From May 23rd to 25th, 2024, the “Application and Innovation of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Teaching” – Thailand-China Collaborative Digital Literacy Workshop and Leadership Forum was successfully held in Bangkok, Thailand. The event was hosted by Thai MOOC, Tsinghua University, and XuetangX, and co-organized by UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education, UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, Global MOOC and Online Education Alliance, Asian Universities Alliance, and Chulalongkorn University.
Nearly 150 leaders and faculty members from over 40 universities in Thailand and China, including Chulalongkorn University, Chiang Mai University, Prince of Songkla University, Suranaree University of Technology, Tsinghua University, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Shenyang University of Technology, Shanghai University, Guangxi University, Guilin University of Technology, Liaoning Vocational College of Medicine, participated in the event.
Thapanee Thammetar, Director of Thai MOOC, and Wang Xiaoxiao, Director of the Online Education Center at Tsinghua University, delivered welcome remarks on behalf of the hosts.
Thapanee Thammetar enthusiastically welcomed the Chinese university guests to Bangkok and stated that Thai MOOC’s primary mission is to promote lifelong learning, facilitate the sharing of high-quality educational resources, and support educational innovation by leveraging technology and innovation to improve educational outcomes and competitiveness. She believes that this workshop not only aims to foster academic collaboration between the two countries but also to provide teachers and staff with insights into using artificial intelligence technology for teaching.
“As founding members of the Global MOOC and Online Education Alliance, we have solid collaboration in global engagement with Thai MOOC,” said Wang Xiaoxiao. She mentioned the significance of the application and innovation of generative artificial intelligence in teaching in her remarks. Moreover, she advocated that universities and platforms should actively promote the sharing of high-quality educational resources and advanced information technology, and she looks forward to more practical cooperation between Chinese and Thai universities on resource sharing, improving teachers’ digital literacy, and technical exchanges.
Wang Libing, Chief of the Section for Education at UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok, delivered the opening remarks. He stated that higher education institutions have immense potential in applying artificial intelligence to minimize carbon footprints and achieve more sustainable and personalized applications. “Higher education institutions should adopt a balanced approach, integrating both large language models and small language models, while prioritizing sustainability and purposeful AI integration,” said Wang Libing. “Cultivating a culture of responsible and ethical use of AI is essential. By raising awareness of the environmental impact of AI technologies, higher education institutions can make progress towards more sustainable and customized AI integration.”
Wang believes that small language models have great potential for applications in higher education. First, small language models have the advantages of efficient operation and low energy consumption, making them particularly suitable for higher education applications and able to reduce carbon footprints, thus promoting environmental sustainability. Second, small language models can promote educational equity, especially in regions with limited digital infrastructure, by serving a wider user base and enabling the fair use of local AI technologies and the development of local talent through the use of local datasets and customized algorithms. Third, small language models perform exceptionally well in data privacy and personalized learning. They are able to protect data privacy and security while providing personalized learning experiences and supporting the open and widespread dissemination of educational resources.
The remarks were followed by the signing of the second batch of the Thailand-China MOOC Collaboration Agreement by Thapanee Thammetar and Wang Xiaoxiao, witnessed by Wang Libing.
During the keynote speeches, distinguished speakers including Rattasit Sukahuta, Vice President of Chiang Mai University, Proadpran Punyabukkana, Chief Learning Innovation Officer and Acting Director of Learning Innovation Center at Chulalongkorn University, Wang Xiaoxiao, and Peng Linxin, Deputy Director of Academic Affairs Office at Guangxi University, delivered insightful presentations on the intersection of artificial intelligence and digital literacy. Scholars from leading institutions including Professor Ma Yuchun from Tsinghua University, Associate Professor Juggapong Natwichai, Director of Information Technology Service Center at Chiang Mai University, and Dr. Vorasuang Duangchinda, Director at Office of Online Education at Sripatum University, shared their practical experiences and insights on AI implementations in public and private higher education institutions in Thailand and China.
In the “Digital Technology Empowering Course Design and Personalized Teaching Applications” thematic seminar, Professor Zhou Lan, Deputy Director of Academic Affairs Office at Central Academy of Fine Arts, Dr. Akkapon Wongkoblap, Deputy Director of the Center for Educational Services and Academic from Institute of Digital Arts and Science at Suranaree University of Technology, Professor Yuan Yali from Guilin University of Technology, and Associate Professor Atiwong Suchato from Chulalongkorn University, presented their pioneering work. The session was chaired by Zhang Chunwei, Chair Distinguished Professor at Shenyang University of Technology.
In the “AI-Empowered Teaching” session, Professor Ma Yuchun from the Department of Computer Science and Technology and Associate Professor Qian Jing from the Department of Psychology at Tsinghua University showcased the transformative potential of generative AI in enhancing course delivery across STEM and humanities disciplines. The speech by Ma Yuchun highlighted the need to holistically integrate course resources, large language models, teacher and student functionalities, and data support. Qian Jing provided a comprehensive overview of the origins and evolution of MOOCs, and detailed the applications of generative AI in psychology courses. She pointed out the imperative for educators to actively explore the diverse capabilities of intelligent teaching tools to deliver personalized support throughout the learning experience.
The event also featured an immersive “Rain Classroom” workshop, where over 30 Thai university faculty members engaged in hands-on exploration of the platform’s innovative features, Clone Class, knowledge graphs, and digital humans. Participants also convened in small groups to deliberate on the opportunities, challenges, and digital literacy requirements presented by AI integration in higher education, culminating in insightful presentations. The workshop was moderated by Global MOOC and Online Education Alliance’s Assistant Secretary-General Li Yifan and Zhang Zhongxuan.
Concurrent with the main event, the Thai-Chinese Leadership Forum was successfully held, providing a platform for university leadership from prestigious Thai universities and Chinese universities including Tsinghua University, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Shenyang University of Technology, Shanghai University, Guangxi University, Guilin University of Technology, and Liaoning Vocational College of Medicine to share their institutional profiles and collaborative aspirations. The discussions centered on advancing quality MOOC exchanges, facilitating online and offline teacher-student interactions, joint research initiatives, student internships, micro-credentials, summer programs, and the co-hosting of regional and international conferences.
On the afternoon of the 24th, Zhan Tao, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education, delivered the closing remarks. He expressed the expectations for more face-to-face cultural exchanges and insightful dialogues in the future and the hope for incorporating AI as an interactive element in future discussions and collaborations. “We need two flags: The first flag is human-centered, to guide our values and to keep our basic principles. The other one is learner-centered, focusing on scholarly and research-driven approaches. This is, in fact, what you are doing at the moment,” said Zhan, “I really hope that through collective work, collective action, and collaboration, we can move forward step by step by exploring innovative applications and leading research in the theory of new pedagogy. This way, we can provide a clear picture of future education for our young people and the new generation.”
The successful hosting of the Thailand-China Collaborative Digital Literacy Workshop and Thai-Chinese Leadership Forum has not only established an international exchange platform for digital education between the Alliance members, but also achieved a profound integration of artificial intelligence and education. We look forward to further and fruitful collaboration among GMA members in higher education.
