NC’s AI Solve-a-Thon Proved Students Are Ready. Are We?

In this episode of Kinwise: AI Insights for Educators, host Lydia Kumar sits down with Vera Cubero and Matthew Mayo, the NC DPI leaders who designed and ran North Carolina's first-ever AI Solve-a-Thon. Together they built a statewide student competition where teams spent months identifying real community problems and building actual AI-powered solutions and what students produced exceeded every expectation.

Key Takeaways for Education Leaders

• The Solve-a-Thon was built around empathy. Students were asked to identify real problems in their communities.
• AI literacy is the floor. While many schools are still debating whether to introduce AI, students are already building with it. The goal now is fluency: the discernment and human agency to use these tools responsibly.
• Instructional redesign is no longer optional. If the end product is indistinguishable from what AI alone could produce, it's time to start evaluating the process.
• When students are given real challenges, they exceed what we thought was possible. One student told his coach he had learned more in four months than in his entire school career.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to Kin Wise AI Insights for Educators. 2 00:00:02,509.9999999998 --> 00:00:10,570 I'm Lydia Kumar, and today we're talking about what happens when students are trusted with real, with a real challenge And what that reveals about the future of AI in schools.

(00:10):
This is the first episode in a special series on the NC AI Sellathon, and I couldn't think of a better place than to start with the two people who built it.
My guests are Vera Berro, an AI and education leader who spearheaded North Carolina statewide AI guidelines and Was named one of the 2025 top 100 leading women in ai and Matthew Mayo, director of Digital Technology and learning at the North Carolina Department of Instruction Together they organized the state's first ever AI solve Aon, where student teams spent months identifying real community problems and building actual AI powered solutions to address them.

(00:44):
Students tackled everything from homelessness to DMV navigation to connecting rural communities with critical resources.
And one student told his coach that he had learned more during those few months than he had in his entire school career. 7 00:00:55,876.666666667 --> 00:00:57,376.666666667 I think you're gonna love this conversation. 8 00:00:57,766.666666667 --> 00:00:58,426.666666667 Let's dive in. 9 00:01:00,210.591991699 --> 00:01:03,600.591991699 Hi, Vera and Matthew, I'm so grateful that you're both on the show. 10 00:01:03,650.591991699 --> 00:01:10,380.591991699 The reason I'm having here today is because of your work on the Sellathon, and I wanna start by asking you to kind of share about your journey. 11 00:01:10,620.591991699 --> 00:01:21,227.258658366 What led you to explore the Sellathon and how did it come into being? I think one of the things, Vera, Vera has done a, an amazing job for us at the state level, creating our AI guidelines. 12 00:01:21,227.258658366 --> 00:01:24,377.258658366 So that really set the framework for AI and education. 13 00:01:24,867.258658366 --> 00:01:28,857.258658366 because in ed tech world, anytime there's a new tool that comes out, we're kind of like, Nope. 14 00:01:28,982.258658366 --> 00:01:29,702.258658366 Let's ban it. 15 00:01:30,152.258658366 --> 00:01:35,272.258658366 And so we're like, let's kick the tires and kind of get things, working around and kind of seeing what it can do. 16 00:01:35,662.258658366 --> 00:01:40,702.25865837 And so Vera and the team have worked really hard, with the AI guidelines implementing across the state. 17 00:01:41,122.25865837 --> 00:01:44,392.25865837 We have people that obviously at different, levels of implementation. 18 00:01:44,392.25865837 --> 00:01:47,287.25865837 But I think really when you think about all of this, we think about. 19 00:01:48,67.25865837 --> 00:02:02,857.25865837 How, our students are really engaging with technology and for them, we really want them to move them from just, consuming the technology to actually using the technology, in ways to change, make, make things better, as you, I guess you would say here, but. 20 00:02:03,512.25865837 --> 00:02:08,602.25865837 When we think about all of this, we wanted to create something that really felt different from a traditional, competition. 21 00:02:09,82.25865837 --> 00:02:19,812.25865837 Instead of asking students to build the most technically impressive project, we really asked them to identify real problems in their communities, to help explore how AI could actually, help address some of those. 22 00:02:19,812.25865837 --> 00:02:20,922.25865837 And so the result was. 23 00:02:21,370.5919917 --> 00:02:24,220.5919917 incredibly powerful students were not just experimenting with technology. 