Lab Notes

Research-grounded notes on learning, analytics, infrastructure and the practical side of edtech.

Lab Notes is where EdTechLab publishes citable, problem-led thinking on learning science, learning analytics, research systems, evidence quality and the operational realities of building better education technology.

Learning science Learning analytics design Research infrastructure Evidence systems Operational fit

Editorial frame

Written by the EdTechLab team, with a publication date on every article.
Research, standards, or governance sources behind each major claim.
No product pitch in place of useful analysis.
Written so institutions and research teams can cite the work directly.

New technical reports 6 October 2026 Four reports

What is changing in UK education technology, and how to build for it

The DfE's AI safety standards, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, the DfE-EEF EdTech Testbed and assessment after generative AI, each taken down to the fields, controls and checklists that teams need, with every claim sourced.

Technical report · Lab Note 007

Building AI Tutors to the DfE's Generative AI Product Safety Standards

Hint ladders, safeguarding alerts, wellbeing limits, prompt injection and an evaluation harness: each standard turned into engineering controls and the evidence a supplier should keep.

Technical report · Lab Note 008

Ready for the Lifelong Learning Entitlement: Module Records, Credit and Verifiable Credentials

The standardised transcript, SLC and HESA module data, learner identity across providers, and Open Badges 3.0 and CLR 2.0 as transcript carriers, ahead of January 2027.

Technical report · Lab Note 009

Evidence by Design: Making EdTech Ready for the DfE-EEF EdTech Testbed

What the Testbed asks, how the EEF rates evidence, what recent edtech trials show, and how to build trial-ready event data, trial arms and data protection into a product.

Technical report · Lab Note 010

Assessment After Generative AI: Authenticated Authorship, Process Evidence and On-Screen Exams

Ofqual's on-screen proposals, JCQ and OIA rules, what the research says about AI detection, and how to design process evidence, orals and secure on-screen exams.

Technical series October 2026 Two parts

Gamification in the LMS: Moodle, Canvas and Blackboard

For learning technologists, LMS administrators and product teams: what each platform can do natively, and how gamified tools plug in through LTI 1.3, SCORM, xAPI and Open Badges.

Part 1 · Lab Note 005

Gamification in Moodle, Canvas and Blackboard: what the platforms do natively

Badges, points and levels, completion, conditional release, mastery and leaderboards: what is built in, what needs a plugin or partner tool, and how to configure it responsibly.

Part 2 · Lab Note 006

Integrating gamified learning with Moodle, Canvas and Blackboard

LTI 1.3 launch and grade return, SCORM and its limits, xAPI and cmi5, Open Badges 3.0, data flows, privacy and testing, with an implementation checklist.

More Lab Notes

Research report · Lab Note 004