When Open AI released Chat GPT late in 2022 there was a great deal of concern about its possible impact on the education sector. Will it encourage cheating, or will it hinder critical thinking among students among many others? This concern was shared at both the secondary and tertiary levels. There were even reports of some school districts banning the use of ChatGPT and other AI in their schools.

As is always the case, there is continuous improvement in any new technology, and in the case of AI, it is the same. Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Apple have invested heavily leading to an explosion in this technology.  It is interesting to note that there seems to be a turnaround by some educational institutions in their approach to AI. The focus now is on establishing ground rules and guidelines for using generative AI.  The article in the link below provides an interesting read on the role UNESCO is playing in leading this shift in focus.

UNESCO has put forward eight (8) specific measures that educational institutions can adopt to ensure quality education, social equity, and inclusion:

• Promote inclusion, equity linguistic, and cultural diversity.
• Protect human agency
• Monitor and validate GenAI systems for education
• Develop AI competencies including GenAI-related skills for learners
• Build capacity for teachers and researchers to make proper use of GenAI
• Promote plural opinions and plural expressions of ideas
• Test locally relevant application models and build a cumulative evidence-base
• Review long-term implications in intersectoral and interdisciplinary manner

I am particularly interested in number 5 – Build the capacity of teachers and researchers to make proper use of GenAI.  I believe that if teachers understand how to effectively use this new technology and the benefits to be derived then they will be better able to guide students in the proper use of it and be able to identify improper use as well.  I believe embracing AI and GenAI in education has to be the better way to go.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/09/generative-ai-education-unesco/

In thinking about digital identity, I grapple with questions: is this important or even necessary? Can I operate or continue to exist without having a digital identity? Do I even need to be concerned about my digital identity?  The answer is yes, my digital identity is important and necessary. In the same way in the past, someone could physically impersonate an individual so it is, so our digital identity could be ‘hacked’.  It is virtually impossible to exist in the world today without a digital identity and I certainly must be concerned about my physical identity and protect it as well from being stolen.  Whether we engage in online banking, or online studies, or purchasing online we exist in the digital as well as physical world and as such we have a digital identity. In fact, one could be forgiven if you say that the line of demarcation between these worlds has been erased or blurred.

For young people, this is literally the world they exist in. But how many of them take the necessary precaution that is so important to protect themselves? Further, how many of them know what information to share and what not to share?  I believe it is important that the home (parents) and the school have an essential role in educating students on being responsible digital citizens and protecting their digital identity.  The article below outlines the Nine (9) Elements of Digital Citizenship.

https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/backgrounders/digital-citizenship-ethics

As I sought to extend my knowledge on how we should educate our current and future students two articles in my reading have resonated with me. The first is Centaurs and Cyborgs on the Jagged Frontier by Ethan Mollick. I am not surprised that in the testing the consultants who used AI came out ahead using varying means of measurement, I am particularly intrigued with the observation that “When AI is good humans have no reason to work hard or pay attention. They let AI take over”. He refers to this as “falling asleep at the wheel”. This, I believe, is one of the inherent risks if the integration of AI in the school space is not monitored and guided. Students will become totally dependent on technology, and this will impact negatively their own creative thinking.  So, as we embrace the integration of AI in the education system the role of the teacher is not diminished as we must guide the extent of the dependency by our students so their individual creativity is not suppressed.

The second article ‘How Can We Best Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World’? By Burton Granofsky, the author seeks to explore anticipated changes in the education landscape in the next 5 – 20 years with the rapid and continuous changes in technology. The recognition that data literacy and engineering were highlighted as well as STEM–focused careers.  Of note is the suggestion that educators should engage in externships.  This led me to wonder how many educators have ever considered this or for that matter how many administrators would be willing to include this as an option when professional development is being planned?

Have you ever engaged in externship?

https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/centaurs-and-cyborgs-on-the-jagged

https://www.edc.org/blog/how-can-we-best-prepare-students-rapidly-changing-world

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