24 00:02:24,220.5919917 --> 00:02:32,370.5919917 They were thinking deeply about people, about systems, about the kind of challenges that, their, their communities that they live in face every day. 25 00:02:32,880.5919917 --> 00:02:36,630.5919917 And so, Vera led this work, with, a bunch of coaches around the state. 26 00:02:36,630.5919917 --> 00:02:43,465.5919917 when it all just came together, it became a space where I felt like, you know, the curiosity, the empathy, and the innovation, just kinda. 27 00:02:43,635.5919917 --> 00:02:44,475.5919917 Came together. 28 00:02:44,505.5919917 --> 00:02:47,205.5919917 And so we just said, Hey, let's try this. 29 00:02:47,235.5919917 --> 00:02:51,125.5919917 And so I think in our work, I think Vera will agree with this. 30 00:02:51,155.5919917 --> 00:02:57,155.5919917 we have a huge, fail forward mentality and so the only way we can move forward is if we, try something new. 31 00:02:57,635.5919917 --> 00:03:01,755.5919917 And, we were just very impressed with the students and, it's gonna be even bigger next year. 32 00:03:01,815.5919917 --> 00:03:02,145.5919917 I know. 33 00:03:02,432.25865837 --> 00:03:04,772.25865837 So we're excited about that, but that's kind of how we got there. 34 00:03:04,772.25865837 --> 00:03:07,152.25865837 Vera can tell you a little bit more about the landscape pieces too, I believe. 35 00:03:07,635.5919917 --> 00:03:20,805.5919917 There's still a lot of fear and a lot of uncertainty and a lot of it's very well founded, but we, we both, and everybody in our division feels like that it is here and it something that our students need to start grappling with and learn how to cope. 36 00:03:21,330.5919917 --> 00:03:23,280.5919917 Work with and, co-create with. 37 00:03:23,280.5919917 --> 00:03:32,100.5919917 And so we, we talked about it tossed around the idea last year, but we felt like we still were not in a place where we would have adequate participation. 38 00:03:32,100.5919917 --> 00:03:38,610.5919917 And so we waited until this year and, we were hoping to get 50 teams, signed up and we did have 50 teams originally signed up. 39 00:03:38,610.5919917 --> 00:03:44,410.5919917 And we had every region of our state represented, in the original competition, which was great. 40 00:03:44,460.5919917 --> 00:03:54,240.5919917 You know, just the, the things that the students built and how it really showcases how students, what, first of all, what students can do if they're given that intellectual freedom. 41 00:03:54,240.5919917 --> 00:04:06,30.5919917 But that those durable skills that everybody's talking about, how the, we all kind of, everybody agrees that students need that, that empathy and that critical thinking and collaboration and learners' mindset. 42 00:04:06,360.5919917 --> 00:04:10,20.5919917 But those are not skills that are naturally developed in a traditional classroom. 43 00:04:10,80.5919917 --> 00:04:17,410.5919917 And so, Spent a lot of time trying to think through how we can, really emphasize those skills while preparing kids for the future. 44 00:04:17,410.5919917 --> 00:04:19,840.5919917 And something like this is kind of like a PBL. 45 00:04:20,215.5919917 --> 00:04:26,455.5919917 Kind of project where you're really tackling a problem, I feel like is a, a really good example of how that can be done. 46 00:04:26,785.5919917 --> 00:04:31,975.5919917 And so that was kind of our hope is that it would showcase that and the students exceeded our expectations. 47 00:04:31,975.5919917 --> 00:04:32,845.5919917 They really did. 48 00:04:32,925.5919917 --> 00:04:44,795.5919917 we had some really great projects, solve and it was really tough, Comp, it was really tough to decide who got to go to the state and then even tougher at the state, for our judges, our judge panel to decide who won. 49 00:04:44,795.5919917 --> 00:04:52,505.5919917 But we had, you know, solving for issues like homelessness and lack of access to resources in rural communities, improving the DMV. 50 00:04:52,505.5919917 --> 00:04:53,915.5919917 Those were our three top winners. 51 00:04:53,915.5919917 --> 00:05:01,795.5919917 But we also, in my home hometown here, we had a group that was, working to solve the problem of the white squirrels being killed on the roadways. 52 00:05:01,795.5919917 --> 00:05:02,315.5919917 one was a. 53 00:05:02,590.5919917 --> 00:05:04,180.5919917 About invasive species. 54 00:05:04,180.5919917 --> 00:05:06,640.5919917 So they were all very creative and wide ranging. 55 00:05:06,940.5919917 --> 00:05:15,830.5919917 One did, something about, translating for, a SL for, for people who can't speak, who use a SL, and there were several others that are escaping me right now. 56 00:05:15,830.5919917 --> 00:05:17,450.5919917 One was a mental health chatbot. 57 00:05:17,810.5919917 --> 00:05:24,300.5919917 Just a lot of really creative things that really showed that they were thinking, and connecting to their communities and building that empathy. 58 00:05:24,895.5919917 --> 00:05:36,202.25865837 And so, we didn't wanna call it a prompt, Aon, or, you know, something like that that's out there, because a lot of times those are, you bring 'em together, you give 'em a problem, and they have a few hours to put something together. 