem to create portable, interoperable, user-controlled digital credentials. While the use of blockchain technology in education is still in its infancy, in recent years blockchain has been a debated topic to explore what are the promises and challenges of Blockchain in education. Here are a few ways and purposes that blockchain can be applied to educational contexts:

  • issuing, sharing, and verifying educational qualifications
  • issuing badges e.g., Open Badge Passport 
  • verifying academic credentials
  • authenticating users on logging and verifying data
  • recording academic transcripts and transferring the credentials
  • storing students’ data and personal information in a secure way
  • grading, assessment and recording the exam results
  • automating secure payments and financial transactions of students

Image: https://procsee.eu/good-practice/use-of-blockchain-in-education/

Blockchain can help educational institutions for a better security, anti-fraud protection and optimization as well as students to have their personal lifelong learning passport stored on Blockchain for use as part of their future career. While blockchain holds significant promises, implementing it in education requires cautious consideration of technical, regulatory, and organizational factors.

  • OER/OEP and open education:

The notion of open education is not new, however, and it goes a few decades back when there were efforts to change institutional practices to eliminate barriers and expand access to learning (b). Open education in its wider definition includes open educational resources (OER), open educational practices (OEP) encompassing a range of concepts and strategies that promote the accessibility, sharing, and collaboration of educational resources and practices. They are characterized as learning opportunities which are informal, personalized and distributed largely outside the boundaries of established educational institutions. MOOCs as the results of OEP and OER are the main formats of opening up learning possibilities to all that have been increasingly expanded in the past ten years and still are the major form of open online courses developed globally covering a wide range of topics.

There are numerous examples of the implementation of OER/OEP: OER Commons, Open Educational Resources (OER) toolkit, ENCORE+: European Network for Catalyzing Open Resources in Education.  Open access, open publishing, open licensing and Creative Commons have been encouraged and implemented in the realm of research and publishing as the results of openness movement in education. The adaption of OER and OEP requires fundamental transformations in policy, pedagogy, institutional structure, technical infrastructure, and cooperation.  

  • Mobile learning and learning on the go:

With the widespread use of smartphones, tablets, and handheld devices, mobile learning has become prevalent in recent years. Learning platforms and educational apps are optimized for mobile devices enabling learners to access learning resources anytime, anywhere.  Still, mobile learning is remaining a relevant solution to be more explored and adapted in the future of digital learning as a solution to address accessibility and equity in education. With the increasing development of mobile apps for various purposes, mobile learning is becoming even more prevailing in the future to empower learners on the go and with bit-sized digital learning materials, as mentioned above. More recent kinds of wearable technologies such as smartwatches, eyewear, AR/VR headsets are being implements and researched for their learning potential such as in-situ and real-time learning, immersive and interactive learning, and learning anytime/anywhere.  

Image: https://www.learndash.com/7-random-mobile-learning-facts/

References:

a. Future Skills – Future Learning and Future Higher Education. https://nextskills.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Future-Skills-The-Future-of-learning-and-higher-education.pdf

b. A NEW ECOLOGY FOR LEARNING: An Online Ethnographic Study of Learners’ Participation and Experience in Connectivist MOOCs. https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/184138/saadatmand.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

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Laval Virtual

My Journey Through Laval Virtual: The Quest for Immersion in the World of Virtual Reality

To give you some context you will find a brief summary about myself at the end of this post.

As an enthusiast of the concept of virtual realities, I was eager to attend Laval Virtual, the premier event showcasing the latest advancements in VR, augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) in short XR in as someone put it humbly the capital of VR! I couldn’t wait to dive into the world of cutting-edge technology, engaging discussions, and artistic creations. Throughout the event, I found myself constantly questioning: “What truly defines immersive experiences in XR?”
This is my personal journey to and through Laval Virtual as I explored innovative brands, participated in thought-provoking discussions, and found inspiration in the arts, all in the quest for immersion. But before I let you read the text itself I offer you the possibility to immersive yourself in a few 360° photos from various stages of my trip.

You can freely navigate with your mouse within the 360° image, there is even a hotspot you can click on and move on to the next image.

Note: While writing this on Friday 14 April, Laval Virtual is still on-going, but unfortunately I have to catch a train and then plane to make it home still today. Greetings from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.

Discoveries

During my first day on Wednesday 12 April, I was thrilled to explore the innovative brands and technologies being showcased. As a newish VR enthusiast, I was particularly impressed by Movella‘s Xsense,  found the approach L.A.P.S. is taking interesting and thought Olfy had taken the next logic step in bringing one more of our senses to the XR table, very refreshing. Xsense’s groundbreaking work in motion capture, live avatar performance solutions, and sensory integration expanded, seeing it live, my understanding of what’s possible in VR and AR experiences.
L.A.P.S.’s solutions on the other hand enable real-time facial expression tracking, which allows avatars to mirror the movements and emotions of the performers in real-time. Finally Olfy is a virtual reality system that simulates smells to create a more immersive experience. In their own words: The sense of smell allows virtual reality experiences to be more engaging and immersive. Our goal is to enhance the emotions and effectiveness of virtual experiences by allowing you to experience them 100% (Olfy).

