It wasn't that long ago when ideas like virtual reality and artificial intelligence were for active imaginations and science fiction.
Even when the University of Calgary purchased a $16.5-million "supercomputer" in 1984, few could have imagined where technology would take us.
Lauded as the first Control Data Cyber 205 in Western Canada and the first at a Canadian university, it was able to perform more than one function at a time a novel concept for computers back then.
More than 40 years later, UCalgary remains at the leading edge of technological research and innovation as researchers invest their time and efforts into understanding the latest gadgets while trying to determine what might be next.
At the Werklund School of Education, that includes the impacts on faculty members and students in post-secondary institutions.
The future is now, says Dr. Soroush Sabbaghan, PhD'15, as AI has quickly become the next big focus.
"I think the most immediate impact is it's rebalancing where human effort goes," he says. "For example, instructors have routine tasks, like drafting a rubric or designing a lesson plan, which AI can now do."
Sabbaghan is an associate professor at Werklund and the Educational Leader in Residence in GenAI at the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, a position that supports his efforts in advancing generative AI (GenAI) practices and standards at UCalgary.
He has edited a new book, Navigating Generative AI in Higher Education, which includes contributions from other UCalgary faculty members, looking at the positives and negatives around the latest technological advancement.
Tools for the future
When UCalgary purchased the Control Data Cyber 205, it was heralded as a game-changer for its functionality and ability to be accessed by others in the community, an economic boon for the institution.
Each new technological step that followed, from increasingly affordable and portable personal computers to widely accessible internet, brought a new opportunity to enhance productivity and drive innovation.
Sabbaghan says the same holds true with AI, which was first conceptualized in 1956, but has only started to take off over the last decade.
It's allowing researchers to scour very large databases of text, audio and video in a fraction of the time and cost it would have taken to do so manually allowing for more coaching and mentoring.
For students, Sabbaghan says it opens new doors for productivity but also for inclusive and accessible learning.
"It's going to make it easier for our multilingual students to get a better grasp of the content," Sabbaghan says. "It's going to help students who have reading challenges as AI can make that content oral, and it can also increase or decrease the complexity of content for students."
Sarah Eaton. Photo Courtesy Gavin of John
Academic integrity in a technological world
From passing notes and whispering to graphic calculators and mobile devices, cheating has taken various forms over the last 60 years and AI invariably creates a new option.
GenAI has become more prevalent than ever before thanks to popular apps like ChatGPT, CoPilot and Grok, all having the ability to create new content.
Dr. Sarah Eaton, MA'97, PhD'09, contributed to the new book edited by Sabbaghan, having focused her research energy on academic integrity during this technological evolution.
She says it's important to have students use AI to supplement their learning instead of circumventing it.
"We still want students to be able to do certain things and think certain ways like problem solve and think critically," says the Werklund School professor. "There's no evidence in the literature that shows any technology diminishes a person's ability to think critically or problem solve."
Every course instructor is free to determine if and how GenAI will be incorporated in their courses and students are expected to follow these expectations. Eaton believes instructors shouldn't be limiting the use of technologies like AI simply out of fear of cheating, as it takes time and energy away from their efforts in solving big societal problems.
According to research led by Eaton, more than half of instructors cannot correctly identify when a text was written by AI. The key is to assess students in ways that allow them to show what they have learned and how they have learned it.
Leaning into new technologies and inventions
Most people now have more technological power in their pocket than UCalgary's supercomputer had in 1984, thanks to advancements in mobile devices, laptops and data.
Eaton says it's only going to get more complex as we see things like AI glasses become more prominent.
While students have a choice on how they are used, she says it's up to researchers and universities to understand the gadgets and how they can be used as another tool, instead of trying to vilify it.
"We can't stop the development of the technology," says Eaton. "I think it's our responsibility to prepare students to be stewards of the future that we can't yet imagine."
Sabbaghan believes a fundamental shift is needed in how professors assess students, starting with rewarding transparency in how students think and process the information they are given with tools like AI.
He says AI will likely become just as acceptable and accessible in the classrooms and laboratories as the supercomputer and TI-83s were before it, so AI literacy should be treated as a long-term institutional priority.
"Especially as new fields emerge, I think that we need to have not just a policy, but clear, student-facing expectations so that students aren't confused," Sabbaghan says. "Those expectations need to be presented in a way that students understand how following a particular path is going to benefit them later on."
As this emerging technology continues to evolve, the UCalgary community can tap into the many resources available on campus. Online and in-person workshops related to the effective and ethical use of AI are available through the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Ethics, Literacy and Integrity (CAIELI), a Werklund School of Education and Libraries & Cultural Resources collaboration. The Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning offers consultations for instructors who want to explore how to integrate AI into courses, along with assessment and GenAI tool supports.
Learn more about UCalgary's AI teaching, learning and research resources.
In just six decades, the University of Calgary has grown into one of Canada's top research universities a community defined by bold ambition, entrepreneurial spirit and global impact. As we celebrate our 60th anniversary, we're honouring the people and stories that have shaped our past while looking ahead to an even more innovative future. UCalgary60 is about celebrating momentum, strengthening connections with our community and building excitement for what's next.
