Paul Hollins Professor

This paper investigates the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) technology and educational policy in higher education, highlighting key research and implementation. The paper focuses on critical considerations for AI policy development with a view to producing a roadmap focused on contextual higher education AI policies. The rapid development of AI presents both significant opportunities and challenges for higher education institutions in Europe and globally. As AI technologies become ubiquitous, integrated into teaching, learning, and administrative functions, it is essential to identify critical considerations at the core of the AI integration process, namely: (1) regulatory framework, (2) stakeholder-specific guidelines, (3) AIED research, and (4) AI literacy. As a starting point, the paper presents a review of existing AI policy frameworks within higher education, drawing on recent empirical research, identifying four design and implementation priorities for higher education stakeholders aiming to create responsible AI governance frameworks. As a result, we propose a roadmap designed to be used as strategic planning instrument for higher education stakeholders developing AI policies and guidance. In proposing a strategic roadmap for AI policy development, the work offers valuable insight into how higher education can effectively leverage the potential of AI whilst ensuring ethical considerations, equity, and maintaining academic integrity. Additionally, the paper contributes to the ongoing discourse regarding AI’s role in higher education in proposing research pathways that will benefit all stakeholders involved in the academic ecosystem.

The decline of traditional media and channels of communication has led to policymakers experiencing difficulty in understanding public sentiment. A case study was conducted to explore how games-based activities can be used to provide a link between citizens and policy makers. A system developed by PlanetPlay, and extended in the GREAT project, was used to embed a survey in the game SMITE. The intervention and survey questions were designed in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Hi-Rez game studio. The effectiveness of the infrastructure and the collaborative approach were demonstrated. The results revealed some significant differences in views on climate change between different age groups, genders, and education level. However, the data was heavily skewed towards males in the 18-35 age group, and to respondents in the United States, which limited the generalizability of the findings. It was concluded that in-game placement in collaboration with games studios is more effective than paid placement, and that a wider variety of games is needed to ensure that a study has an adequate range of respondent profiles. Finally, reflections are offered on the possible role of AI in gathering such data.

This paper analyses 15 AI policies for higher education from eight European countries, drawn from individual universities, from consortia of universities and from government agencies. Based on an overview of current research findings, it focuses the comparison of different aspects among the selected AI policies. The analysis distinguishes between four potential target groups, namely students, teachers, education managers and policy makers. The paper aims at contributing to the further development and improvement of AI policies for higher education through the identification of commonalities and gaps within the existing AI policies. Moreover, it calls for further and in particular evidence-based research to identify the potential and practical impact of AI in higher education and highlights the need to combine AI use in (higher) education with education about AI, often called as AI literacy.

A proliferation of wearable sensors that record physiological signals has resulted in an exponential growth of data on digital health. To select the appropriate repository for the increasing amount of collected data, intelligent procedures are becoming increasingly necessary. However, allocating storage space is a nuanced process. Generally, patients have some input in choosing which repository to use, although they are not always responsible for this decision. Patients are likely to have idiosyncratic storage preferences based on their unique circumstances. The purpose of the current study is to develop a new predictive model of health data storage to meet the needs of patients while ensuring rapid storage decisions, even when data is streaming from wearable devices. To create the machine learning classifier, we used a training set synthesized from small samples of experts who exhibited correlations between health data and storage features. The results confirm the validity of the machine learning methodology

Much has been written about the theoretical potential of digital games to transform teaching and learning and to offer new forms of digital assessment; yet the education system in the United Kingdom (UK) is arguably still focused exclusively on the assessment and reward of individual effort and achievement. This can be at odds with the requirements of twenty-first century working environments and in the requirements for developing the personal employability characteristics of students. Engaging students in authentic collaborative project work that requires sophisticated and coordinated communication can present real challenges.
Employers are increasingly demanding as prerequisite that graduates have highly developed communication and collaborative team working skills for opportunities in the digital industries such as Games Design, however Games Design students are often quite isolated in their personal industry related practice, working methods and their online lifestyles and lack the "soft skills" which would enable them to work successfully within a team. The authors elaborate on how Hull School of Art and Design has attempted to address this problem through the implementation of an Applied Game, the "Watercooler Game", for their Games Industry undergraduates. They present their reflections on the rationale behind the pedagogic approach, the decision to develop an applied game to address their pedagogic challenges and their experience of working with a commercial Games Developer in producing the game. Using a sophisticated evaluation framework, devised as part of the EU Horizon 2020 funded Realising an Applied Gaming Eco-system (RAGE) project, the authors present the initial findings of their evaluation of game from a multidimensional perspective. The pedagogic approach, the technical approach adopted by the developers of the game (an open source asset based approach) and the pedagogic efficacy of the game through evaluation of the learning objectives achieved and how these finding may be applicable in a wider educational context.

This paper presents the architecture of the RAGE repository, a unique and dedicated infrastructure that provides access to a wide variety of advanced technology components for applied game development. The RAGE project, which is the principal Horizon2020 research and innovation project in applied gaming, will develop software components (RAGE software assets) that are reusable across a variety of game engines, game platforms and programming languages. The RAGE repository provides storage space for these assets and associated artefacts and is designed as an asset life-cycle management system for defining, publishing, updating, searching and packaging for distribution of the assets. The repository will be embedded in a social platform for asset developers and other stakeholders. A dedicated Asset Repository Manager provides the main functionality of the repository and its integration with other systems. Additional Tools supporting the Asset Manager are also presented and discussed. When the RAGE repository is fully operational, applied game developers will be able to enhance the quality of their games through the application of selected advanced game software assets. By making available the RAGE repository system and software assets the RAGE project’s aim is to stimulate the development and uptake of the Applied Games Industry IN Europe.