We stand at a pivotal moment in human history, transitioning rapidly into a Hybrid Society where human and artificial agents are becoming inextricably linked in all aspects of life, work, and learning. The accelerated evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly Generative AI (GenAI) and sophisticated agentic AI systems, is not merely introducing new tools but is fundamentally reshaping our interactions, cognitive processes, and societal structures. This profound shift necessitates a proactive and critical examination of its implications for education.

Research into hybrid learning spaces has significantly evolved, moving beyond the initial focus on blending physical and virtual environments (Cohen, Nørgård & Mor, 2020; Goodyear, 2020) to encompass deeper dimensions of hybridity, including the crucial interplay between human and artificial intellect (Cook et al., 2016; Cukurova, 2024). The recent surge in AI capabilities (Chu et al., 2025; Giannakos et al., 2024; Xiao et al., 2025) and the burgeoning field of hybrid human-AI intelligence (Akata et al., 2020; Järvelä, Zhao, Nguyen & Chen, 2024; Peeters et al., 2021) underscore the urgency of this workshop. We are no longer just discussing AI in education, but the education for and within a society increasingly co-habited by intelligent artificial entities.

The HySoc25 workshop posits that we have a rapidly closing window of opportunity to consciously, democratically, and ethically steer this transformation. To do so, we urgently need a comprehensive, multi-dimensional, and value-driven Blueprint for Education in a Hybrid Society. This blueprint must address critical intersecting dimensions:

• Ethical and Regulatory Imperatives: How do we establish and maintain humane, equitable, and sustainable norms for human-AI interaction in educational settings? This includes navigating algorithmic bias, data privacy, accountability, transparency, and the digital divide (Floridi et al., 2018; UNESCO, 2023). What ethical literacies are essential for both educators and learners?
• Affective, Social, and Epistemic Reconfigurations: How will learning, knowledge construction, critical thinking, creativity, emotional engagement, and social collaboration evolve in environments populated by both human and artificial agents? How do we foster deep learning and human connection amidst pervasive AI? (Roschelle & Teasley, 1995; Wise & Schwarz, 2017).
• Future-Ready Competencies and Literacies: What core values, knowledge, skills (e.g., critical AI literacy, data literacy, collaborative problem-solving with AI), and adaptive capacities (Filo, Rabin & Mor, 2024) will empower individuals to thrive, maintain agency, and contribute meaningfully in this hybrid future?
• Co-designed Technological Ecosystems: What are the characteristics of technological infrastructures and AI systems that genuinely support human flourishing, pedagogical innovation, and ethical principles within education? How can we move from technology-driven and business-driven solutions to value-led, human-centric designs?

This workshop invites scholars, practitioners, designers, and policymakers to contribute their insights, research, and critical perspectives on these dimensions and their interplay. Together, we will embark on the collaborative development of an initial outline for this vital blueprint, aiming to equip the educational community to navigate and shape the future of learning in a hybrid society.

The Urgency and Opportunity

The timeliness of this workshop cannot be overstated. We are witnessing:

• Exponential AI Advancement: The capabilities of AI models are advancing at an unprecedented rate, with tools like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and emerging agentic systems rapidly moving from research labs into everyday educational contexts, often without established pedagogical frameworks or ethical guidelines.
• Transformative Potential & Unforeseen Challenges: AI offers immense potential to personalize learning, automate tasks, provide intelligent tutoring, and support learners with diverse needs. However, it also brings risks of deskilling, reinforcing biases, eroding critical thinking, and creating new forms of inequality if not implemented thoughtfully.
• A Proactive Stance: There is a critical need to shift from a reactive approach—merely adapting to new technologies as they emerge—to a proactive one, where the educational community actively shapes the design, deployment, and governance of AI in learning.
• EC TEL’s Role: EC TEL, as a leading conference in technology-enhanced learning, provides the ideal forum for this critical dialogue, bringing together diverse expertise to address this multifaceted challenge. This workshop directly aligns with EC TEL’s focus on innovation, critical perspectives, and the future of learning technologies.
• Bridging Research and Practice: The workshop aims to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research on AI and hybrid intelligence and the practical realities faced by educators and institutions, fostering a co-creative approach to problem-solving.

Workshop Goals

The primary goals of HySoc25 are:

1. Cultivate Critical Dialogue: To create a vibrant space for critical discussion on the multifaceted implications of the emerging hybrid society for all levels and forms of education.
2. Map Key Dimensions: To collaboratively identify, explore, and map the crucial ethical, affective/epistemic, competency-related, and technological dimensions that must inform an educational blueprint for this new era.
3. Synthesize Diverse Expertise: To bring together and synthesize insights from diverse disciplinary perspectives, research findings, practical experiences, and visionary thinking.
4. Initiate Blueprint Co-creation: To collaboratively draft an initial, actionable outline for a “Blueprint for Education in a Hybrid Society,” identifying core principles, key questions, and design considerations.
5. Foster a Community of Purpose: To nurture a dedicated international community of researchers, educators, and innovators committed to shaping a human-centric and equitable future for education in a hybrid world.

