Professional, Continuing, and Online Education Update by UPCEA
Daily updates of news, research and trends by UPCEA
Click on the URL at the end of posting to visit the relevant article or website mentioned in the post.
Monday, March 9, 2026
Empirical validation of a generative AI framework for personalized education assessment - Meina Qian, Hualei Ji & Lianzhi Li, Nature
Here are 5 powerful AI prompts every academic leader should know - Alcino Donadel, University Business
Inside WSU’s first Global Summit on AI, technology, and the future of higher education - Jeff Willadsen, WSU
Sunday, March 8, 2026
Teaching in the age of AI shortcuts - Tovi Grossman, University Affairs
Students will use AI. Here’s what it takes to ensure it strengthens their thinking instead of replacing it. AI isn’t going away — in classrooms or in the broader world our students are preparing to enter. Recent research, including a 2024 systematic review of AI dialogue systems in education lead-authored by Chunpeng Zhai and published in Springer Nature Link, suggests that over-reliance on AI-generated content can weaken critical thinking, analytical reasoning and decision-making. But that same body of work also shows that AI can support learning when it’s structured to promote reflection rather than replacement. For the past two years, my colleagues and I at the University of Toronto — and now through AXL, a Canadian venture studio focused on co-creating human-centric AI — have been working on LearnAid, an AI system built specifically for teaching and learning. LearnAid is now being used at the University of Toronto (U of T) by more than 3,500 students in the computer science department, with plans to expand the platform’s capabilities to other areas of study in the future.
https://universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/teaching-in-the-age-of-ai-shortcuts/
AI in Education: How Technology is Shaping the Future of Learning - Rebecca LeBoeuf Blanchette, SNHU
College students, professors are making their own AI rules. They don't always agree - Lee V. Gaines, NPR
Saturday, March 7, 2026
The End of Universities as We Know Them: What AI Is Bringing - Future AI
The podcast argues that AI is ending the university's monopoly on gatekeeping and credentials by providing scalable, high-quality tutoring that was previously too expensive to mass-produce [00:48]. Rather than a sudden collapse, universities face a "slow leak" where degrees become less predictive of capability and alternative, modular credentials gain acceptance [08:18]. The shift moves the focus from passive consumption and compliance to "proof of work," where the ability to ship products and demonstrate judgment becomes the primary currency in the job market [14:53]. To survive, the podcast suggests institutions must pivot from being content delivery systems to becoming "arenas" that offer high-stakes feedback, deep mentorship, and physical learning environments that AI cannot replicate [13:44]. The narrator emphasizes that while information is now abundant, human-centered assets like taste, courage, and the discipline to turn learning into outcomes are the new scarce resources [19:54]. Ultimately, the traditional "learn then live" model is being replaced by a "learn while living" operating system where education is a continuous, daily cycle [18:41]. (summary assistance by Gemini 3 Fast mode)