When cell phones became mainstream technology, I remember always hearing… There’s an App for that.  While still true, I feel you can insert into that phrase…. there’s AI for that.  Generative AI has quickly changed the landscape of the internet and Web experience, but even more when it comes to educational settings.

Fall and Early Winter of 2022, I remember sitting with a bunch of administrators discussing this new technology and this ChatGPT thing.  It was so foreign and crazy to believe that there was a search engine that could so quickly spit out information in any format, on any topic, with such truth that it could be passed off for a well written assignment.  Soon the TikToks and Reels began to be shared about its incredible powers, but it was the teachers who embraced the technology early that found out how to use it in their classrooms with a purpose and not just a cheat code to get assignments done quickly.   Crazy part is much of the information is not necessarily up to date.  For instance try searching Premiere of Manitoba…

Now using AI in daily life takes on many different forms for me.  Obvious to some, not so much to others, we have already been using AI and detection programs for quite sometime through our online interactions and tech uses from smartphones, to email, and so forth.

In the educational setting however, I would say I have only been using AI for a couple of years and I plan to continue to use it.  As tool in the classroom AI can help me identify learning needs of my students and assess strengths, weaknesses, learning styles, and other insights through a variety of programs or tools.  For everything, there now seems to be an AI focused companion to teach with.  AI allows me to quickly develop grade level appropriate content to help differentiate assignments for my students.  Quickly adapt reading levels, prompts, number of questions, vocabulary, and the list goes on in ways I can curate material for my students.  Websites such as Diffit, or MagicSchool, can quickly help me plan material, or help with developing assessments and rubrics based off of my needs or outcomes.  It can aid in developing comments, emails, you name it, there’s a way it can help assist you.  The caution of course being, you still need to always be cautious of the material it is providing you.

AI can still have some limitations to how you can use it within a classroom setting and just some faults in general.  Firstly, the reduced socialization and connections through collaboration that face to face assignments can offer could be seen as a negative.  A look through the halls at lunch where there’s no socialization and everyone is staring at a screen.  The second, is the over reliance on technology.  It becomes a safety net for some to rely to heavily on.  Thirdly, like mentioned above, the information isn’t necessarily always accurate, so if your students didn’t have the critical thinking and assessing skills to sift through the information, then what are we really learning?

I still feel the benefits of using AI outweigh the negatives and Sal Khan, CEO of Khan Academy would agree.  He sees the ability of AI to create personal tutors for students, as a way to “guardrail” them through the generative AI.  Comparing data from Benjamin Blooms 1984- 2 Sigma Study, he demonstrates the positive and transformational change we would see in students.  Basically with AI, we can offer students their own 1-on-1 tutor.  A very interesting idea to say the least.  He closes his Ted Talk, with what if we could use,

“AI, Artificial Intelligence to enhance HI, Human Intelligence, human potential, and human purpose.”

Now that’s some food for thought.  To AI and Beyond!