Expected Outcomes and Deliverables

We anticipate several tangible outcomes:

1. A Workshop Report & Initial Blueprint Outline: A comprehensive report summarizing key discussions, debates, identified challenges, proposed strategies, and the collaboratively drafted initial outline of the “Blueprint for Education in a Hybrid Society.” This will be prepared for dissemination to the wider EC TEL community and beyond (e.g., via CEUR workshop proceedings or a dedicated website).
2. A Position Paper/Special Issue Proposal: Based on the richness of contributions and discussions, we aim to develop a collective position paper for a leading journal or propose a special issue focusing on “Educating for a Hybrid Society.”
3. A Curated Set of Provocations: The accepted contributions (short papers/position statements) will form a valuable collection of current thinking on the topic.
4. A Prioritized Research Agenda: Identification of pressing research questions and future research directions essential for elaborating, validating, and implementing the blueprint.
5. Establishment of a Special Interest Group (SIG) or Network: To sustain the momentum and collaborations initiated during the workshop.

Call for Contributions

We invite contributions in the form of short papers (4-6 pages, e.g., Springer LNCS format) or position statements (2-3 pages) addressing one or more of the workshop’s core dimensions:

• Ethical frameworks and practical guidelines for AI in education.
• Studies on human-AI collaboration in learning contexts.
• Conceptualizations of new literacies and competencies for a hybrid society.
• Design principles for human-centric AI-powered learning environments.
• Empirical research on the impact of GenAI/agentic AI on learners and educators.
• Pedagogical strategies for fostering critical engagement with AI.
• Policy considerations for navigating the transition to a hybrid educational landscape.
• Visionary papers outlining future scenarios and their implications.

Submissions should be original and stimulate discussion. All submissions will be peer-reviewed by the Program Committee. Accepted contributions will be presented during the workshop and included in online pre-proceedings.

We aim to attract a diverse group of participants, including:

• Researchers in TEL, AIED, HCI, Learning Sciences, Ethics of Technology, Sociology.
• Educators, instructional designers, curriculum specialists.
• PhD students and early-career researchers.
• Policymakers and educational leaders.
• AI developers and industry innovators with an interest in education.

Workshop Format and Activities

HySoc25 will be a highly interactive full-day workshop employing a mix of formats:

• Ignite Talks & Provocations (Morning): Brief, engaging presentations of accepted papers to spark initial discussions and introduce diverse perspectives.
• Thematic World Café / Design Charrette Sessions (Morning/Afternoon): Participants will rotate through facilitated small group discussions focused on the core blueprint dimensions (Ethical, Affective/Epistemic, Competency, Technological). Each group will build upon the ideas of previous groups.
• Collaborative Blueprinting (Afternoon): A facilitated whole-group session dedicated to synthesizing insights from the breakout discussions and collaboratively sketching the initial structure and key elements of the “Blueprint for Education in a Hybrid Society” using shared digital tools or large visual templates.
• Action Planning & Community Building (End of Day): Discussion of next steps, potential collaborations, formation of interest groups, and plans for disseminating workshop outcomes.

Emphasis will be placed on active participation, co-creation, and constructive dialogue.

Provisional Timeline

• Workshop Website & Call for Contributions Launch: 5 June
• Contribution Submission Deadline: 1 July
• Notification to Authors: 1 August
• Camera-Ready Papers Due: 15 August
• Papers posted to website: 30 August
• Pre-workshop presenters online meeting: 5 Sept
• Workshop Date: 15 / 16 Sept
• Post-Workshop Report & Blueprint Draft v1: 15 Nov

Organizers

• Rikke Toft Nørgård, Aarhus University Associate Professor at The Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark, where she also serves as Steering group member of Centre for Higher Education Futures (CHEF). She is elected Board member of the national Danish Network for Educational Development in Higher Education (DUN), where she is also founder and co-leader of the DUN-SIG on Digital Pedagogy & Learning in Higher Education (DiP) and Editor in Chief of The Danish Journal of Higher Education (DUT). Dr Nørgård’s research and projects focuses on the complexities, challenges and potentials of higher education in the intersections of speculative design, playful creativity, utopia as method, and philosophy for the future university. She is currently the coordinator and scientific lead of the Horizon Europe project EPIC-WE: Empowered Participation through Ideating Cultural Worlds and Environments: youth imagining, creating and exchanging cultural values and heritage through game-making (2023–26). https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0481-6683
• Dr. Hemy Ramiel, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology and the Arts  A researcher and consultant in critical EdTech, sociology of education, and the intersection of EdTech and educational policy domains. He holds a PhD in Science, Technology, and Society from the interdisciplinary program at Bar-Ilan University and subsequently was a postdoctoral researcher at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Open University of Israel. In the last Four years, he has consulted the MoE as chief scientist, mainly on issues concerning EdTech and AI in education.
• Manolis Mavrikis, UCL is Professor of Artificial Intelligence in Education at the UCL Knowledge Lab. With a research agenda spanning over 20 years, Manolis has contributed to the field through his involvement in international projects and partnerships with schools, training organisations and companies from the edtech sector. His interests and expertise lie in the design and evaluation of interactive and adaptive environments in exploratory learning. Manolis was director for the UCL Master’s in Education and Technology where he is currently teaching on Artificial Intelligence in Education. He is currently editor of the British Journal of Educational Technology and senior advisor at the UCL Centre of Digital Innovation. 
• Dr. Yishay Mor, Beit Berl College Head of AI and education BA program at Beit Berl College, Consultant to businesses, NGOs, and educational institutions concerning the design, development, assimilation, and dissemination of educational innovations. He advised the Israeli MoE as lead researcher for the national programme for AI in education. Previously he served as CTO at EXP-Editions, founding head of the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching at the Levinsky College of Education, Tel Aviv, educational design scientist at PAU Education, Barcelona, and senior lecturer at the Open University UK’s Institute of Educational Technology.

References

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