Nowadays, global education is still facing many difficulties and challenges, such as the unbalanced development of education, political instability, environmental degradation, natural disasters, natural resources competition, and the challenge of population structure, poverty and inequality. The United Nation’s seventeen sustainable development goals to transform the world by 2030 expressed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) includes a focus on quality and equity in education to promote lifelong learning for everyone. The aim of SDG4 is ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (SDG4, 2018).’ Achieving this goal creates a requirement to resolve persistent problems, such as a lack of teachers in some places and many children not developing basic reading and math skills. 

 

The use of intelligent technology to accelerate the reform of the personnel training model, teaching methods, to build a new educational system, including intelligent learning and interactive learning. AI plays an important role in education, adaptive push and lifelong educational customization. The arrival of the AI era, it is possible to solve these problems and challenges; However, it will also increase the gap between some underdeveloped areas and developed areas. Also, it brings new challenges for education, such as the role of educators/learners in the AI society, digital divide, knowledge gap, and also the economy gap between developing countries and developed countries.

 

Therefore, this workshop aims to find ways of achieving SDG4, responding to such challenges, taking into account multiple world views and alternative knowledge systems, as well as new frontiers in science and technology such as the advances in neurosciences and the developments in digital technology, such as AI. 

 

The integration of technology in education is speeding up the reform of the education industry, and the innovative application of AI in education can provide the public with personalized, universal, life-long and quality educational services. It is clear that the field of AI will contribute to grow in terms of power and application areas. It would be a case of social negligence to overlook the potential applications of AI in the field of education and especially in addressing teacher shortages and providing basic education to many neglected populations around the world. This workshop is aimed at sharing the potential of AI to promote educational quality and equity for the benefit of society and all people. Therefore, during the workshop, we do hope to build a bridge of communication, create the learning opportunities of face-to-face communication with international renowned experts, and broaden the scope of AI and education research.  

 

The Workshop will mainly focus on AI and Quality and Equity in Education. More specifically, it involves the following areas of emphasis and topical themes:       
 

1. The state of AI technologies in education 
 

2. AI educational success stories and cases 
 

3. Adaptive technologies for a wide variety of individual learners 
 

4. Implementing AI technologies in rural and less developed locations 
 

5. Cost and implementation details of a variety of AI educational technologies 
 

6. Digital technologies that can support and facilitate the implementation of AI in education 7. Implications of AI educational technologies for teachers and teacher training

 

♦Abstract deadline: Monday, 30 April 2018 at 23:59 UK time
 

♦Abstract Acceptance Notification: 10 May 2018
 

♦Abstracts to be sent to: cyberlearning@bnu.edu.cn
 

♦Workshop: Saturday, 30 June 2018 (afternoon session, time tbc)

♦Venue: Nunn Hall, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL

 
 

 

Dr. Ronghuai Huang is a Professor in Faculty of Education and Dean of Smart Learning Institute in Beijing Normal University, the Director of UNESCO International Rural Educational and Training Centre and the Director of National Engineering Lab for Cyberlearning and Intelligent Technology. He serves as Vice Chairman of China Association for Educational Technology; Vice Chairman of China Educational Equipment Industry Association; Deputy Director of Collaborative and Innovative Center for Educational Technology; Director of Digital Learning and Public Education Service Center; Director of Professional Teaching and Guiding Committee for Educational Technology; Director of Beijing Key Laboratory for Educational Technology. He received “Chang Jiang Scholar” award in 2016, which is the highest academic award issued to an individual in higher education by the Ministry of Education in China. 

 

Dr. Kinshuk is the Dean of the College of Information at the University of North Texas. Prior to that, he held the NSERC/CNRL/Xerox/McGraw Hill Research Chair for Adaptivity and Personalization in Informatics, funded by the Federal government of Canada, Provincial government of Alberta, and by national and international industries. He was also Full Professor in the School of Computing and Information Systems and Associate Dean of Faculty of Science and Technology, at Athabasca University, Canada. After completing first degree from India, he earned his Masters’ degree from Strathclyde University (Glasgow) and PhD from De Montfort University (Leicester), United Kingdom. His work has been dedicated to advancing research on the innovative paradigms, architectures and implementations of online and distance learning systems for individualized and adaptive learning in increasingly global environments. Areas of his research interests include learning analytics; learning technologies;, mobile, ubiquitous and location aware learning systems; cognitive profiling; and, interactive technologies. 

Dr. Ting-Wen Chang is the associate research fellow and the director of international cooperation center in Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University (SLIBNU) for doing the research on Smart Learning as well as making many international cooperation projects since March 2014. As the director of international cooperation center, he has made more than 50 international scholars/experts as well as several oversea institutions for SLIBNU in order to create lots of international cooperation about innovative and the cutting-edge technologies of smart learning. Dr. Chang was the workshop coordinator for some key workshops of SLIBNU, such as in 2017, the 1st Workshop on VR and Immersive Learning in Harvard University, The 4th Annual International Conference “Education & Global Cities: Smart Learning for World Universities” in St. Petersburg, Russia, and The 12th edition of the eLearning Africa Conference in Republic of Mauritius. On September 2017, Dr. Chang has also been responsible for the ME310 Global Project with d.School of Stanford University.

 
 

 

Part 1: Keynote session
 

The workshop invites 2-3 expert keynote speakers from China or the developed countries, one for each of proposed topical areas to provide presentations that focus on that particular theme and which will encourage further dialogue and elaboration. Each of the speakers will be asked to provide a position paper to be included in an edited volume based on the workshop. 

 

Part 2: Panel session
 

A round table discussion which will invited 4-6 experts will be transcribed and summarized for inclusion in the dieted volume as well. 

 

Part 3: Lightning presentation session
 

Call for abstract: a “lightning” presentation will be provided for each researcher and practitioner. 
 

 

Cooperation and sharing of resources: Taking the summit as a focus, we will effectively advance project cooperation, promote smart development of education, achieve win-win cooperation and common development. 

Plan the future and build the blueprint: To adapt to the development trend of the times, and promote the sustainable development of artificial intelligence and education. 

Issued a declaration of meeting: Through the related declaration on artificial intelligence and education, the development direction of artificial intelligence and education is led.

 
 

The Artificial Intelligence to Promote Quality and Equity in Education workshop will be held on Saturday 30 June, afternoon session, at [time tbc] in Nunn Hall, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL. 

 

If you would like to join us at the Artificial Intelligence to Promote Quality and Equity in Education workshop, you would be very welcome. You can follow the instruction and register at https://www.londonfestivallearning.com/page/1327951/registration-

 

If you would also like to give a five-minute ‘lightning’ presentation on your related research, please email an abstract (around 300 words) to cyberlearning@bnu.edu.cn, Please remember that you will only have five minutes to present.

 

All abstracts must be emailed to cyberlearning@bnu.edu.cn by Monday, 30 April 2018 (23:59 UK time).

 
 

All questions about submissions should be emailed to cyberlearning@bnu.edu.cn.