AI in Education: Not Replacing, Enhancing
Hi Everyone!
Check out my new Audio blog about AI and education.
I hope you all have an amazing last week of class!!
Jillian
Lets have some fun!!!
Hi Everyone!
Check out my new Audio blog about AI and education.
I hope you all have an amazing last week of class!!
Jillian
First off, I love the audio blog this week. Unique idea and I will say that it was a nice change from all of the reading – thanks Jillian. It was interesting to hear your thought process throughout this debate, especially considering you changed your initial vote. Even though I represented the ‘agree’ side, I too wavered in my opinions on pros vs. cons of AI usage. There is so much to consider, but I also determined the benefits outweighed the concerns in the end.
I totally agree that personalized learning is one of the major benefits of AI in education. Our classrooms are getting increasingly diverse but resources to support our diverse learners seem to be diminishing…AI can be an answer to this (perhaps not sufficient on its own, but better than nothing to help educators right?).
I love that you say AI ‘empowers teachers’. I think through AI use, teachers’ time can be better utilized as AI tools can help us with easily automated tasks, in resource preparation and in quick differentiation. Teachers remain the heart of education, a deeply humanistic career that requires the personal touch of teachers, but we NEED help. AI working behind the scenes to ease our workloads is beneficial. Like students, we, as professionals, will also need to consider ethical AI use and ensure it’s being used in balance…acheiving this balance may take some trial and error and I think that is ok.
I appreciate your concluding thoughts of AI not being a replacement, but an enhancement tool. Thanks Jillian!
-Teagan Bryden
Hey Jillian, first off I just want to say that I really appreciate your audio blog and I think you’ve inspired me to try that for my final blogs if I can get brave enough to mix it up. I am a very auditory learner, so I love the opportunity to just listen especially, like you said, after all the reading we’ve had for this course. It’s refreshing! Thank you! I wanted to add my own experience with AI in the classroom. I have used AI tools that can adjust reading levels for students, which allows them to access the same content at a reading level they can feel confident in. The tool not only adjusted the text for the article but also adjusted the comprehension questions to suit their reading. It was so empowering for students and still allowed the whole class to engage with the same content. I also appreciate AI tools as a teacher when I am teaching areas I don’t feel as proficient in. My background is ELA, so when I teach math or science, I often feel out of my depth. AI has come in handy many times already! I am excited to learn more about the tools for teachers. Knowing what is out there and also worth using is sometimes my biggest struggle with new technology.
Hello Jullian,
Yay, an audio blog! Thank you for being so considerate and stepping away from the usual reading we have all had to struggle through. Small mercies!
Also, brave of you to admit to changing your vote. I was compelled to comment on your blog because I did not during the debate. I was potentially swayed but not entirely; however, on researching for my own debate, it was like a world of AI possibilities blossomed before my very eyes. I simply had no idea how massive the AI universe was and here I am but a tiny dust mote in the universe of artificial intelligence!
You brought up the value of individualize learning and, in particular, you mentioned AI tutors that could assist low income families. I love that idea and I had not even considered that was an option. My only concern would be the potential misinformation taught in that scenario; however, it is such an accessible and wonderful idea. Are there programs that currently offer that option that utilize AI? What a practical and functional tool that would be!
Anything that will provide an opportunity for teachers and students to excel even if it does contain a steep learning curve, is a worthy endeavour! I find sooo many of my teacher friends us AI in lesson planning as well as report card creation and, initially, I always believed that to be ‘cheating’ or lacking meaningful connection with both your students and your parents; however, after chatting with some friends during this course, as well as doing my own deep dive into the wonderful world of AI, colour me sold! This is amazing technology that is so adaptable and functional in the educational sphere!
I know during the debate I mentioned I felt the term revolutionize was much too strong of an term to argue successfully but now I realize there are so many options that we have not even yet considered and, due to the rapid evolution of AI, we cannot yet even conceive of that it will indeed do just that. Now we need to simply strap in and embrace the future with a lack of fear and with an open mind.
Hey Jillian,
I really enjoyed hearing your reflections on AI in education. Your point about AI supporting, not replacing, teachers really stood out to me. The article you mentioned about the teacher in London was powerful. It showed how AI helped her build confidence in subject knowledge, manage time more efficiently, and better support her students. I appreciated how you shared your initial hesitation and how that shifted after the debate.
This article resonated with my experience of using AI to teach English. While teaching English at a school in Nepal with a language lab, I also used AI tools to support student-centered instruction. One of the greatest challenges I faced was addressing students’ varying language levels. With AI, I could differentiate tasks and provide personalized support—something that would have been difficult using textbooks alone. AI made lessons more engaging, sparked new ideas, and helped me align activities with students’ learning needs.
I believe AI can help close learning gaps when used thoughtfully. It gave me more flexibility as a teacher and empowered my students to participate more confidently. Thanks again for your insightful reflection—it really made me think!
Sarada
Hey Jillian,
Thank you for your audio blog. It is appreciated.
I really appreciated your honest reflection on this topic. I do believe that it helps with those students who are unable to afford tutors. There are a lot of students who would benefit from tutoring, if it was readily available and free. This comes with the caveat that they are using the technology to get help versus simply doing their work. I also really appreciate the commentary surrounding teacher skill sets. This is something that is overlooked quite frequently. In Saskatchewan, we are lucky if we are placed in a teaching position that we have an expertise in. I, unfortunately, was not placed in a position that I had a lot of expertise in. High school Social Studies is not a position that comes up often, let alone often in the city. AI has really helped me be able to streamline learning about a topic and creating useful resources before having to instruct my Grade 7/8 students on the topic. It has cut the prep time down by at least half. AI is really helpful now that I am a mother to two little ones and I don’t have to struggle with work-life balance as much now.
Great reflection!
Sheila