Academic staff can range from generative AI acolytes, eager to implement the technology across multiple aspects of learning and teaching, to those who haven’t yet dipped their stylus into so much as a single ChatGPT prompt.
Recognising the challenges for academic staff to start using AI to aid their teaching, the University of Sydney have developed a tool called Cogniti, which has been shortlisted for the 2024 Future Campus Best Use of AI in Learning and Teaching award.
Professor Danny Liu worked with the University’s ICT team, educational designers and academics from across the institution to develop the project, with goals of democratising access to advanced AI tools and enhancing teaching and learning experience.
The Cogniti platform allows educators to access frontier AI models like GPT-4 through a user-friendly web interface, eliminating the where-do-i-start entropy that has stymied many staff from incorporating generative AI into their courses. The platform allows educators to develop AI-driven resources specific to their units and students.
“It lowers barriers to adoption and increases trust in AI,” Professor Liu said.
The platform rollout has been highly successful, with more than 1,100 agents created by 530 teachers across 46 institutions.
Cogniti has facilitated 57,000 conversations with more than 13,500 students, with very positive feedback from users. Summary pages of questions asked by students also help educators understand key learning pain points.
Cogniti has been implemented nationally and internationally at a wide range of universities and aligns with the University’s digital strategy.
Learn more about Cogniti through a two-minute video about the project.
