Western Sydney University was the only Australian University to pilot GenAI educator tools developed by OpenLearning. Our pilot demonstrated productivity efficiencies of 20% in course design, content production, and pedagogically sound learning activities.

Our objectives were to assess and evaluate how we could develop a skills-based course with interactive activities based on a social-constructivist pedagogy, where learners get to apply and learn through interacting with real-life scenarios and their peers. Using the AI educator tools we explored the development of learning outcomes, curriculum structure, module content and thumbnail images in the design of online courses. Using GenAI to draft learning outcomes and a curriculum structure for the online course enabled educators and designers to focus their efforts on refining the learning experience. Using GenAI for imagery also added design enhancements to the course within a few simple steps which further increased our productivity to focus on creating innovative and engaging learning activities and assessments. OpenLearning’s AI educator tool also suggested different types of assessments, such as quizzes, performance tasks, rubrics, and self-assessments, that suited the topic and level of the course.

We found that OpenLearning’s AI educator tools can speed up course creation for users who are familiar with OpenLearning’s existing activity templates, have a clear plan for their course, are well-versed in creating online experiences, and have experience in AI prompting. The results of the pilot also show that OpenLearning’s AI educator tools can be successfully applied to develop social-constructivist online learning experiences, with productivity gains reported for facilitators’ development time. The GenAI tools can also help educators with limited to no online learning design experience to create a well-structured social-constructivist online course.

An additional outcome from the pilot was revealed as developing the AI literacy and fluency of facilitators. By using GenAI, facilitators can generate content, constructively aligned learning activities and assessment, and free up time for them to focus on building better communities of learners and stronger learner relationships to create a sense of belonging.