“AI requires a fundamental shift in teaching methods“

What inspires him most is not the technology itself, but its impact on lecturers and students. “At first, it was mainly digital assessments that I developed as a lecturer to improve the quality of my teaching,” he explains. “Then I began to explore blended learning, MOOCs came along, we had to pull out all the digital stops during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now it’s AI. The key question has always remained the same: how do we use technology in a way that genuinely benefits teachers and students?”

AI: the biggest challenge

At the moment, AI is central to his work. Silvester sees both opportunities and risks.

“My biggest concern is that students will outsource their thinking to AI, so-called ‘cognitive offloading’.” According to Silvester, the rise of AI requires a fundamental shift in teaching methods. “As educational and research institutions, we must find new answers to the way students study, think and develop.” That is why he is working at the VU on AI literacy and on new applications of AI within education. “How do you ensure that students use AI responsibly? But also: how can you deploy AI as a teaching tool? Think of Socratic bots, quiz bots, simulations and role-play.”

Experimentation and scaling up

At the VU, Silvester works according to the principle of the innovation funnel, where lecturers’ needs, technological developments and market offerings converge. “We look at what’s on lecturers’ minds, what the university’s strategy is and what technology is becoming available. We then launch experiments.” Practical questions play a particularly important role in this process. “Does it meet the needs of lecturers and students? Is it scalable? Is it affordable? What about privacy and management? All of that has to be right before you can roll something out on a large scale.”

Creating customised tools more quickly

Looking 5 years ahead in IT remains difficult, he acknowledges. Nevertheless, Silvester sees a trend. “I think that in 5 to 10 years’ time, people will be creating their own apps. You specify what you want to achieve, and AI builds an application for you on the spot. Linked to the tools you’re already using.” This offers huge opportunities for education. “Teachers often have very specific teaching requirements. With AI, you’ll soon be able to create bespoke tools much more quickly that fit an educational design perfectly.” And his personal ambition? “To continue contributing to better education, using technology as a tool.”

SURF Onderwijsdagen: sharing experiences and networking

Silvester has been attending the SURF Onderwijsdagen for many years. His motivation has changed over the years. “At first, I mainly went to find inspiration. I saw a huge number of new developments. Later, it became more of a place to share my own experiences and to network.”

In 2019, Silvester received the SURF Onderwijsaward there for his long-standing commitment to educational innovation and his pioneering work in the field of digital assessment. “I considered it a great honour,” he says. These days, he particularly values the encounters he has during the Onderwijsdagen. Not only with colleagues from other institutions, but also, and especially, with colleagues from the VU. “The VU is a large organisation, and during meetings there isn’t always time to discuss a topic in depth. So when you bump into each other in a setting outside your own institution, it makes for a very pleasant brainstorming session. That’s what the Onderwijsdagen are for, too.”

For teaching professionals who are hesitant, he has some advice: “Take a step back from the daily hustle and bustle. That creates space for reflection. It’s precisely the conversations you don’t have every day with colleagues in the same field, that make the Onderwijsdagen so valuable.”

Text: Brigitte Bloem
Photos: Sicco van Grieken