AI: Embrace it, don't ban it
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Like many people, I am still trying to wrap my head around the new Artificial Intelligence, or AI, technology that has emerged this school year. As a high school teacher, I am especially trying to understand how to get around the bad stuff and find the good stuff that can be used in my classroom.
However, I am determined to embrace this new technology and to show my colleagues that AI has its positive uses in a classroom.
WHAT IS AI?
AI, or Artificial Intelligence, refers to a collection of technologies that allow computers to sense, learn, reason, and act (Museum of Science, Boston, 2022). AI powers the algorithms that rank search results on the web, along with ones used in social media sites.
Generative AI uses deep learning techniques such as neural networks to create text, sounds, and images that mimic human creations, such as instructional content, automated assessment feedback, and basic support services (2023, EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 18).
Generative AI tools can generate everything from essays to artwork to music (Sharma, 2023).
Generative AI is already part of our students’ educational journey; it snuck in the back door last spring and is sitting in our classrooms, participating in our homework and chiming in on our assessments (Neebe, 2023). We typically think AI is produced by a robot, aka Tom Cruise in the 2002 movie "Minority Report." Truth is, it's simply built into our computer, the website we visit, the pictures we post, this blog I write, and all that we do.
Predictive AI uses basic statistical algorithms to analyze historical data and make predictions about new data, such as personalized learning platforms, enrollment management, student success, and student advising (2023, EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 18).
AI already touches our day-to-day, and it will continue to be a critical component in how this generation of students approaches learning—especially independent learning (Neebe, 2023).
AI technologies are an increasingly viable way for education institutions to save money and improve efficiency and workflows (2023 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 10)
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, AI was one of many emerging technologies to start appearing. Others have been computer sensors, networks, robotics, 3D printing, synthetic biology, material science, and augmented/virtual reality, but AI is one that has hit education like a ton of bricks on how to implement this new technology into a classroom.
The potential is growing for AI to address more complex and higher-stakes tasks for educational institutions, such as enrollment, retention, and financial aid allocation. AI also has the potential to alter the teaching and learning experience (2023, EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 10).
AI IMPACT ON EDUCATION
"It is our job as educators to ensure that our students enter the world beyond school knowing how to use this (and other) technology safely, ethically, and responsibly," - Diana Neebe
Neebe wrote an edutopia article "7 Essential Questions About AI for Teachers to Consider:"
1. Why do we learn to do something a machine can do? Neebe states in her article that none of these questions have an easy or right answer.
"At the core of each is the challenge of defining what kind of people we want to be in relation to the technology that surrounds us. What is possible now that wasn’t before? And what is harder now that wasn’t before? We can begin to answer these questions for ourselves, and ought to consider them with our colleagues, but most important, we need to create the space to explore these questions with our students. After all, it’s their education," Neebe said.
AI can impact teaching by helping faculty create instructional content and grade assessments, and it can impact students by increasing engagement through the use of avatars and the metaverse, as well as more personalized learning (2023, EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 10).
At the same time, English teachers fear AI as they speculate that cheating will become widespread since programs like ChatGPT can create entire essays through one simple prompt. These also leads to concerns about the information AI produces. Concerns are growing whether AI produces accurate, unbiased output (2023, EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 10).
Generative AI presents an opportunity for educators to challenge mainstream assessment practices and shift their focus on students' abilities to practice higher order skills such as analysis and evaluation (2023, EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 21).
Here is one example of how an English teacher might use a tool like ChatGPT in their classroom from the edutopia article "Guiding Students to Assess the Merits of Artificial Intelligence Tools" by Sunaina Sharma:
Students are often asked to read a text and then share their interpretation of or conclusion about the text by writing a paragraph. Once they’ve finished reading a text such as a selection from early in a novel, we can give them a prompt with a prediction question like, “In the book Of Mice and Men, will George and Lennie ever be able to achieve their dream? Support your answer by writing a paragraph and offering three reasons.”
Students can construct their own yes or no answer in their mind and then ask an AI tool like ChatGPT for its answer. In groups, students should collaboratively read the ChatGPT response and assess it using a rubric that the teacher has provided for them. This will allow students to assess the quality of the AI response while also familiarizing them with the evaluation tool that the teacher will use to assess their work.
