czernie

Currents in Digital Education is a monthly guide to navigating the ever-shifting tides of higher education, with a special focus on what matters most in the South African Higher Education context. The Lighthouse lists selected forthcoming events and calls.

SEE mailchi.mp/7a176434acf1...

Open for a cause: fostering participation in society and education - Wikimedia Deutschland Blog The Association for Learning Technology (ALT) and Wikimedia Deutschland are inviting you to an open evening “Education, open participation and democracy: critical reflections” on Nov 27 in the Wikimed...

We're chatting at #Wikipedia25 stream hosted by @www.reclaimhosting.com about this event in 2019, Open for a Cause, which featured @audreywatters.bsky.social and @lornamcampbell.bsky.social as well as @czernie.bsky.social in Berlin, Germany blog.wikimedia.de/2019/11/07/o...

Currents in Digital Education Nov 25 from Universities South Africa is out now.

Curated resources from local waters in South Africa; perspectives from across the southern currents; dipping into northern streams for selected insights; and a Lighthouse section for relevant events and announcements.

Link?

A critical webinar on learning analytics in South Africa: Elizabeth Rakgotho-Booi; Rogers Kaliisa, jean-claude lemmens, Christine Christine Ofulue

Wednesday, 17 Sep2025
12:00 - 14:00
Registration: lnkd.in/d6BGxX92
Enquiries: ntswalo@usaf.ac.za

Hosted by USAf, SAAIR & HELTASA

Students and AI Equity Perspective ECCES 2025.pptx Students and AI: An equity perspective Dr Jennifer Feldman Stellenbosch University, South Africa Prof Laura Czerniewicz University of Cape Town, South Africa June 2025

Thinking about AI and equity from a student perspective, our slides from the recent critical ed tech conference

bit.ly/Students_AI_...

Great opportunity!

registryservices.ed.ac.uk/student-fund...

... our presentation was comprised of three interlinked narratives: Openness and democracy (me), Openness and the AI stack (@helenbeetham.bsky.social), and Openness and legal frameworks (@czernie.bsky.social). Thanks to @jondron.bsky.social, Valerie Irvine, and all at @otessa-org.bsky.social.

High court tells UK lawyers to stop misuse of AI after fake case-law citations Ruling follows two cases blighted by actual or suspected use of artificial intelligence in legal work

High court tells UK lawyers to stop misuse of AI after fake case-law citations.

Fictitious case law and citations put before the courts by lawyers using AI.

False court judgements secured as lawyers chase bigger profits.

AI can't replace human touch, not yet anyway.

OTESSA25 keynote slides - CC+HB+LC Catherine Cronin, Helen Beetham, Laura Czerniewicz OTESSA Conference | 4 June 2025 Addressing challenges to open education in an era of authoritarianism & big tech Image: CC BY Hanna Barakat, Better I...

It was a privilege this week to collaborate with @helenbeetham.bsky.social & @czernie.bsky.social to give a joint keynote at the #OTESSA25 conference. Our presentation was titled 'Addressing challenges to open education in an era of authoritarianism and big tech' docs.google.com/presentation...

I’m supporting Mental Health Awareness Week in the workplace, for better work/life balance and digital literacy for mental health #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #ThisIsMyCommunity

As Audrey Watters recently wrote, it's important to talk about how AI - not just GenAI - is being deployed in schools and its harmful effects.

So let's not forget about online proctoring. I curate "Against Online Proctoring," an open library of journalism, peer-reviewed research, and more, at:

"You can no longer make students do the reading or the writing. So what’s left? Only this: give them work they want to do. And help them want to do it. What, again, is education? The non-coercive rearranging of desire." (Emphasis in original)
archive.ph/PfvmB

Seems to be an argument circulating that there are too many anti-AI voices here. Could be. I try to consider a few things about AI at the same time: 1) it’s a thing that needs to be reckoned with; 2) it can have utility in certain situations; 3) its overall deployment is highly problematic.

@catherinecronin.bsky.social

Survey: Society for Hopeful Technologists — Careful Industries Are you a UK-based technologist interested in joining a body that acts in solidarity against the excesses of extractive platform capitalism? Complete this survey to help shape the Society for Hopef...

Are you a UK-based technologist interested in joining a body that acts in solidarity against the excesses of extractive platform capitalism? Fill out this survey, and help design the Society for Hopeful Technologists www.careful.industries/blog/2025-4-...

African workers are taking on Meta and the world should pay attention A landmark case could see Meta forced to take responsibility for workers’ rights abuses not just in Kenya but globally.

A landmark case could see the US tech giant Meta forced to take responsibility for #WorkersRights violations not just in #Kenya but globally.

Taxes are good, actually. Big fan. Pay them in several countries. Get services in return, including healthcare! All round awesome-sauce.

“Wait, not like that”: Free and open access in the age of generative AI The real threat isn't AI using open knowledge — it's AI companies killing the projects that make knowledge free

Newsletter: The real threat isn't AI using open knowledge — it's AI companies killing the projects that make knowledge free. The future of free and open access isn't saying “wait, not like that” — it’s saying "yes, like that, but under fair terms”.

www.citationneeded.news/free-and-ope...

The work of digital literacies in an age of AI is more important and more complex than ever! And it increasingly requires understanding the political economy of #edtech because individuals cannot be responsible for structural constraints & risks
So glad you are doing this @cherylbrown.bsky.social

Airbnb is telling people who email to complain about their co-founder’s involvement with Musk, that they are refusing emails. 😡
You know what to do!

Fantastic news. More countries should do the same.

Dutch pension fund ABP sells all Alphabet and Meta shares, CEO tells newspaper FD ABP, the Netherlands' largest pension fund, has sold its shares in tech companies Meta and Alphabet , its CEO told Dutch newspaper FD in an interview published on Monday.

💥The Netherlands' largest pension fund, has sold its shares in Tesla, Meta, and Alphabet (Google). The fund with US $569 billion equivolent in assets is "directing more money to companies and projects that help to improve society and the environment." #Divest

www.reuters.com/markets/euro...

How using and misusing metadata really matters – the hidden harms of Whatsapp This is the third part of a four-parter. Part One on avoiding Whatsapp as a political act is here .  Part Two on what’s wrong with Meta is here . Part Four on how to avoid Whatsapp is here .

If you only ever read one thing I ever wrote, read this blog on aggregated metadata and its harms. I thought I understood it pretty well but when I was reading deeper to write this, it was worse than I had imagined...
czernie.weebly.com/blog/how-usi...

Colleagues at #RightsCon2025, do join: "Reskilling for tomorrow: navigating tech transformations and future jobs in the Global South"

I'll focus on the @towardsfairwork.bsky.social initiative to certify AI production networks to improve the jobs of data workers.

rightscon.summit.tc/t/rightscon-...

Great to see you here Hannah. Thank you so much for your thoughtful review of Higher Education for Good. Catherine Cronin and I put out the call before GenAI and before Trump. Oh my, we need hope more than ever before. And connecting with others is part of that!

Thank you @xolotl.org, and whew because #3 was the hardest to write. Of course, you are right about a closer look at alternatives. Just don't get me started on gmail :-)

Great analogy

Thank you so much for letting me know. It is a relief!