Educational AI Lab: Exploring Practical Ways to Bring AI into University Teaching

This was the starting point for Educational AI Lab, a three-part practical workshop series organised by the ConnectED Network in August 2026. Led by Dr. Vitalii Svatko, Associate Professor at the National Transport University, the series brought together university educators interested in exploring practical and responsible applications of AI in teaching.

From educational content to assessment and video

The first workshop, Creating Educational Content with AI, focused on one of the most immediate applications of AI in education: developing and adapting teaching materials. Participants explored how AI can support the creation of educational texts, presentations and visual materials, as well as summarisation and note-taking. The session also introduced approaches to organising and publishing course content using Notion and highlighted the importance of evaluating the quality and reliability of AI-generated materials.

One of the key ideas emerging from the session was that there is no single “best” AI tool. The right question is not which tool is the best, but which tool is best for a particular task. This task-oriented approach helps educators move beyond simply experimenting with AI tools and towards using them purposefully in their teaching practice.

The second workshop, AI for Assessment and Evaluation, looked at another major part of an educator’s work: assessing student learning. Participants first put their practical skills into action, working with tools such as NotebookLM and Claude to create presentations and other supporting materials. The session then moved to AI-assisted assessment, exploring how bots and AI agents can support the preliminary review of student assignments, as well as the creation of quizzes, analysis of learning outcomes and other assessment-related tasks.

Importantly, the discussion was not about replacing the lecturer’s role. Instead, it focused on how AI can support some of the more time-consuming parts of the assessment process while leaving the final evaluation, professional judgement and responsibility with the educator.

The final workshop, Creating Educational Videos with AI, explored another increasingly important format in higher education: educational video. Participants looked at how AI can support video creation and adaptation, as well as generate subtitles, transcripts and translations, summarise existing video content and make materials more suitable for online and blended learning.

Across all three sessions, one idea remained particularly relevant: AI does not always mean creating something entirely new. It can also help educators revisit, adapt and improve materials they already have — whether that is an old lecture, presentation, assignment or video — and make them more accessible, engaging and useful for today's students.

A practical learning space for educators

Rather than focusing on AI as a collection of new technologies, the Educational AI Lab approached it from the perspective of everyday teaching practice. The workshops combined demonstrations, practical examples and hands-on exploration, giving participants an opportunity to consider not only what AI can do, but also where it can genuinely add value to their work.

For ConnectED, creating spaces where educators can learn from one another and experiment with new approaches is an important part of strengthening the capacity of higher education institutions. Educational AI Lab is one of these spaces — bringing together practical digital skills, peer learning and reflection on the changing role of educators in an increasingly AI-supported learning environment.

Explore the Educational AI Lab on Moodle

The Educational AI Lab course is now available on the ConnectED Moodle platform. The course includes video recordings of all three workshops, presentations and additional learning resources, allowing educators to explore the sessions at their own pace.

Participants can also complete a final test and receive a certificate worth 1 ECTS credit upon successful completion.

Explore the Educational AI Lab and continue learning at your own pace on the DTN-ConnectED Moodle platform.