CAVA News

The government’s recent announcement of free AI training for all UK adults marks an important moment for the country’s digital skills agenda. With the launch of TechLocal ,   part of the national TechFirst initiative, the UK is committing to equipping people, employers, and local communities with the skills needed to thrive in an AI-enabled economy. Introducing NOCN Group’s New AI Qualifications In support of this growing national focus on AI capability, we are proud to announce with NOCN Group the launch of two new qualifications: NOCN Level 2 Award in AI Awareness NOCN Level 2 Certificate in AI Awareness These qualifications have been designed to equip learners with essential knowledge and skills to understand and engage with artificial intelligence tools - recognising their practical uses, opportunities, risks, and implications for workplace roles and digital development. They offer accessible, structured routes for individuals wanting to build foundational AI understanding and ...

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has been named as one of the UK government’s ‘five technologies of tomorrow’ (Science and Technology Framework 2023, Department for Education) and it is already delivering wide societal benefits, across healthcare, climate science, and logistics. Within education, AI is transforming how educators and students interact with learning, presenting unique opportunities and challenges. This article explores AI’s role in Further Education (FE), particularly within Access to Higher Education Diplomas, and how institutions can shape AI integration responsibility and effectively. AI and the Access to HE Diploma Access to Higher Education Diplomas play a critical role in providing pathways for adults to enter higher education. With over 40,000 students historically enrolling annually nationwide, the demographic is diverse, including significant numbers from disadvantaged backgrounds, ethnic minorities, and those with disabilities or learning difficulties...

AI continues to develop at a rapid speed, presenting both exciting opportunities and unique challenges within education. As part of our commitment to staying at the forefront of these developments, we wanted to share how we've been integrating AI into our work, ensuring its safe and effective use to support our team and members. Over the past year, we have continued to find ways to implement AI tools into our work, without removing the personal approach we pride ourselves on. Last year we shared guidance on generative AI, and believe this is still a relevant and useful document. We continue to review and update it where relevant to reflect on recent changes. Integrating AI into our Workflow As a team we have started to integrate AI into our workflows, particularly around event preparation. We use ChatGPT to support the creation of scripts based on our team’s notes and discussions and eventually transform these into visually engaging slides and social media posts with tools like Can...

 The Cambridge Assessment Network conference delved into the dynamic landscape of digital assessment, exploring its opportunities and challenges while prompting attendees to envision its future trajectory. Sarah Hughes, Research and Thought Leadership Lead at Cambridge University Press & Assessment, alongside Imogen Casebourne, Innovation Research Lead at DEFI Innovation Lab, University of Cambridge, shared their research, forecasting potential directions for assessment. They outlined four key drivers propelling change: climate change, AI-driven personalised learning, immersive assessment experiences, and the promotion of human flourishing and well-being. The implications for assessment professionals are profound, necessitating the fusion of learning and assessment with digital technologies while upholding the integrity and quality of future assessments. By projecting forward from the envisioned landscape of 2050 to the present day, participants were encouraged to identify acti...

  Exploring the forefront of digital education, the  Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI)  event offered profound insights into the intersection of technology and education. These insights resonate with Access to Higher Education Diplomas, addressing crucial aspects of personalised teaching and learning, human-centric approaches and strategic planning in the age of Generative AI. One of the highlights of the event was Dr. Alina von Davier's presentation on Duolingo's innovative framework for flexible test design using AI. It was particularly fascinating to learn how AI can interact in real time with test takers, guiding writing tasks and assessing abilities based on responses. This marks a significant leap in personalised learning assessment which they term PET-CAT Personalised Ensemble Test (PET) - Computerised Adaptive Test (CAT). As this framework continues to develop, we can envision how such tailored technologies could cater to the diverse learning needs of ad...