59 00:05:36,522.25865837 --> 00:05:46,882.25865837 we wanted to focus on that solving part, that they were really solving these real world issues and showcasing that AI can be used as a force for good, if we wanted to. 60 00:05:46,942.25865837 --> 00:05:49,972.25865837 And so we went with that, but they worked on it from. 61 00:05:50,458.92532503 --> 00:05:58,168.92532503 they started in September and we had our first, virtual competition in October to, narrow down to our 10 state finalists. 62 00:05:58,168.92532503 --> 00:06:04,238.92532503 So it was a multi-month competition, that the students worked on, so they really created real usable. 63 00:06:05,108.92532503 --> 00:06:09,158.92532503 you know, apps and websites and one of 'em even built a robot. 64 00:06:09,158.92532503 --> 00:06:19,688.92532503 So the things that they built were real practical and, and a lot of them are, are like ready for production if they want to, if they get sponsors or whatever and wanna put 'em out into the world, they're ready to do that. 65 00:06:19,688.92532503 --> 00:06:21,783.92532503 So, we were very happy with the outcome. 66 00:06:22,150.5919917 --> 00:06:50,300.5919917 That must have been so inspiring to see, and I know for, for people who might be listening, thinking about who, like finding someone who can support students and lead them through that process, could, could feel potentially like intimidating or like, how, how do you find someone who can kind of shepherd these students? How did you all navigate that? Where students kind of on their own or did they work with, with an adult in the school? What did that look like? Well, we required that they had to have an adult in the school this time. 67 00:06:50,300.5919917 --> 00:06:50,600.5919917 Okay. 68 00:06:50,940.5919917 --> 00:06:53,580.5919917 and we were a little worried about it at first. 69 00:06:53,630.5919917 --> 00:06:57,660.5919917 but we got our 50 teams and, and, close to 50 coaches. 70 00:06:57,660.5919917 --> 00:07:04,500.5919917 We shared it out in all of our communications, our statewide calls, and all of our DTL communications. 71 00:07:04,500.5919917 --> 00:07:08,770.5919917 And, they came, they came together and, and so that wasn't an issue. 72 00:07:09,190.5919917 --> 00:07:11,980.5919917 We did have, I think our charters were. 73 00:07:12,340.5919917 --> 00:07:26,637.25865837 Represented at a percentage more than they are represented in the population, because I think some of them that are focused on STEM and, science and computer science and things had, you know, more people that were willing to do that. 74 00:07:26,637.25865837 --> 00:07:32,367.25865837 But I, I, we also had some people reach out afterwards to say they did, they hadn't heard about it and they would've liked to have done it. 75 00:07:32,577.25865837 --> 00:07:37,607.25865837 And so I think as Matthew said, I think next year we'll probably get more people, that are willing to do it. 76 00:07:38,72.25865837 --> 00:07:38,372.25865837 Yeah. 77 00:07:38,372.25865837 --> 00:07:45,122.25865837 It's so exciting, I think to hear about the success and the application that students were able, able to get out of that. 78 00:07:45,122.25865837 --> 00:07:47,207.25865837 I think Vera, when you were talking about. 79 00:07:47,842.25865837 --> 00:07:56,662.25865837 The durable skills component and you think about students solving problems in their community using tools, being able to present in front of an audience. 80 00:07:56,662.25865837 --> 00:08:14,542.25865837 Those are such great experiences that can really be transformative to a student's trajectory, to have, the opportunity to be able to be set up to do that, and to the students even in their school who see what's possible Being represented by a couple of students who are solving a real problem, even if you're not doing it directly. 81 00:08:15,142.25865837 --> 00:08:15,322.25865837 Mm-hmm. 82 00:08:15,922.25865837 --> 00:08:25,602.25865837 Well, in one of those schools, we, we found out afterwards was a a, a school that has a very high poverty rate and mm-hmm the school has, struggled a lot. 83 00:08:25,882.25865837 --> 00:08:35,862.25865837 And so for that team to win was really a boost for, not just for them, but for that whole school community, that they came together and, and won at a state level. 84 00:08:36,222.25865837 --> 00:08:38,952.25865837 And so that was really, really good to hear as well. 85 00:08:39,592.25865837 --> 00:08:40,642.25865837 That's really exciting. 