The Dispatch

Edtech Tools Fall Short

Students and educators are currently not provided with online environments that effectively support interaction-based learning, Dr Blackstock argues. Most are structured in a way that create a trade-off between efficiency and emotional engagement, prioritising the passive, individual consumption of content over meaningful collaboration.

The biggest mistake, he says, is focusing attention on the technology, rather than on the learning and human-interactions that the technology is meant to be supporting.

Dr Blackstock gives the example of VR learning: “Learners and educators spend the majority of their cognitive energies on understanding the technology, learning what it can and cannot do, and playing with its features. That means their cognitive load is not being spent on the subject matter, or on the human interactions they are meant to be encouraging,” he says.

However, Professor Himanshu Rai, Director at India’s IIM Indore highlights the many benefits of using these types of tools, explaining that AI, VR tools and adaptive learning technologies allow for personalisation of learning, instantaneous feedback, as well as immersive exploration of subjects.

“A history student, for example, can now walk through ancient Rome using VR simulation, making their learning more rich and memorable,” he explains.

Still, despite its benefits, Professor Rai believes that technology cannot ever replace the compassion, guidance and morals a teacher provides. “Learning is far more than the gathering of facts; it includes an element of character and nurturing innate curiosity and critical thinking, which is fundamentally the gift of humanity,” he says.

To achieve the benefits of technology without losing the human touch, a hybrid approach to learning is essential. “Let the machines attend to tasks that are routine in nature, like grading, quizzes and content delivery, and provide the teachers with more time and opportunity to engage with students and hold discussions,” he suggests.

With that in mind, educators must become digitally literate and teach in a way that integrates technology meaningfully, not mechanically. Access to this technology must be universal, with investment in infrastructure and support for disadvantaged learners, he tells QS Insights Magazine.

“Education today is about shaping minds and hearts, with support from technology, to create classrooms that are not only smart but deeply human,” adds Professor Rai.

Battling Passive Learning

In hybrid or online environments, edtech tools can improve efficiency and effectiveness of content delivery, making them potentially more effective than traditional passive lectures. “From that perspective, there is some progress,” comments Dr Blackstock.

But while face-to-face environments offer rich opportunities for beneficial human interactions, edtech relies much more on limited tools for text-based communications, explains Dr Blackstock: “Simply compare texting with a friend to getting together face-to-face, and you can appreciate the difference.”

That said, successful experiential learning is not limited to physical classrooms. Most of the experiential learning programmes How to Change The World run are entirely online; and get as good or better learning outcomes and self-report learning experiences online as in person. “The ‘secret sauce’ is simply prioritising the design and scaffolding of the human interactions at the core of the learning experience,” says Dr Blackstock.

Another example of online experiential learning done well is Hult International Business School, which firmly roots its teaching, both online and offline, in experiential learning. Hult runs a significant portion of coursework through ‘live online’ courses, which have a variety of activities from global guest speakers, teamwork, live simulations and applied business challenges to keep students engaged.

“We keep engagement high in our asynchronous courses through optional live kick-offs and office hours with our faculty. We also increase engagement through the types of activities and content students consume,” says Jennifer Serowick, Dean of Online & Partnership Programs at Hult International Business School.

Using Creativity in Assignments

According to HEPI’s student Generative AI Survey 2025, 88 percent of higher education students are using AI for assignments. While many use AI to assist with tasks like summarising articles or brainstorming, 18 percent are incorporating AI-generated text directly into their work.

But should we blame the students or the assignments themselves?

At Vlerick Business School, the Assignment Profiler helps faculty assess whether a task can be too easily completed with GenAI. If an assignment can be done by ChatGPT or a similar tool in minutes, it is not deemed an effective way to measure student learning. The tool helps faculty reflect on what they want their students to master.

Instead of a traditional essay or multiple-choice exam, for instance, Vlerick Business School might ask students to create a video pitch of a business case. They could then test that pitch in front of an AI tool playing the role of an investor or a banker. This way, students are not just being checked if they know the content, but if they can apply it, respond to feedback, and demonstrate human skills like persuasion, empathy and judgment. AI can support the process, but the creativity, the thinking and the decision-making stays with the student.

“We want our faculty to show students that using AI does not mean offloading responsibility. It means engaging with the tool thoughtfully. It means showing your prompts, referencing your sources, iterating through ideas with AI but never handing over the final judgment,” says José Gerardo Herrera, Senior Learning Designer at Vlerick Business School.

Another interesting way AI combines creativity with technology within the school is The Visual Summary Creator. From the first day, students sit together in small groups and reflect on what they have learned. That part is all human – there is no AI involved. They note down their thoughts and discuss them, then feed those ideas into the tool. The tool then generates an image that reflects one of those learnings. Students use the tool to refine the image until it captures what they meant. Once that’s done, they present it back to the class, explaining the learning behind the image.

“AI here is a catalyst. It helps students visualise and communicate their understanding, but the reflection, the explanation, the ownership – that is all them. That is what meaningful engagement looks like,” says Steve Muylle, Professor of Digital Strategy and Business Marketing at Vlerick Business School.

“We need to design learning experiences that start from human interaction and use AI to support, not substitute, the process,” Herrera explains. “The Visual Summary Creator, for instance, only works if there is first a real conversation. The Assignment Profiler only works if faculty care about authentic learning. AI is not the learning. It is a tool for learning. And it is our job as educators to keep that distinction clear.”

Reaching New Places

While it can sometimes feel isolating, technology can also offer a powerful opportunity to connect people from around the world, who may not otherwise have access to higher education.

For example, Estonian Business School’s summer schools have successfully delivered virtual lectures and workshops to learners from Ukraine and various countries in Africa and Asia, who were unable attend in person due to travel restrictions.

The school has invested heavily in generative AI, digital infrastructure, and a unified learning platform to streamline and enhance the online learning experience.

“These efforts have proven invaluable in recent years, as the pandemic and other geopolitical developments have disrupted student mobility,” explains Meelis Kitsing, Rector and Professor of Political Economy at Estonian Business School.

“Of course, new technologies bring uncertainty,” adds Kitsing, “but it is better to embrace that uncertainty than to ignore or dismiss it.”