Interview with Beatriz Arnillas, VP of Product Management at 1EdTech
Beatriz Arnillas, VP of Product Management at 1EdTech, a nonprofit consortium for educational institutions and edtech suppliers, discusses her journey from art professor to EdTech leader. On the way, she explores how AI is reshaping education, the initiatives at 1EdTech, and the future of digital learning environments.
Can you provide us with an overview of your professional journey from your beginnings as an art professor to your current role as 1EdTech’s VP of Product Management? How have your experiences in education and technology shaped your approach to product management in the edtech sector?
As an art studio professor, I researched non-toxic printmaking methods and began using graphic software to build photo-based printing plates. This led me to explore digital media as a new art medium. I took software and basic HTML coding courses, which eventually allowed me to design and deliver blended and online art history courses. This experience showed me how digital media can support differentiated instruction and learner engagement. After nine years in education leadership and online teaching, I transitioned to workforce development for a private company. Subsequently, I was invited to join the Houston Independent School District as Director of IT – Education Technology. I was in the Houston leadership team that implemented the first large-scale urban digital learning programme in the US, providing laptops to high school students and teachers. This programme emphasised learner-centred instruction and active learning, and unknowingly prepared the district for remote learning during COVID.
I first heard about 1EdTech (then IMS Global) when we were researching technical solutions to design an easy-to-access digital learning ecosystem that included all the learning resources for secondary students. We adopted a learning management system with a lesson planner and a connected digital library certified in 1EdTech OneRoster and Common Cartridge (CC). The standard specifications facilitated the creation of a comprehensive digital library to address students’ diverse learning needs and streamline access and authentication. This was a transformative project that veered my career (again.)
Given your background in both education and technology, how do you see AI shaping the future of learning experiences, particularly in the context of 1EdTech’s work leading up to the Learning Impact Conference 2024?
AI, like any technology, should be adopted based on the problems we are trying to solve. We know that it can automate processes, gather information, report, and save time. We also know that the data can be biased, so it requires fact-checking. Research papers and education newsletters report promising practices and investigate the potential impact of AI to complete time-consuming education tasks, including designing curriculum and lesson plans.
Pedagogical / andragogical strategies should consider shifting focus to fact-checking, critical thinking, deeper learning, metacognition, self-efficacy, and creativity. Robust digital literacy is a must. If we know that students are using AI to write papers, we should modify learning tasks to incorporate fact-checking the essays, research and report of data sources, bias, and hallucinations, and questioning information provided instead of assuming that it is factual. People who don’t learn to use AI effectively will have a limited professional future.
Educational institutions will need to address AI on multiple levels, including institutional mission, administrative processes, privacy and security, professional development, and digital literacy.
1EdTech’s AI work focuses on providing a guide to revising administrative and procurement processes, and a supplier tool to promote transparent information about privacy and security concerns when AI is in use. Our goal at the Learning Impact Conference is to help our members clarify their responsibilities before and after the implementation or adoption of products with AI components.
As innovative technology typically does, AI will disrupt the education market. One thing I have observed during conversations at recent conferences is the number of micro-companies or individuals developing low-cost learning resources. Institutions will have to review and modify procurement processes to ensure the quality of products incorporating AI.
Can you share some insights into 1EdTech’s initiatives and projects involving AI in education? How do these innovations align with the goals and themes of the Learning Impact Conference 2024?
1EdTech’s “TrustEd Apps” programme includes data privacy certification and supplier self-assessments covering security, accessibility, and AI / data practices. Many of our sessions address the data privacy, security, and institutional readiness for AI
1EdTech did a rapid development of the TrustEd Apps AI Data Rubric in late 2023. The tool is a supplier self-assessment to help inform suppliers and education leaders about data concerns when AI is in use. The rubric addresses the need of users to know when genAI is in use, the choices for opting in or out, whether the supplier provides references for the data model, how the data model is improved, and whether the AI tool in use is native or a third-party app. If it is third-party, suppliers are asked to state whether there is a binding agreement between the supplier and the third party requiring adherence to the same data privacy and security standards as that of the main provider. The rubric also benefits educational institutions because the supplier’s self-assessments are published in our Product Directory. The TrustEd Apps programme supports transparency and encourages dialogue between institutions and suppliers before and throughout the procurement process. We have several sessions peppered throughout the conference programme to inform participants about the benefits of using the AI and other TrustEd Apps rubrics.
The 1EdTech Emerging Digital Pedagogies Innovation Leadership Network (ILN) also moved fast to develop the AI Preparedness Checklist. This framework provides guidelines to help educational institutions address the challenges created by the sudden surge of AI use in education. As you probably know, the knee-jerk reaction to genAI was to forbid its use. Of course, institutions soon understood that this is not possible. The AI Preparedness Checklist provides institutions with a systemic guide for establishing protocols, policies, and best practices for using AI in teaching, learning, and administrative processes.