86 00:08:40,732.25865837 --> 00:08:48,962.25865837 I know there's so very, and I guess Matthew too have worked with so many, districts and regions and our state and. 87 00:08:49,612.25865837 --> 00:08:58,762.25865837 There's a range of how confident people feel about ai and there's a range in how, in how leaders are embracing or steering away from ai. 88 00:08:59,182.25865837 --> 00:09:16,375.5919917 What made you confident that when you put this out there, you students were going to be ready to build and there were going to be schools that were willing to take up the charge to, to make this happen? Well, I think in reality we have to understand and and respect that the young people are already interacting with ai. 89 00:09:17,435.5919917 --> 00:09:19,655.5919917 already tools already daily in their life. 90 00:09:19,655.5919917 --> 00:09:29,745.5919917 And I think one of the first things when we talked about AI and education, I remember the presenter saying, do you remember growing up? And we had clippy at the bottom of our Microsoft telling us, Hey, it looks like you're writing a letter. 91 00:09:30,105.5919917 --> 00:09:31,845.5919917 And then, you know, it automated that. 92 00:09:31,845.5919917 --> 00:09:36,15.5919917 And then of course, the last 15 years we look at Alexa and all that it's been doing. 93 00:09:36,275.5919917 --> 00:09:40,175.5919917 you know, just you looking at the artificial intelligence that has already been around us. 94 00:09:40,610.5919917 --> 00:09:47,690.5919917 but obviously all that has been amplified, but when you think about this, young, with the young people already using it, they are using it. 95 00:09:48,200.5919917 --> 00:09:53,120.5919917 Recommendation systems or conversational tools, or just digital assistance, whether they realize it or not. 96 00:09:53,450.5919917 --> 00:09:59,930.5919917 And what they often lack is just the guidance on how to use those tools thoughtfully and responsibly together. 97 00:10:00,560.5919917 --> 00:10:03,590.5919917 And so I think we've always been at the forefront here in North Carolina. 98 00:10:03,590.5919917 --> 00:10:11,420.5919917 You know, instead of waiting for every policy that was very, very perfectly written, we believed it was important to create structured environments where students could explore. 99 00:10:11,890.5919917 --> 00:10:13,810.5919917 AI in a responsible way. 100 00:10:13,810.5919917 --> 00:10:22,280.5919917 So when you give students the right guardrails and the mentorship and the purpose, they always rise to the challenge very quickly. 101 00:10:22,900.5919917 --> 00:10:29,830.5919917 and so what we saw that during that sellathon, you know, confirmed that belief was the students were not just experimenting with the prompts or the generating the contract. 102 00:10:29,935.5919917 --> 00:10:38,705.5919917 they were asking the meaningful questions, around ethics, the accuracy piece, and, the role that technology should play in helping people, collectively There. 103 00:10:41,40.5919917 --> 00:10:45,930.5919917 Yeah, I think it's really cool to hear about just students rising to that challenge. 104 00:10:45,930.5919917 --> 00:10:53,880.5919917 And I think most of us know that students engage with technology sometimes before the adults in their lives, and we saw that with social media. 105 00:10:53,880.5919917 --> 00:10:58,150.5919917 We've seen that, you know, with with any technological innovation we have. 106 00:10:59,70.5919917 --> 00:11:04,830.5919917 People younger than us sometimes, sometimes older than us, who are experi, experimenting with that technology. 107 00:11:04,830.5919917 --> 00:11:12,780.5919917 And so figuring out, I love what you said about creating a structured environment where people can experiment safely rather than just creating policies. 108 00:11:13,20.5919917 --> 00:11:23,580.5919917 We know the technology is changing really rapidly all the time, and so sometimes you create a policy and it might become outdated or you might have to walk it back because you learn something you you didn't know before. 109 00:11:23,790.5919917 --> 00:11:26,610.5919917 But with a structured environment, people are able to. 110 00:11:27,195.5919917 --> 00:11:35,565.5919917 Be think critically and make decisions that can really transform, transform how they think about the tool and how the people around them think about them as well. 111 00:11:36,184.86559263 --> 00:11:45,84.32901833 it's really about trying to fill that gap, you know, in between, the learning about the technology and then learning how to apply that technology to the, to the problems. 112 00:11:45,500.3566046 --> 00:11:56,360.3566046 If there are district leaders or state leaders listening to this podcast and they're thinking, okay, the AI sellathon sounds cool, and I, I understand there's like students solving problems. 113 00:11:56,360.3566046 --> 00:11:58,70.3566046 There's an adult working with them. 114 00:11:58,280.3566046 --> 00:11:59,180.3566046 They have some event. 115 00:11:59,180.3566046 --> 00:12:01,730.3566046 Like what are the, the key pieces of planning or. 116 00:12:02,230.3566046 --> 00:12:12,250.3566046 The thinking that you all did to put, create this structure so that it actually worked like you, you definitely, I mean, it took place over a long time. 117 00:12:12,550.3566046 --> 00:12:20,485.3566046 How did you set up this event so that you had the success that you had? Well, to begin with, we thought about doing it last year and we just weren't sure we would have. 118 00:12:21,125.3566046 --> 00:12:22,55.3566046 The participation. 