ETUG Spring 2025
These are my reflections on the ETUG Spring 2025 Workshop – Show Me How You Did It: Getting Back to Hands-On in EdTech.
Questioning Authority: How the Socrates Plugin Uses AI to Foster Critical Thinking
Why I liked it
Richard Tape from UBC introduced a Wordpress plugin called Socrates. The plugin started from one instructor's "News of the week" email newsletter.
'My job is to take something that works for one instructor and make it possible for others'
Richard Tape
The "News of the week" newsletter was created to connect learning outcomes to current events. According to Richard, student feedback was incredibly positive. With the explosion of LLMs and generative AI, Socrates evolved. The plugin autopopulates the "News of the week" newsletter from weighted RSS feeds that employs (user-chosen) AI to rate each article 1-10 based on keywords and a detailed prompt. The plugin allows users to automatically curate a list of links and create and send a "News of the week" post.
Additionally, Socrates can be used as an AI-enchanced chatbot that prompts students with contextual questions asking students to critically reflect on their learning. This function is not unique to Socrates, but having a pre-prompted and subject specific chatbot streamlines the reflective process for students.
Why it’s useful
As it is, generative AI is better at asking questions than it is at answering them. The Socrates plugin and contextual chatbot could be an excellent tool for students to reflect and critically consider complex topics.
Using AI in this way is also a useful introduction to (academically) ethical use of AI. As opposed to putting a blanket ban on AI, this approach shows some uses of AI can be useful without presenting any academic integrity concerns.
A certain level of trust is required to allow AI to curate a newsfeed. I am unsure if I personally trust it less than the 4 oligarchs that control almost all of western media.
How I will use it
As we have limited control over plugins on our (soon to be replaced?) Langara Wordpress, I will look into having Socrates added to opened.ca.
I do not personally foresee a use for the AI-enhanced chat bot, but the link aggregator strikes me as an incredibly useful tool for efficiently sifting through the deluge of information available. An automatically curated collection of articles could inform a newsletter, professional devleopment playlists, or other knowledge base.
Demo Fest
ETUG included an afternoon "Demo Fest" where various presenters offered quick demos and conversations in an exhibition style.
Why I liked it
While ETUG presentations are always interesting, the change of pace was welcome.
Why it’s useful
The exhibition style allowed participants to wander, browse, or engage with various tools, interfaces, and projects at their leisure. Instead of pretending to listen politely to a presentation that did not interest me, I could wander from booth to booth, eavesdropping and stealing glances at the demonstration, and moving along once my interest was satiated.
How I will use it
One specific use gleaned from the Demo Fest was a plan to impliment a Digital Literacy Challenge based on the BCcampus demo booth. I missed the announcement of these challenges and was pleased to hear about this one directly from the creator.
Using Visme & WordPress to Deliver Interactive Just in Time Teaching
Why I liked it
Admitedly, I did not take useful notes on this session. However, I found a few elements extremely useful, particulalry the results of the presenters' focus group testing with doctors that instruct at UBC.
Why it’s useful
According to their findings, instructors want just-in-time resources. By just-in-time, the focus group meant no more than 5 clicks to get to, no logins, and to be consumed in less than 5 minutes. While this was a specific group, the lessons of their wants are ubiquitous. Instructors may not have a lot of time to learn about something, especially as it relates to something outside their field, such as educational technology. Meeting people where they are may be a useful way to increase engagement with our professional development offerings and support resources.
How I will use it
Admitedly, I am not sure. This session may be food for thought or a reminder to (re)engage with instructors to ensure we are delivering what they need in formats that work for them. However, that is only a half measure because it is essential that instructors know what students need, in formats that work for students. Meeting instructors where they are at may not actually be useful, because some instructors are not using educational technology in ways that benefit students.
Building a Second Brain with Digital Notebooks
Why I liked it
This presentation was an extremely practical session just gently outside the realm of the regular ETUG fare. Britt from BCcampus presented their workflow on how to store digital artifacts using the PARA method. PARA (Project, Areas, Resources, and Archive) is a framework for sorting and storing information such as files, notes, links, and other bits. I personally use that method for files, email, and task organization using AARV (Active, Areas, Resources, and Vault) because those labels sort alphabetically.
Why it’s useful
Watching the demo reinforced my hunch that Obsidian is not for me. Exploring Notion revealed that Microsoft Loop is very similar and should be used to greater effect for note-taking, project management, and collaboration.
How I will use it
Britt stressed the idea of a digital garden, focusing more on the idea of gardening than having a finished garden. It might be a leap in logic that only tracks for me, but this session has inspired me to revisit the idea of tagging all my content with an eye to reducing or even eliminating digital folders. Where to start... where to start? Unfortunately OneDrive/SharePoint does not offer a useful tagging tool.
Table Talks
ETUG Spring 2025 concluded with table talks. Attendees were asked to choose 3 of 8 topics and discuss with peers for 10 minute table talks. Tables hosted topics such as assessment, AI, trends, and the BC Digitial Learning Strategy and Digital Literacy Framework.
Why I liked it
The final presentation at ETUG is often given to a half-empty room of people packing up their laptops. The activity initially felt like a chore (no one likes group work), but the lively conversation with peers from other institutions was engaging and informative.
Why it’s useful
Apart from making the final afternoon of ETUG more lively, the chance to hear from other instutitions prompted excellent discussion. Hearing ideas, struggles, missteps, and concerns from others was an excellent opportunity for empathy, community-building, and reflection.
How I will use it
Like many discussions, there may not have been concrete takeaways from the table talks. Given the general mood of the sector and the seemingly wicked nature of the problems, the table talks may have been more of a release valve than a call to action. That is a useful exercise too.