The 1EdTech TrustEd Apps certification and rubrics help suppliers understand their responsibilities and assist institutions in making informed procurement decisions. The TrustEd Apps theme runs throughout the conference programme and is grounded on the fact that the 1EdTech standards provide the specifications to develop TrustEd learning environments.
As someone who has delivered keynotes and consulted with education leaders globally, what trends do you see emerging in the EdTech sector, especially in relation to business education and professional development?
Global trends, including innovative technologies, migration patterns, the uneven quality of basic and secondary education, and shorter employment cycles have created the need for alternative and flexible career pathways. These can include industry certification options and verifiable digital credentials that include evidence of knowledge and transferable skills. In the US, departments of education, schools, and continuing education programmes have an increased interest in our digital credentials standard specifications. Digital credentials provide portable records of employee development and continuing education, which support new opportunities and career shifts.
Digital credential specifications provide good opportunities for Europe’s deep-seated tradition of internships and workforce exchange across countries. In the US, concerns about higher education costs and the inconsistent quality of secondary education have led to career and technical education (CTE) pathways to support continued education and professional mobility. These programmes can also provide the academic skills to transition from a two-year institution to higher education.
The business logic behind this trend includes US employers’ reports that college graduates are not always job-ready and that some jobs don’t always require a higher education degree but do require career-specific competencies. Some industry sectors rely on internal professional development programmes to protect proprietary knowledge. A two-year degree focused on engineering, maths, or technology courses would be sufficient to join these companies. The companies have well-developed internal professional development programmes. Of course, that practice begs the question: what would these workers do when the economy takes a downturn, and those highly specialised engineers or technicians do not have the transferable knowledge or skills to get a job elsewhere? In the technology sector, very large companies provide training for certification in the use of their products and to attract talent. These companies don’t always require a bachelor’s degree. Their competencies and skills are widely known in the market, and third-party courses are also offered by high-quality independent providers.
In this scenario, the edtech sector has the opportunity to offer workforce development programmes and courses to include competencies, knowledge, and skills for well-known careers. They should also consider partnering with industry organisations and providing portable and verifiable digital credentials that certify an individual’s qualifications. Digital credentials empower individuals to track and share at will their education, formal or informal, documented transferable skills, and work experience.
How does 1EdTech leverage AI and other emerging technologies to enhance learning outcomes and cater to the evolving needs of learners and educators in the business education landscape?
1EdTech focuses on developing technical standard specifications based on education use cases and edtech product needs. These standards ensure consistent content packaging, data exchange, seamless access, universal design for learning, and resource / data control. Our members, whether educational institutions, corporations, or industry organisations, design the ecosystems based on their needs. We address the use of innovative technologies by evolving our standard specifications based on our members’ expressed needs to ensure that new technologies can properly connect to the ecosystem, and users can track and report data relevant to the expected outcomes.
In addition to the AI Data Rubric and the Institutional Preparedness Checklist mentioned above, 1EdTech is working with the Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech) as a consulting partner in the AI-ALOE Project. AI-ALOE is a research institute led by GA Tech, and funded by the (US) National Science Foundation (NSF) and Accenture through NSF. AI-ALOE implements AI assistants in adult courses and tracks usage and outcomes data with the dual purpose of determining whether the AI tools can benefit online adult learning, and to use the experiences from online adult education to improve AI. The AI-ALOE project is using a version of 1EdTech’s Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI). The group is considering adopting Edu-API, a standard rostering specification, and Caliper Analytics, a specification that provides user engagement data in consistent format. Researchers will be able to cross-reference tool usage to learner outcomes while obfuscating learner IDs, for privacy. The role of 1EdTech is to provide consulting and support, so GA Tech researchers can build a digital ecosystem that supports the collection of data and analytics to test their hypotheses.
In addition, 1EdTech architects are working along with partners to explore the use of AI to improve and expedite our standard specifications’ development processes and documentation, so we can keep up with edtech innovation.
What are some of the challenges and opportunities you have encountered while integrating AI into educational products and services at 1EdTech, and how do you address them to ensure meaningful impact?
Generative AI is making rapid inroads into all levels of education. Due to the quick introduction, and the urgent need to provide guidance, we did a rapid development of the AI Data Rubric, and formed a task force to further refine it. Our standards development process requires collaboration with suppliers and institutions to ensure that the standards actually address expressed education challenges and needs. Balancing input from a large, knowledgeable group while maintaining progress is challenging.
An unexpected challenge: members from the AI Data Specification and Rubric task force indicated that other educational organisations have also developed AI checklists, rubrics, and guides. To address this, 1EdTech is working on a table that compares these instruments and their intended audiences. For example, our AI Rubric is the only self-assessment of supplier AI practices. To ensure that the report is valid, we have asked the authors of the other instruments to review and confirm that the descriptions and intended audiences are correct.
An ongoing challenge: 1EdTech is a non-profit organisation. Our members pay fees and contribute with technical knowledge. Our standards are open. Anyone can adopt them, but we very much need, and are grateful for, the suppliers and institutions who have made a commitment to contribute with their membership and participation, so we can keep doing this good work.