Thought-Provoking Conversations

As I attended the various discussions and keynotes, the Immersive Digital Learning topic stood out as a highlight for me, particularly the engaging panel discussion featuring Anaïs Pierre, Bogdan Constantinescu, Jayesh Pillai, and Thierry Koscielniak. Anaïs passionately emphasised that technology serves as a tool, and we must prioritise learning goals before seeking the appropriate technological solution. The use of tech tools must be purposeful and meaningful.
This is exactly how I feel about the use of technology in general. Content and (in my case usually) learning goals first, otherwise your course or product will not find its full potential.

I listened to Kent Bye’s fast-paced talk on the topic of XR moral dilemmas and ethical considerations. He discussed several crucial concerns that we should all be pondering, including the digital divide in access to XR technology, threats to privacy (e.g., biometric data), apparently there is no legislation on this and similar issues.

Furthermore a new concept I hadn’t heard before: mental privacy which is part of a proposed set of rights called the Neuro rights. Mental privacy refers to the protection of an individual’s thoughts, emotions, and mental processes from unauthorised storing and access, particularly in the context of novel technologies that can potentially monitor or manipulate these aspects of the human experience. This really jump-started my brain and I am still processing all the possible implications and reflecting on the ethical and practical considerations of using XR technologies in education and beyond.

During another panel discussion, I was introduced to the concept of eco-design, which involves reducing the energy footprint of eg. VR headsets. It became clear that as VR technology evolves, we must be aware of and address the energy-intensive nature of these devices to create a more sustainable and ethical future. By incorporating eco-design principles, we can minimise the environmental impact of VR and ensure a more responsible approach to technology.

Finding Inspiration in the Arts

Now of course Recto VRso cannot go unmentioned in this blog post. Recto VRso is a component of Laval Virtual, which this year took place partially at Le Quarante, a cultural center in Laval and L’Espace Mayenne. It showcases innovative uses of XR in the field of art and culture. Attendees can interact with some of the  installations that push the boundaries of what is possible in XR art, providing a platform for networking and inspiration in the field – further fueling my passion for the intersection of technology and creativity.

I’d like to single out one installation called Memory house by artist Jiahe Zhao.
According to the artists own words an my rough translation into English: Numerous items hold cherished memories, ranging from beloved family toys to treasured travel souvenirs. “Memory House” offers a solution for storing these memories in a virtual realm. By using 3D scanning technology, memory objects are brought into the virtual space, and through transformation by AI (artificial intelligence), they are manifested into a one-of-a-kind virtual edifice that is ideal for exploration.

And yet Recto VRso seems to be an exception. Over and over have I noticed that XR related applications are heavily situated in the engineering, training/onboarding and skills learning sectors, very little is to be found in the liberal arts world, sadly. Having an academic background in field of liberal arts myself I was excited to discover the creative applications of XR technology at Laval Virtual. I found inspiration in BavARt, an AR-specialised firm that combines art and technology in a Pokémon Go-style app.

Immersion?

As I left LavalVR, I couldn’t help but reflect on my initial question of what defines immersive experiences in VR. Throughout my journey, I discovered that immersion is not just about cutting-edge technology and realistic visuals. It also involves connecting with our emotions, bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds, and finding inspiration in the creative fusion of art and technology. The quest for immersion is a never-ending journey, one that continuously ignites my enthusiasm for discovering the boundless opportunities that await in the world of virtual reality.

Final thoughts

This was my first conference I attend on my own, I knew no one at Laval and because I am not really an extrovert, but an observer if you will, I struggle connecting with  strangers. Most attendees were there in larger parties and would therefore communicate and entertain themselves among each other which makes it for outsiders as myself hard to mingle. I am not complaining just stating what I noticed.
Yet at the hotel I couldn’t help but be involved in socialising with the French during breakfast. As people were arriving to the breakfast they were greeting everybody and they were greeted by the ones already there. People would ask each where they’re from and what they’d do and so forth. There was active communication throughout  breakfast. I loved it

And finally, note that the venues for the Laval Virtual are kilometers away from each other and not just quelques pas (a few steps) as was repeated by officials a few times =)  Nonetheless I took this as an opportunity to walk and boy did I do some walking, a total of 27km on two and a hald days between my hotel and the three venues.

Thank you Laval Virtual et à la prochaine!

***

Background

I am fairly new to the XR world, in fact it was only last October (2022) that I had a VR headset on for the first time, imagine that! Having studied languages, folkloristics and other liberal arts subjects (at the University of Helsinki (UH)) I have noticed that I have a somewhat different approach to technology than most of my peers. I have been working in several positions at UH over the last, almost two decades including as an International exchange expert and Edtech specialist before joining the Global campus team. As a lifelong learner I started studying university pedagogy last year at UH believing it will give me a strong understanding of educational technology. Furthermore I am the chair of Una Europa’s Educational design and technology cluster. For more coherent  info on me see the Us section.