119 00:12:22,55.3566046 --> 00:12:25,835.3566046 So we waited till this year and it coincided with the presidential AI challenge. 120 00:12:26,165.3566046 --> 00:12:35,375.3566046 And so we intentionally kind of aligned it with what the presidential challenge was so that they could take their products and, and submit to it if they wanted to. 121 00:12:35,615.3566046 --> 00:12:41,75.3566046 So a lot of our frameworks and our rubrics and things are very mirror that, very much so. 122 00:12:41,425.3566046 --> 00:12:42,55.3566046 but we. 123 00:12:43,105.3566046 --> 00:12:48,15.3566046 We, you know, of course that won't be every year, so we aligned it with the design thinking framework. 124 00:12:48,15.3566046 --> 00:12:58,805.3566046 It's kind of a little bit modified, but we wanted them to kind of go through that process that they would use if they were creating an app or something anyway, but really heavy on that empathy piece, because it was so connected. 125 00:12:59,135.3566046 --> 00:13:01,445.3566046 To their community and the people in their community. 126 00:13:01,895.3566046 --> 00:13:10,625.3566046 But we sat down and set out all of our dates ahead of time, and we set out, a structure to make sure the coaches were supported. 127 00:13:11,25.3566046 --> 00:13:21,315.3566046 we had, biweekly coach meetings in the afternoons, and some of those, our partners at Play Lab, were led and they did training because they, they gave us access. 128 00:13:21,315.3566046 --> 00:13:24,315.3566046 So we made sure they had training, we made sure they had tools. 129 00:13:24,315.3566046 --> 00:13:34,545.3566046 We, had a communication routine where they were all, getting regular emails and updates and it was kind of a whole team effort to kind of pull in all that together. 130 00:13:34,605.3566046 --> 00:13:43,35.3566046 And in planning for the event, we had a whole committee, six or seven people on our digital learning team that were helping with that and kind of making sure. 131 00:13:43,230.3566046 --> 00:13:55,370.3566046 So we had a lot of people kind of coming together and our, including our communications team, and you know, just planning ahead and making sure we had, you know, a plan for everything. 132 00:13:55,740.3566046 --> 00:13:58,410.3566046 the judges, you know, that was another thing. 133 00:13:58,440.3566046 --> 00:14:00,840.3566046 Make sure we got the judges, make sure they were trained up. 134 00:14:01,320.3566046 --> 00:14:03,120.3566046 We had separate coaches trainings. 135 00:14:03,150.3566046 --> 00:14:04,20.3566046 We didn't interact. 136 00:14:04,225.3566046 --> 00:14:09,205.3566046 throughout the process with the students directly, the coaches took, took on that role. 137 00:14:09,205.3566046 --> 00:14:15,835.3566046 So they led their own individual teams, but, but we communicated very, very often through the coaches. 138 00:14:15,895.3566046 --> 00:14:17,575.3566046 And so I think that's the biggest part. 139 00:14:17,575.3566046 --> 00:14:18,865.3566046 It's just open communication. 140 00:14:19,285.3566046 --> 00:14:24,295.3566046 And we had a email set up where they could send any questions or concerns that they had. 141 00:14:24,295.3566046 --> 00:14:28,585.3566046 We had a document that had everything outlined in it from the get go. 142 00:14:28,765.3566046 --> 00:14:30,535.3566046 It had all the resources in it. 143 00:14:30,875.3566046 --> 00:14:32,945.3566046 description of everything, the rubrics. 144 00:14:33,295.3566046 --> 00:14:44,665.3566046 you know, everything that they would need was there and, and all the, the toolkit, the permission forms, you know, having everything in one place that they knew to go to, I think also helped it be successful. 145 00:14:45,595.3566046 --> 00:14:47,815.3566046 Yeah, and I think, the coaches leaned on each other too. 146 00:14:48,405.3566046 --> 00:14:49,845.3566046 'cause this was all new territory. 147 00:14:50,55.3566046 --> 00:14:58,515.3566046 And I think, they, while they had the luxury of having a blank canvas, so to speak, they had those guardrails kind of around them to help guide the work. 148 00:14:58,585.3566046 --> 00:15:02,135.3566046 and then of course, just given the students that space, to. 149 00:15:02,680.3566046 --> 00:15:09,190.3566046 Think creatively instead of, Hey, here's a rigid lesson plan, but here it is, here's an idea. 150 00:15:09,190.3566046 --> 00:15:12,520.3566046 And just, you know, let's, let's talk and let's see what's, what's possible. 151 00:15:13,83.68993793 --> 00:15:21,983.68993793 We just charge them with exactly what we've already said, you know, about an issue that really matters to you and your community and, you know, think about how AI could be used to solve it. 152 00:15:21,983.68993793 --> 00:15:23,243.68993793 And there were two tracks. 