ETH-TECH at the European Conference of Education Research (ECER)

By

Sigrid Hartong

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After having almost completed our second work package (i.e., developing a framework as well as a self-reflection tool for higher education faculties, based on the syllaby analysis and Awareness Raising Sessions (ARS)), it was time for the ETH-TECH team to share our so-far results with international colleagues. And there could not have been any better forum than the European Conference of Education Research (ECER), which was organized this year by the University of Belgrade in Serbia. While technology and AI unsurprisingly appeared as prominent topics in the rich, four-day program, we were excited to see how many panels and presentations were also adressing the challenges and unintended consequences of technology-driven education, backed up by a growing amount of worldwide research evidence.

The ETH-TECH team had set up a symposium which included presentations of the project framework, a summary from the syllaby analysis as well as key results from the ARS which all partners had conducted over the past months. Since the summary reports are by now equally available on Zenodo, we could use the symposium to further disseminate these important results.

Together with Pablo, Juliana then presented the conceptual ETH-TECH framework, based on the participatory thematic analysis which we had conducted during our first on-site meeting in Padua. Paula and Francesca provided insights into the syllaby analyses, showcasting both the methodological framework as well as selected comparative results across the four countries. In the last presentation, Mercedes and Juliana showcasted the design of the ARS as well as exemplary impressions from the ARS conducted by the Spanish team in spring and summer 2025.

After the presentations, I (Sigrid), who had jumped in for Maria as discussant, contributed some additional and integrating reflections, from which I just want to drop some lines:

I think what is really special about ETH TECH is its complication of what we commonly see as „ethical tech and AI approaches“.

Nowadays typical ethical AI checklists oftentimes promote the idea that slight adaptations of our systems and structures will suffice to make tech and AI „ethically proof“. We see this clearly in the political economy, that is, how „ethical AI“ is increasingly being turned into a label and poltical strategy much more than into a practice of moral navigation and social responsibility. And this is exactly where the project seeks to develop alternatives, to show and discuss with people how tech and AI usage in education (and not only in education) always benefits and (!) harms people. It can never be „just good“ just as it is never „just bad“. Hence, what we need is community-driven answers to the question what the ethically best thing could be in a specific situation, if we orient ourselves towards care and kindness.

After the reflections, we dived into a rich discussion with the audience. We hereby learned that people very much shared the ETH-TECH perspective of affection and emotions being of central importance (but also having largely been neglected) for developing community-led approaches for AIED. People described their own institutional situations, which for most of them, however, were still marked by rather broad autonomy regarding AI and tech usage in teaching. While people regarded this autonomy and also creativity as crucial for their profession, they also felt substantial insecurity and the ‚need‘ for orientation and regulation. It was interesting to see how much the discussions mirrored our experiences from the ARS, showing how despite contextual difference, educators are facing similar dilemmas, but also share a strong visions about a ‚better tech future‘.

Below, we introduce the three presentations made during the session.

Thankful for the inspiring inputs by the audience, we will continue our work and already look forward sharing more results with the international community in the near future.