Finally, individually, ask students to create a paragraph that is written to defend the opposite position. For example, if ChatGPT said that George and Lennie wouldn’t be able to achieve their dream, students need to write a paragraph arguing that they would achieve their dream. This allows students to know what points support the opposite opinion and then develop rebuttal points that refute them. This provides students with the opportunity to gather and assess relevant information, which strengthens their critical thinking skills.
Sharma gives more examples for other subjects, such as music and math.
As Sharma states in her article, students draw their own conclusions with AI. Many of them quickly figure out it's not a tool to replace their own ideas.
AI is already being used in software development, digital marketing, kinesiology, medical practice, mental health, and historic research (2023, EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 22).
Educational institutions need to address AI as part of their curriculum and culture. At the same time, they also need it to be part of their teachers' training. Campus leaders need to spearhead conversations that focus on two fundamental questions: what does it mean to teach, and what does it mean to learn? (2023, EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 45).
"Teaching and learning in the early days of generative AI is going to be tricky, for all of us. There are few public guardrails. There’s no clear road map. The truth is, we don’t know what’s going to happen with AI—how it will shape and transform education, society, humanity. However, chatbot or not, let’s not forget: Our students are hardwired to learn. Curiosity is our birthright as human beings and meaning-making our survival instinct.
No sophisticated algorithm can replace that,"
Diane Neebe
AI IN THE FUTURE
We have a generation of children whose education has been disrupted and reshaped by a pandemic and now by a seismic shift in technology (Neebe, 2023). Students will see their education as pre-COVID and post-COVID and pre-AI and post-AI.
The promise of AI-enabled applications will transform "one size fits all" learning to a more personalized experience (2023, EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 19).
Many AI tools are designed to offload the most time-consuming elements of teaching, such as writing assessments, providing students with formative feedback, and making minor grammatical corrections. Spending less time on these tasks should give faculty more time to engage with students directly, tackling more challenging pedagogical tasks such as synthesizing and analyzing information and creating new knowledge. Finally, without a need to sleep or have a personal life, AI-powered tools might be a key component of “on demand” higher education models. Students can leverage these tools during times when faculty and staff are simply not available (2023, EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 19).
AI is not going away. In fact, it's just going to expand. School districts, like the one I teach in, need to stop blocking these online tools and start educating with these tools. This technology can't be ignored, and shouldn't be ignored.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts CS and information technology employment to continue growing between 2021 and 2031, adding nearly 683,000 new jobs. AI-related careers can be promising for our youth to pursue and consider—here’s why:
- The World Economic Forum lists AI and machine-learning specialists second on the list of jobs with increasing demand.
- AI jobs are plenty, but there are not enough qualified applicants to fill them.
- AI professionals can typically earn well over six figures.
- AI jobs and careers are flexible and can include full-time or part-time consultants, researchers, and entrepreneurs.
Despite the commonly discussed barriers to AI, there are some advantages. For example, it can be used to support teachers as they design instruction and assessments to meet the needs of all the learners in their classrooms. Typically, implementing strategies like differentiation or personalized learning can be a lot of upfront work for the teacher. With AI, teachers can easily seek ideas and inspiration for new ways to reach their students (Nieves, 2023).
It is essential that we shift pedagogical research and practice to examine adaptive instructional strategies and assessments (AI-driven predictive, personalized learning), just-in-time student support, student agency in assessment, and competency and skill identification that allows alignment with workforce needs (2023, EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, 2023, 45).
References:
[Museum of Science, Boston]. (2022, March 29). What is AI?[Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/NbEbs6I3eLw?si=1DhWuIydirlYvLDn
Douma, K. (2023, January 24). How to Keep Students Writing in the Age of AI Tools. Edutopia. Retrieved October 8, 2023, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/ai-writing-tools-middle-high-school
Neebee, D. (2023, September 27). 7 Essential Questions About AI for Teachers to Consider. Edutopia. Retrieved October 8, 2023, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/role-generative-ai-education
Nieves, K. (2023, June 6). 5 Ways to Use AI Tools to Meet Students’ Needs. Edutopia. Retrieved October 8, 2023, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-ai-tools-differentiated-instruction
Sharma, S. (2023, August 14). Guiding Students to Assess the Merits of Artificial Intelligence Tools. Edutopia. Retrieved October 8, 2023, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-students-use-ai-tools
Valenzuela, J. (2022, December 5). Tips and Resources for Introducing Students to Artificial Intelligence.
Edutopia. Retrieved October 8, 2023,
from https://www.edutopia.org/article/tips-and-resources-for-introducing-students-to-artificial-intelligence
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