153 00:15:23,798.68993793 --> 00:15:25,958.68993793 Because that's what the Presidential Challenge had. 154 00:15:26,18.68993793 --> 00:15:40,48.68993793 And one of those tracks did not require the actual use of ai and we didn't have as many teams in that track, but we didn't want to exclude, our younger students who maybe were not allowed to use AI or any schools that had not yet, started engaging with ai. 155 00:15:40,48.68993793 --> 00:15:44,948.68993793 So that was one that was more of a, just a research project where they had to research. 156 00:15:45,413.68993793 --> 00:15:48,923.68993793 Find an idea for an AI tool, but they didn't actually build it. 157 00:15:49,13.68993793 --> 00:15:51,53.68993793 And then the track two was the build. 158 00:15:51,143.68993793 --> 00:15:58,913.68993793 And so just we had to clarify that, make sure they understood the two different tracks, what the requirements were, the different rubrics. 159 00:15:59,273.68993793 --> 00:16:05,233.68993793 Making sure that we had clear guidelines from the beginning and, were there to support them throughout the whole thing. 160 00:16:05,937.23984008 --> 00:16:16,557.23984008 One thing that's really cool is that you created this competition for students, but at the same time, you're really upskilling adults in the state who were these coaches. 161 00:16:16,557.23984008 --> 00:16:18,747.23984008 And so you created a community of adults. 162 00:16:19,17.23984008 --> 00:16:37,137.23984008 they had this excellent training with Play Lab and were able to come together how do you lead students in thinking this way? And so that's great in a way that that just feels like such great professional development for the adults who are involved while you're also providing this opportunity for students. 163 00:16:37,137.23984008 --> 00:16:39,297.23984008 And so you're kind of distributing leadership. 164 00:16:39,297.23984008 --> 00:16:46,887.2398401 You're not trying to, you all can't work with every single student, but you can work with these adults and these adults can then work with the students and that impact carries on. 165 00:16:47,372.2398401 --> 00:16:47,792.2398401 Mm-hmm. 166 00:16:47,937.2398401 --> 00:17:03,337.2398401 Yeah, I think the, it's like unintentional, unintentional, intentional pd, for everyone, because many educators walked away realized that something really important, and that was that students are capable of far more than we sometimes give them credit for. 167 00:17:03,967.2398401 --> 00:17:08,467.2398401 And that when, 'cause when students, are given something meaningful, whether it's a challenge like this. 168 00:17:09,252.2398401 --> 00:17:17,972.2398401 And then, and to be able to have those tools to explore the solutions they bring such, fresh perspectives that some of us adults might not even immediately see. 169 00:17:18,692.2398401 --> 00:17:26,902.2398401 And I think when you think about that layer for the coaches and you think about the district leaders too as well, they saw, how quickly students can adapt. 170 00:17:27,467.2398401 --> 00:17:35,657.2398401 To these emerging technologies when the learning environment encourages curiosity rather than fear or, you know, worries about what, what may happen. 171 00:17:36,47.2398401 --> 00:17:36,887.2398401 And so that's ai. 172 00:17:36,887.2398401 --> 00:17:50,537.2398401 Sellathon really just demonstrated that, AI doesn't need to be something schools are cautious about, introduced to, but instead of something that can be, become a powerful catalyst for really learning deeper. 173 00:17:51,98.1915687 --> 00:18:18,38.1915687 Do you have a story or an example of a conversation you had with a district leader or a coach about how their perspective about what students were capable of changed through this process? Yeah, I mean, I had one, one of our coaches who told me a couple of weeks ago that one of her, one of the young men that was on the winning on the team, it was one of the winning teams too, that came to her and said that he had learned more in the last four or five months in that project than he had learned in his entire. 174 00:18:18,633.1915687 --> 00:18:20,733.1915687 and to me that was really impactful. 175 00:18:20,853.1915687 --> 00:18:33,319.8582354 And then the other one that I was talking about from the, from the school, that is of, of a, you know, one of our tier one schools has, has historically struggled in this, in the whole school community is, is a, a high poverty area. 176 00:18:33,769.8582354 --> 00:18:40,906.5249021 And these kids were not, you're, you know, you're ultra wealthy, you know, in a privileged environment and they. 177 00:18:41,181.5249021 --> 00:18:50,571.5249021 Created an amazing project and just the pride that it brought them and then the pride that it brought their whole school system as well really lifted up the whole, the whole school and the whole community. 178 00:18:50,658.1915687 --> 00:18:59,614.8582354 Matthew, do you have any others? Any stories you would like to share? Anecdotes that come to mind? I just love seeing the passion from the students, and just watching them and then listening to them talk. 179 00:18:59,674.8582354 --> 00:19:03,289.8582354 after the competition, we had a student showcase after the event where they shared. 