D2L’s annual conference convened expertise and helped to construct new perspectives on AI, accessibility and the future of work
Global learning technology company D2L wrapped its 20th annual Fusion conference in Anaheim, California, discussing critical issues facing the future of learning. The three-day conference brought together leaders from around the world to explore ideas, share research, experience cutting-edge technology, and help foster community to tackle common challenges. The event convened leaders from across all sectors, including K-12, higher education, and the workforce.
“This year at Fusion we deeply explored the learning moment, because ultimately learning is a human endeavor,” says John Baker, CEO of D2L. “It was inspiring to see how technology is being harnessed to support of better learning experiences. The demand for learning has never been greater to help tackle the grand challenges of our time, from engagement with students to better progression, to getting students ready for the future, and upskilling the workforce.”
Fusion 2023 examined key aspects of the future of learning, including:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Attendees explored the powerful potential of effective and responsible applications of AI in both instructional and learning experiences across sectors, helping to make them more exciting and engaging. Fusion’s Solution Spotlight showcased generative AI that can help educators with authoring questions for formative assessment, as well as how AI can help bring more contextualized help and documentation from within D2L Brightspace to meet more learners where they are.
- Accessibility – The conference connected educators passionate about crafting more accessible learning experiences and helping to remove barriers to learning, and inspired organizations and teams to help find ways to embrace and implement higher accessibility. Fusion highlighted D2L’s progress, including new accessible hotspots – accessible grids in Brightspace with micro alt tags that can help describe the content of each cell – providing screen readers with the same contextual information as any other learner, and enhancing the human learning experience.
- Skills development – The pressing need to increase access to skills development and the demand for new ways to validate and build on skills already present in the workforce was a focal point at Fusion, on the heels of the release of D2L’s new original research paper, Enabling Learning for Life: New Realities for Work and Education. Organizations and institutions probed for solutions to the skills gap, recognizing the global potential of unlocking a more flexible, robust and resilient workforce that’s built for success today and the future.
