Navigating the Use of AI in the Classroom and Around the World

Today I decided to review the AI tool Speechify. This app can be accessed through Chrome extensions, apps, and on desktops. It turns written texts both online and physical into audio for the reader. You can either copy and paste a text into Speechify or use the Chrome extension. They also have a cool feature where you can take a picture of a book’s text you have, and get it to read aloud to you. There are a variety of voices you can choose from and many different languages as well. Some of the voices are famous people such as Gwenth Paltro, Mr.Beast, and Snoop Dog. One of the downsides to Speechify is to gain full access to all of these perks you do have a pay a monthly price of $11.58. 

I think AI tools would be very beneficial to use in the classroom in many different ways. If you have students who are ELL this would be a great way to have texts read to them in their language or English. In addition, you could use this for students with reading disabilities such as dyslexia. This way, students are still able to read and comprehend the text without having to struggle with reading the words. This would also be great for students who have disorders such as ADHD. People with ADHD might prefer to listen to the text instead of reading as they can focus on the words more and not get easily distracted. They will also be more engaged with the text which will lead to comprehension. This would be beneficial for students who just prefer to listen to audio instead of reading. Personally, sometimes it is nice to listen to someone read instead of reading because I can focus on the words better. It also takes a lot less brainpower which is good for those days that I am more stressed or just having an off day. 

This can also be used in a variety of other contexts. The teacher might use Speechify to read aloud an article and quiz the students on their comprehension skills. There could be verbal or written questions regarding the text read aloud throughout Speechify which the teacher can assess. Speechify might also help students plug in their essays or texts they made to edit. This way students can have their text read back to them to see if it makes sense, if they need to add anything, or if they need to reword their sentences. This AI tool would also be great to have read-aloud when learning about more heavy subject areas for students to understand. You can speed or slow down how fast the AI will read the text as well. 

Although AI can be used in beneficial ways as I discussed above, there are still some concerns on ways that it can be taken advantage of. 

• Over-reliance on technology: This can be a tool to help assist students, but they should not be dependent or rely on the use of AI. This is very concerning and we have seen a drop in critical thinking skills as a result of the reliance on AI.
• Privacy: Some AI tools can take your private information without very concerning your consent. 
• Accuracy: One of the main concerns with AI is whether the information presented in generative AI is accurate and can be supported by evidence. More specifically to Speechify, there could be concerns that if you are using it to read aloud a text in another language it will be accurate or will there be mispronunciations. 

 

I believe that AI has pros and cons like many things. As a future teacher, it is important to highlight why we should not rely on AI, but it can be used as a tool to help support our learning. Students can be exposed to how AI works, what are some good examples of how to use AI, how AI can be dangerous, the consequences of using only AI, and much more. These should all be discussed and shared explicitly with the students. AI has become a lot more accessible and the world is still trying to navigate how it works, which is why it is important to educate students about the dangers and benefits of AI.