180 00:19:03,794.8582354 --> 00:19:28,609.8582354 And just the, the excitement, you know, we don't always see that in every classroom, you know, and so just to see that excitement in their eyes and to know that, the curiosity has been peaked and, and also the point in time too, that they can, they're gonna go, they're gonna do greater things because of all of this, you know? What do you think this revealed about how AI literacy should look in schools? That's a loaded question. 181 00:19:30,49.8582354 --> 00:19:30,589.8582354 Go ahead, Vera. 182 00:19:31,9.8582354 --> 00:19:36,89.8582354 Well, I think it definitely revealed that, we've, we've got to move more to the application. 183 00:19:36,149.8582354 --> 00:19:37,24.8582354 I mean, it's, it, it's. 184 00:19:37,364.8582354 --> 00:19:41,414.8582354 It's only been three and a half years, but on one hand it seems like a flash. 185 00:19:41,414.8582354 --> 00:19:45,984.8582354 On the other hand, it seems like a lifetime, because the technologies are moving so quickly. 186 00:19:46,74.8582354 --> 00:19:59,149.8582354 And so I think it just revealed that, you know, while a lot of people are still debating about whether or not to even introduce any AI in their schools, that, you know, we have kids who are already building great things that are solving. 187 00:19:59,789.8582354 --> 00:20:07,379.8582354 You know, major issues in their world with, with ai, and so I, I think it's time to move past just the base AI literacy. 188 00:20:08,454.8582354 --> 00:20:09,234.8582354 Discussions. 189 00:20:09,234.8582354 --> 00:20:15,744.8582354 I think it's obvious, more obvious every day to me, but I live in this bubble that AI literacy is just the floor. 190 00:20:15,854.8582354 --> 00:20:17,864.8582354 the students really need AI fluency. 191 00:20:17,954.8582354 --> 00:20:22,664.8582354 And if you're looking at the job market and things that are happening, that's becoming more obvious every day. 192 00:20:22,664.8582354 --> 00:20:27,79.8582354 That we, the students that are gonna succeed in the future are gonna be the ones that are. 193 00:20:27,774.8582354 --> 00:20:43,154.8582354 Competent in working with the tools and creating, as Matthew said, not just consuming them, but also have, you know, the ability to really implement human judgment and agency, and overseeing the tools and, and the human judgment that throughout the whole process. 194 00:20:43,214.8582354 --> 00:20:51,59.8582354 And so I think that this, it, again, it just kind of showed what's possible, but hopefully it shows people that, you know, it's, it's time to stop. 195 00:20:51,559.8582354 --> 00:20:57,169.8582354 F debating whether our students are gonna use AI because as Matthew said, they already are using it. 196 00:20:57,489.8582354 --> 00:21:07,419.8582354 but are we gonna guide them in the right way to use it? Are we gonna let them figure it out on social media, which is where they're gonna learn everything? We don't want them to learn, not what we do, want 'em to learn. 197 00:21:08,844.8582354 --> 00:21:11,524.8582354 I tried to, I've tried, I've tried to find this video. 198 00:21:11,594.8582354 --> 00:21:15,584.8582354 so as a former CTOI remember my very first one-to-one rollout of devices. 199 00:21:16,64.8582354 --> 00:21:18,874.8582354 I shared a video, and it was called Band Pencils. 200 00:21:19,234.8582354 --> 00:21:23,589.8582354 And it was, it was a, mockery of like the very first time pencils came out and how teachers were like. 201 00:21:24,244.8582354 --> 00:21:35,134.8582354 What if they write with them bad words? What if they do this with the pencils? What if they do that? And I'm like, these are the same questions you're asking today about what if they do this with a laptop? You know? And it's the same thing with ai. 202 00:21:35,134.8582354 --> 00:21:40,84.8582354 What if they do this? The literacy piece is the component we've gotta get right. 203 00:21:41,364.8582354 --> 00:21:43,734.8582354 And I think sometimes we're so worried about the tool. 204 00:21:43,734.8582354 --> 00:21:49,14.8582354 We forget to take the time to plan about the literacy because that literacy piece is the foundation. 205 00:21:49,14.8582354 --> 00:21:49,824.8582354 That's what's wrong. 206 00:21:49,854.8582354 --> 00:21:57,294.8582354 I mean, when we think about COVID was the great accelerator for, for technology in the classroom period, and we rushed very quickly. 207 00:21:57,844.8582354 --> 00:22:03,574.8582354 And we were rushing so fast that we didn't take time to really teach our kids how to use things effectively. 208 00:22:03,904.8582354 --> 00:22:05,644.8582354 And we've gotta go back a little bit here. 209 00:22:06,54.8582354 --> 00:22:17,134.8582354 but I believe it's about developing the ability for our students to ask good questions, to evaluate information critically and to understand how the technology is always gonna be there. 