“Giving Learners a Voice": Piloting an AI Oral-Assessment Agent in NZ Vocational Training

Written assessments alienate learners who face literacy, neurodiversity, location or language barriers. This prevents many from reaching their potential in formal education. To address this, Scarlatti (funded by the Food and Fibre CoVE) has built and piloted what may be the world's first conversational AI agent for formal oral assessment. Come up to speed in our session, which will include: A global snapshot – Drawing on a rolling two-monthly scan of AI products and pilots, we will map the newest conversational AI tools in education, and highlight shifts in public perception. Demo and NZ case study - We will conduct a live demo of our agent, and share the results of recent NZ pilots with dairy and horticulture learners. How to guide & lessons learnt – A rapid walkthrough of our step-by-step playbook: how to decide whether an agent is right for your learners, and how to build, pilot and evaluate it. We will share the lessons we learnt the hard way. Interactive Q&A – We will open the floor for attendees to ask questions. Participants will leave with: - A global snapshot on AI in assessment - QR code access to the demo - A "is this right for us?" checklist - A step-by-step playbook on how to make one.