e-Assessment Association AI Symposium post event Q&A with headline sponsor risr/ and eAA CEO Pat Coates
One month on from the e-Assessment Association inaugural AI symposium, risr/’s Richard Leith caught up with eAA CEO Pat Coates to get the lowdown on the day itself, what Pat’s biggest surprise of the event was, and what the symposium might look like going forward. Here are the highlights from that discussion:
Pat, how was the event?
“The event was a resounding success, held at a great venue and attended by a high calibre of participants. In addition, one-third of attendees were from overseas and everyone shared an in-depth understanding of the merits of AI’s use in e-assessment, which led to some really engaging and insightful conversations.
“There were also several memorable presentations and interactive panel discussions which were all superb and delivered really well. Interaction should always be the essence of these events. For example, as part of our delegate interaction, we did a survey on the day that actually highlighted the interest of our attendees in ‘e-marking’ – which I’ve been heavily involved in throughout my career, so that was an enjoyable result. As a result, it’s going to form the focus of our next AI special interest group meeting!
“I was naturally nervous throughout the day wanting everything to go to plan, but delegate feedback was all very positive. We were able to create opportunities for networking and relationship-building, whilst delivering some excellent content, all of which was vital in allowing our attendees to share ideas and discuss all things AI and assessment.”
What was your key takeaway from the day?
“The popularity of the event! We initially planned for 40-50 attendees but were thrilled to host 106 participants, which presented a challenge in sourcing enough microphones—a high-class problem to have.
“Th event gave us some great insight though, which we’ll be taking full advantage of when we’re planning the next eAA AI-focused get together. We’re using the feedback from the voting at the session to provide focus for our AI SIG session at the end of the month, which is going to be on use of AI for marking exams.
Was there anything you found surprising?
“I think the high attendance really underlined the fact that people are interested in AI. Often, it’s the case that people become rapidly less tolerant of something the more and more it’s discussed, but AI clearly remains a hot topic, especially in assessment.
“There can be a lot of inertia and cultural resistance to the type of change that AI might bring to the assessment process. But we were able to attract a cohort of people open to its potential, who are already doing great work with it and able to facilitate a forum where it can be discussed in advanced detail.
“Going forward, it might even be the case that we split future events into parallel sessions to cater to varying levels of expertise. Regardless of how we approach it, it’s clear that AI absolutely has the ability to transform assessment and it was brilliant to see just how seriously people from all over the sector are taking it and its capabilities.”
What things would you change or keep the same for next year?
“The current one-day format works well, but going forward we might extend the symposium to allow for more in-depth discussions while maintaining the overall structure. We want to continue to facilitate discussion and openness, so we’re considering putting discussion topics to attendees in advance of the event to boost their involvement.
“It might also be the case that we provide speakers and award nominees with a slightly longer lead time for submissions, to give them more time to collect data and evidence to support their proposals. Ultimately, we want to keep uncovering the outstanding work that’s being done in the sector.
“AI is progressing at an unbelievable rate, which is presenting numerous opportunities. We want to keep progressing global representation at the event, to make sure we’re platforming true innovation and success, no matter which corner of the globe it originates from.”
risr/ was proud to be the headline sponsor of the first ever eAA AI symposium and as Pat has detailed, it was a brilliant event that spotlighted the impressive work of a diverse range of attendees.
If you missed out this time round, keep your eyes peeled for upcoming events to chat to the risr/ team about all things AI and assessment.
Want to be the first to hear about all things e-Assessment? Join the eAA (membership is free for individuals).
