The first Accessible Digital Futures workshop in London on 28 February 2024 explores the opportunities and barriers to AI and accessibility in higher education at Jisc.

29 April 2024

Dr Ann Kristin Glenster, Executive Director, Glenlead Centre

In late February, Kellie Mote and I hosted the first workshop of the Accessible Digital Futures project. The project is a collaboration between the Glenlead Centre and Jisc that will explore how digital technologies, including AI, can transform accessibility in higher education.

Our workshop was led by Dr Steve Watson, the Glenlead Head of Education Research and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge. With participants from twenty-two universities, policymakers and civil servants, we spent an afternoon at Jisc’s London office working through questions of AI and accessibility.

Our findings:

1. Accessibility must be part of the overall discussion on AI in higher education
2. Accessibility should be included from the earliest stages of devising policies, standards, best practice guidelines, and procurement plans for all AI tools and products
3. Fears about AI must be met by upskilling the workforce, ensuring the safeguarding of individual students using specific AI tools, and structurally ensuring equality of access across the higher education sector

Lively discussion showed that there is enthusiasm but also concerns regarding the uptake of AI in higher education and what this can mean for accessibility. Some participants advocated for incremental change through the adoption and development of existing AI tools. Others proposed a radical reimagination of higher education through AI, where accessibility would be a driving force.

In summary, the workshop identified were six areas for further work:

1. AI skills: There is a need for upskilling across the board, from students, to staff, to sector leaders
2. Procurement framework: There is a need for a shared procurement framework for the uptake of AI tools and products across the sector – there is no clear standard for what is meant by ethical or responsible AI
3. Student input: Student voices and perspectives must be central, which necessitates co-design and collaboration
4. Human-centred policies: AI tools should be developed and adopted for the sake of humans, not AI – AI tools cannot replace human educators
5. Sectoral collaboration: Fora are needed for people from across the higher education sector to share experiences, knowledge, and opportunities. Collaboration is needed both horizontally and vertically, and should include all types of higher education institutions
6. Institutional capacity: Institutions need to build their capacity to adapt to the transformative power of AI

You can find our workshop report here.

Dr Sylwia Frankowska-Takhari at the City University of London has also written a brilliant blog about the event, where she observes that people with disabilities must be directly involved in edtech decisions.

So what’s next?

Kellie and I are hosting an online event on 7 May 2024 at 1:00pm to continue the conversation. Please feel free to sign up through our project page: Digital Accessible Futures.

We are also planning an in-person event on procurement at a London-based university 16 May 2024. More information to follow.

Finally, please visit our project page to sign up to our Jisc mailing list to join in the conversation.