A new challenge: 1EdTech and its members own the intellectual property of the 1EdTech standard specifications and rubrics. Like any author, artist, or creator in the world today, our work could be at risk. A third party could use our content to develop AI assistants and endanger our ability to continue this important work, and intellectual property legislation related to AI is still uncertain.
Can you share any success stories or case studies where AI-driven solutions have significantly improved learning experiences or outcomes for users of 1EdTech’s products?
While it’s early to announce outcomes, we are proud of our participation in Georgia Tech’s AI-ALOE project. This research, grounded in learning theory, aims to understand AI’s potential in online adult learning and to make recommendations about effective uses of AI in education. Additionally, supplier members have informed us that they are working with university experts to build AI models. This demonstrates our supplier members’ commitment to the responsible development and implementation of AI in education.
How do you ensure that AI technologies are ethically and responsibly implemented in the development of educational solutions at 1EdTech, especially considering the diverse global audience you cater to?
Our standards are adopted only if we are good at communicating their value. At Learning Impact 2024, our keynote and panel discussions will address ethical AI in education. We insist on developing standards that support improved teaching and learning, promote accessibility and equity, and ensure data safety and privacy. Partnering with university research leaders and promoting constant and open dialogue are crucial for ethical AI use. The field of education will benefit from AI only if we succeed in disseminating the urgent need for digital literacy. Of course, digital literacy is not in our core mission. But we can help the educational institutions deliver their digital literacy curriculum, and help them understand what questions to consider when creating that digital curriculum as this technology evolves.
In your opinion, what role does AI play in bridging the gap between traditional education models and the demands of the digital age, and how can organisations like 1EdTech contribute to this transformation?
1EdTech supports connected, data-rich digital ecosystems. Our standards enable diverse learning methods and lower implementation costs. AI can help build effective alternative learning and career pathways, supporting lifelong learning and career changes. Collaborations with universities, industry, and government are essential for developing responsible AI and supporting research on its educational impact.
If we combine the power of AI tools with alternative certification pathways and digital credentials, we can help people find pathways to a productive life, no matter their nationality, socioeconomic status, or how many times they need to gain new knowledge to shift their career. A good AI data model could help students envision and identify career tracks based on their strengths and interests (if we carefully address bias), and support career shifts at any point in their lives. With AI, a country or an international organisation can create large databases of commonly needed, transferable skills, and career certification options.
We will continue to partner with universities, industry associations, government, and non-profit organisations to support the development of responsible and ethical AI using expert-developed data models. Our part is to help these organisations build the architecture that supports the capture of the learning and research data and the schools that need to deliver a new digital literacy curriculum (this last item is urgent). Considering the speed of technology innovation, we will need to support continuous research about when and how AI or other innovative technologies improve learning.
Looking ahead, what do you envision as the future of AI in education, and how do you see 1EdTech continuing to innovate and lead in this space beyond the Learning Impact Conference 2024?
Current and future innovative technologies can help us deliver more effective education and work opportunities. AI cannot and should not replace teachers, but AI can make teachers’ jobs easier. It can help us deliver learning resources that adjust to diverse learners’ needs while reducing the amount of work. AI can also help us develop learning aids in various formats to address learner variability. It can be used to design responsive systems, provide supplementary text or video resources in various reading levels, or common foreign languages to address the needs of immigrant children. AI assistants and tutors developed by experts can fill in knowledge gaps via questioning prompts (not answering questions).
Finding information has been enhanced by search engines for a long time. However, search engines were developed for commerce. This is why, when we ask a question in a search engine, we typically get information related to previously recorded personal interests. For this reason, educators and researchers have emphasised the need to teach students how to perform searches and validate content. The same is true for AI. More than ever, it is important that educators focus on digital literacy, fact-checking, deeper learning, critical thinking, metacognition, self-efficacy, and creativity. We will have to develop strategies to assess and improve the quality of data models. All of us involved in education must continue to learn. This is hard work, but if we don’t maintain control over the sources and development of learning resources, educational practices, and data, the marketplace will do it.
1EdTech’s collaborative approach, involving over a thousand member organisations, allows us to tackle the need for standard specifications so the learning ecosystem is built with the educators and learners in mind. We are exploring AI to automate certification processes and expedite documentation, shortening the development cycle. Ethical AI use and continuous research will be essential as we support the education community.
Executive Profile
Beatriz Arnillas has held various roles in private and public universities, including Tenured Art Professor, Director of Service-Learning, Assistant Chair of Fine Arts, and Head of Education Production and Outreach. During her administrative tenure, she designed and delivered blended and online courses, as well as produced and managed industry certification programmes, including Instructional Systems Design and Strategic Foresight.
Beatriz then transitioned to the role of Director of IT, Education Technology at Houston Independent School District (HISD). At HISD, Beatriz played a pivotal role in implementing the first large-scale urban education technology programme (PowerUp) in the US. She has also consulted with education leaders in Norway, Germany, Malta, Mexico, South Africa, China, and the US.
Beatriz holds a double major in Education and Art from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Kentucky.
