9:00–9:45 am | Opening panel

Digital Learning 2027: What Matters Now

Dr Deniese Cox, Alex Fuller, Phill Bevan

Digital learning continues to change quickly, driven by AI, shifting learner expectations, new technology & growing pressure on providers to improve access, engagement & quality. This opening panel will bring together experienced voices from across VET & digital learning to examine what is changing, what is proving useful in practice & where organisations should be focusing their attention in 2027.

The discussion will explore AI adoption, learner engagement, digital capability, online & blended delivery, technology choices & the changing role of educators. Panellists will share practical observations from their work across the sector, including where organisations are making progress, where common problems remain & what providers should be considering as they plan their next steps in digital learning. 

10:00–11:00 am | EGAI

AI-Assured Learning: Turning AI Use into Trusted Practice

Dr Deniese Cox & Phill Bevan 

A joint session bringing together educational design, human expertise, organisational governance & responsible AI adoption. The focus is not on generic AI tools. It is on deciding where AI adds value, where human oversight must remain visible & how organisations can use AI in a defensible way.

• Identify AI use cases that create genuine educational or operational value.
• Define human review, approval & escalation points.
• Manage privacy, intellectual property, unreliable outputs & supplier claims.
• Show how authoritative source material & expert review improve quality.

Takeaways:  PD Notebook & Practical AI Use-Case Tools

11:30 am–1:00 pm | TeachingOnline.com.au

Intentional Engagement: From enrolment to completion

Dr Deniese Cox

Adult learners rarely fail their courses. They drift out of them - a little less momentum at each step, until one day they simply don't come back. In this session we follow one learner across her entire journey, from the moment she's weighing up whether to enrol through to the moment she crosses the finish line, pausing at each stage to hear what she's really thinking (& to catch where she's quietly deciding to give up). At every one of the 6 stages of the learner journey, you'll walk away with a high-leverage, research-backed move - small, practical shifts in design & communication that keep learners moving forward. Built on Dr Deniese Cox’s Intentional Learning Framework & grounded in years of hands-on research with real learners.

Follow one learner's whole journey, & the six small moves that kept her engaged from enrolment to completion.

Takeaways:  PD Notebook

1:00–2:00 pm | vetr

Digital Delivery That Stands Up: Quality, Practice & Evidence

Phill Bevan

A VET-focused session connecting digital & blended delivery practice with the 2025 SRTO. The emphasis is on good delivery, learner support & evidence of what is actually occurring.

• Define an appropriate digital or blended delivery model for the learner cohort & training product.
• Show how planned training, trainer interaction & learner support can be demonstrated in practice.
• Consider digital assessment, authenticity & evidence collection.
• Use monitoring & feedback to determine whether the delivery model is suitable, adequate & effective.

Takeaways:  PD Notebook & Digital Delivery Assurance Tools

2:00–3:00 pm | TeachingOnline.com.au

Intentional Attendance: Winning learners back from “I’ll just watch the recording”

Dr Deniese Cox

Self-paced content is booming, & many learners love it. But timetabled lectures & tutorials aren't going anywhere - & that's exactly where the frustration sits. You schedule the session, you prepare the content … & a chunk of your learners quietly decide they'll "just catch the recording" (which, let's be honest, they rarely actually do). This session takes the live-session challenge head-on: why capable, motivated learners skip sessions they'd genuinely benefit from, & the small changes that turn no-shows into regulars, that turn passive attendees into active participants. Grounded in extensive learner research & focus-group insight, sharing moves you can apply to your very next live session.

“I'll just watch the recording" - the four words quietly emptying your live sessions. Here’s how to win learners back.

Takeaways:  PD Notebook 

3:00–4:30 pm | tomorrow VET

AI Assistants at Work: Building Your VET Operations Workspace

Phill Bevan

AI assistants are moving beyond one-off prompting into persistent workspaces that can support real operational tasks. This practical session will show how a VET provider can structure an AI-enabled workspace around its own documents, processes, responsibilities & recurring work, then use purpose-built assistants to help staff research, review, draft, analyse & prepare work for human decision-making.

Using practical VET examples, Phill will demonstrate how assistants can support areas such as quality, compliance, training & assessment operations, management reporting, policy work & continuous improvement. Participants will see how to define an assistant’s role, give it the right source material & instructions, set boundaries for its work & build repeatable workflows that staff can actually use.

Takeaways:  PD Notebook & AI Assistant Design Tools