AI is a useful tool but will never replace the foundation of education. Like anything we build, if you don't address the underlying issues, no technology, no tool, no fancy solution will stand for long.
Oh man, numbers 4 and 7 in the first numbered list are such sad realities to think about. The other big one for me is the efforts to ban books and erase history in the US.
I agree. With all the AI hype, I'm noticing the increasing trend of trying to use it as a panacea. But AI is a tool at best. It can't single-handedly make up for any other inadequacies (you point out the ones for education, but the same goes for most other areas of society). We can't afford to do the equivalent of "putting lipstick on a pig" and hoping nobody will notice.
And, of course, in education specifically, you can't replace the socialisation factors you've highlighted with AI at all.
I assume you follow Ethan Mollick ? I really enjoy his evidence-based, practically tested approach to AI as an education tool. I find his take to be practical and pragmatic, without taking away from any of the areas you've highlighteed where AI isn't a fit.
Thanks, Daniel. Know how much I appreciate your engagement.
My interest here at Educating AI is to develop a method that acknowledges the true complexity of integrating and implementing AI into today's schools.
Therefore, we must understand where we have been, where we are, and where we are going.
Such a method involves a much slower build and not as much clickbait, but I am hoping I can build up a trust with my audience through the process that offers me and my users a different kind of value.
I love Ethan Mollick. He is beyond the cutting edge--the bleeding edge. Definitely a techno-pragmatist. His studies indicate that AI will greatly assist lower-performing students. This finding is very significant in the context of Educating AI's development of an AI-responsive writing curriculum.
Great post Nick identifying where students are generally at but also identifying a way forward. As always the biggest challenge is moving from where we are to where we need to be.
Dana, thanks for reading and engaging in comments. I greatly appreciate it. Great insights and question. Immersions do not necessarily need to be grander sweeping gestures. When I worked at public schools, I would use the 3 part lesson framework -- usually sometime later in the year after establishing a set of basic skills and competencies. After a big introductory lesson where I would hoist essential questions on students, I would invite them into an extended cycle of work where they would explore those questions in light of particular loci of interest. In the final part of the lesson, students would reconvene to share out what they gathered and experienced while in immersion. Sometimes, I would complement these 3 part cycles with a trip to a local museum. I used to teach humanities, and our school was a bus ride away from an art museum. I would take the students to the art museum to launch the essential questions. The students were 7th and 8th graders so they appreciated a little drama.
As to tech policies, that is a work-in-progress. On the trip, the students brought their phones to stay in contact with families. We established times and places when/where phones could be used. On the whole, our policies were successful, and students did get to experience extended stretches of time off their devices. In the beginning, students seemed very disoriented without their phones. They constantly asked what time is was. After a day or two, these questions faded away. Nonetheless, students blissfully reconnected with their devices when allowed and at the end of the trip. The bus ride home was silent as they melded back into their virtual spaces and identities.
AI is a useful tool but will never replace the foundation of education. Like anything we build, if you don't address the underlying issues, no technology, no tool, no fancy solution will stand for long.
Oh man, numbers 4 and 7 in the first numbered list are such sad realities to think about. The other big one for me is the efforts to ban books and erase history in the US.
What an excellent and thorough article, Nick!
I agree. With all the AI hype, I'm noticing the increasing trend of trying to use it as a panacea. But AI is a tool at best. It can't single-handedly make up for any other inadequacies (you point out the ones for education, but the same goes for most other areas of society). We can't afford to do the equivalent of "putting lipstick on a pig" and hoping nobody will notice.
And, of course, in education specifically, you can't replace the socialisation factors you've highlighted with AI at all.
I assume you follow Ethan Mollick ? I really enjoy his evidence-based, practically tested approach to AI as an education tool. I find his take to be practical and pragmatic, without taking away from any of the areas you've highlighteed where AI isn't a fit.
Thanks, Daniel. Know how much I appreciate your engagement.
My interest here at Educating AI is to develop a method that acknowledges the true complexity of integrating and implementing AI into today's schools.
Therefore, we must understand where we have been, where we are, and where we are going.
Such a method involves a much slower build and not as much clickbait, but I am hoping I can build up a trust with my audience through the process that offers me and my users a different kind of value.
I love Ethan Mollick. He is beyond the cutting edge--the bleeding edge. Definitely a techno-pragmatist. His studies indicate that AI will greatly assist lower-performing students. This finding is very significant in the context of Educating AI's development of an AI-responsive writing curriculum.
Thanks again for your commitment to the project.
Great post Nick identifying where students are generally at but also identifying a way forward. As always the biggest challenge is moving from where we are to where we need to be.
Yes, Nick, I thought it was time to take stock. Before building castles in the sky, we need to start arranging the piece work on the ground.
Dana, thanks for reading and engaging in comments. I greatly appreciate it. Great insights and question. Immersions do not necessarily need to be grander sweeping gestures. When I worked at public schools, I would use the 3 part lesson framework -- usually sometime later in the year after establishing a set of basic skills and competencies. After a big introductory lesson where I would hoist essential questions on students, I would invite them into an extended cycle of work where they would explore those questions in light of particular loci of interest. In the final part of the lesson, students would reconvene to share out what they gathered and experienced while in immersion. Sometimes, I would complement these 3 part cycles with a trip to a local museum. I used to teach humanities, and our school was a bus ride away from an art museum. I would take the students to the art museum to launch the essential questions. The students were 7th and 8th graders so they appreciated a little drama.
As to tech policies, that is a work-in-progress. On the trip, the students brought their phones to stay in contact with families. We established times and places when/where phones could be used. On the whole, our policies were successful, and students did get to experience extended stretches of time off their devices. In the beginning, students seemed very disoriented without their phones. They constantly asked what time is was. After a day or two, these questions faded away. Nonetheless, students blissfully reconnected with their devices when allowed and at the end of the trip. The bus ride home was silent as they melded back into their virtual spaces and identities.