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Case Sustainable Health – a teacher’s view on Global Campus collaboration

Surreal handshake

 

Sustainable Health is a multidisciplinary online course that discusses sustainable development themes in the context of healthcare and life sciences. It serves as the discipline-specific counterpart to the University of Helsinki Sustainability Course (SUST-001). It is currently being piloted in the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Pharmacy, and development is ongoing for its expansion into a massive open online course (MOOC).

The course employs a highly learner-centred approach, giving participants ample freedom in terms of how and when they choose to complete it. The students construct an e-portfolio, where the participants compile reflections on sustainability challenges and solutions. The portfolio may be based on pre-defined assignments or other freely chosen topics that align with the learners’ interests. Mid-course, students exchange peer feedback on their portfolio drafts, and at the end of the course peer assessment is carried out to verify that the portfolios meet the passing requirements of the course. The participants can choose whether they wish to complete the course within one teaching period or over two consecutive periods.

The collaboration with Global Campus begun during the development phase of the first pilot version of Sustainable Health. At the time, large parts of the course content had been prepared and the outlines of course completion mechanics drawn. What we felt was still missing was a unifying concept to tie together the individual topics and tasks of the course in a way that would keep the students motivated throughout the extended periods of self-paced studying. Additionally, we wished to gain expert insight into the execution of the peer feedback and peer assessment workshops. This is where Global Campus stepped in.

I was immediately amazed by the can-do attitude of the whole Global Campus team. In the beginning of the collaboration, I was asked to compile a wish list of features and enhancements for the course that the team could help me with, which felt like a strange position for someone whose work typically involves catering to the wishes of other teachers. Not having a clear sense of the full range of possibilities, I was initially hesitant with my hopes, but it soon became evident that the options would be only limited by my own imagination. For example, what started as an idea for using text-to-speech snippets to introduce the course content was transformed by Global Campus into a full sci-fi narrative, delivered in a post-apocalyptic virtual reality environment by an avatar from the future. Such a mind-blowing reference point has taught me not to hold back my scope based on what I expect to be within the realms of possibility.

Furthermore, I received valuable advice on how to organize the exchange of peer feedback among the course participants and got excellent insight on how to formulate the feedback instructions and questions in a way that would make the assessment process motivating and useful to the students.

Despite the creative and uninhibited atmosphere, working with Global Campus was very organised. With Sasa Tkalcan’s excellent coordination and comprehensive documentation on the shared project whiteboard, the goals were set very clearly, and progress towards them was regularly monitored. I really liked this approach and hope to apply it in other collaborations later on. This was also my first time working with some of the project management tools involved, like Kanban, so I also acquired new tracking methods for my projects.

During the development phase, Sustainable Health was one of two concomitant Global Campus pilots. Despite the completely different disciplines and course topics of the pilots, we had several meetings between both developers and the whole Global Campus team and ended up having an extremely fruitful collaboration based on the shared goal of creating quality e-learning. Some unique ideas that arose in our joint discussions ended up as crucial parts of Sustainable Health (and vice versa, I hope), highlighting the impact of the interdisciplinary brainstorming. I have no doubt that we will keep in touch and continue sharing ideas and good practices with the developers of the sibling pilot also after the finalisation of both projects.

The biggest challenge I faced during the collaboration was the allocation of my personal resources between developing the e-learning mechanics of the course and producing learning materials. The latter task was initially hoped to be shared within a larger group of subject matter experts, but the dynamic nature of the working group and the limited time resources of the experts proved challenging for co-creation. Eventually, I took on a large portion of the scientific content creation to ensure that the course would be ready for piloting on schedule, which limited my availability for the conceptualisation of experimental e-learning elements. On the bright side, the content is now in place with the pilot, allowing the future development of the course to focus purely on educational technology innovation and making the course as fun, engaging, and inspiring as possible. Conversations with the Global Campus team and other pilot developers revealed that the issue may in fact be more general, as it may often be challenging for subject matter experts to find the time to produce certain types of content, such as video lectures. However, it was also highlighted that AI-assisted technologies, such as text-to-speech and digital avatar tools, could significantly reduce this barrier and make it easier to co-develop learning materials in the future.

Overall, working with Global Campus has been a great experience that has really expanded my perspective on what is achievable when open-minded enthusiasm meets with the latest technology. In addition, the collaboration between the two parallel course pilots served as a great example of how multidisciplinary teamwork and idea exchange can greatly enhance course development projects when facilitated by a great team. I feel that by sharing knowledge and best practices between the projects, we established a framework that could be easily adopted to guide future course development initiatives.

Ilkka Miettinen
University instructor / Post-doctoral researcher
Faculty of Pharmacy / Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS)
University of Helsinki