210 00:22:17,134.8582354 --> 00:22:21,579.8582354 It's always gonna be something new, but it truly influences the world around us every day. 211 00:22:22,199.8582354 --> 00:22:25,894.8582354 And that students would, should learn how AI works. 212 00:22:26,434.8582354 --> 00:22:36,484.8582354 Teachers should learn how AI works, but all of us need to also learn when to question it, when to verify its outputs, and then how to use it responsibly. 213 00:22:36,944.8582354 --> 00:22:41,564.8582354 because the, these are the skills that are, are, are gonna be needed for, for the future. 214 00:22:42,271.5202674 --> 00:22:48,421.5202674 Vera, A moment ago you said, you know, students, AI literacy is the floor and we need to move toward AI fluency. 215 00:22:48,511.5202674 --> 00:23:05,411.5202674 And so I was just wondering if you could kind of talk through what do you think are the differences between AI literacy and AI fluency and like what are we, what do we need to move toward? Well, I think a, a big part of AI fluency is that discernment, judgment, whatever you wanna call it, the human agency piece of it. 216 00:23:05,411.5202674 --> 00:23:14,171.5202674 As Matthew said, they don't need to just know how to use chatbots as an input output machine because the technology's already moving to now. 217 00:23:14,171.5202674 --> 00:23:16,931.5202674 Agent teams, like old teams of autonomous. 218 00:23:17,641.5202674 --> 00:23:25,651.5202674 And so, if they just, you know, the basic AI literacy is just, you know, what is it? How does it work? all of that is shifting beneath our feet. 219 00:23:25,831.5202674 --> 00:23:31,156.5202674 But I, I consider fluencies, like, I think every one of these students that did this project have. 220 00:23:32,11.5202674 --> 00:23:42,511.5202674 Reach the level of AI fluency because they have gone through that process of really guiding and evaluating and making sure they are keeping that human judgment and agency central to it. 221 00:23:42,781.5202674 --> 00:23:47,301.5202674 And then also making sure that, that the outcome is one that benefits humanity. 222 00:23:47,401.5202674 --> 00:23:51,691.5202674 I think AI literacy, I mean, it does include ethics, but I think. 223 00:23:52,16.5202674 --> 00:23:58,856.5202674 If we're really talking about fluency, that ethical piece is rises to the top as being a, a lot, a bigger part of it. 224 00:23:58,886.5202674 --> 00:24:02,906.5202674 It's not just about learning a tool or learning how to use chatbots. 225 00:24:02,936.5202674 --> 00:24:14,166.5202674 It's, it's learning, you know, how these systems work and how the data, is interpreted and how that introduces bias and introduces things in it so that you really can have that oversight. 226 00:24:14,166.5202674 --> 00:24:15,726.5202674 So it's, it's data literacy. 227 00:24:15,941.5202674 --> 00:24:25,571.5202674 That agency piece that, being that discernment of being able to really evaluate carefully knowing, knowing if you should even use the tool as part of it too. 228 00:24:25,571.5202674 --> 00:24:34,321.5202674 But, I don't know if you've seen that Anthropic has that al fluency framework and it's like the four Ds and, and so discernment is, is a big part of it. 229 00:24:34,321.5202674 --> 00:24:40,531.5202674 If you've really got that discernment and then that, ethical decision making where you're ensuring that the. 230 00:24:40,891.5202674 --> 00:24:47,731.5202674 The tools are, you know, not unbiased and that they're being used in a way to improve people's lives. 231 00:24:47,776.5202674 --> 00:24:49,776.5202674 I, I think then that's kind of the difference to me. 232 00:24:51,451.5202674 --> 00:24:54,481.5202674 And that, I mean, that was part of what the solve, Aon did. 233 00:24:54,481.5202674 --> 00:24:57,421.5202674 It set up students to solve real human problems. 234 00:24:57,541.5202674 --> 00:25:01,81.5202674 And so I'm curious like that, that was your framing for this. 235 00:25:01,171.5202674 --> 00:25:07,741.5202674 You said earlier we didn't wanna have a prompt Aon, we wanted to have a solve Aon, we wanted to tie this to real, to real challenges and. 236 00:25:08,216.5202674 --> 00:25:13,586.5202674 I think that's one example of a strategy to help students see AI as a tool for community impact. 237 00:25:13,586.5202674 --> 00:25:15,86.5202674 It's more than just productivity. 238 00:25:15,536.5202674 --> 00:25:26,906.5202674 Do you have other ideas or examples for educators who want students to understand this is more than just about getting things done really fast? It's more than, it's about more than productivity. 239 00:25:27,439.8536008 --> 00:25:36,64.8536008 One of the things, the beautiful things that this AI saw with on was how deeply human the, the students' ideas were. 240 00:25:36,363.1869341 --> 00:25:47,806.5202674 And it really pointed to that empathy piece, which I think was maybe not as expected as we saw, because the students didn't gravitate toward that flashy technical project by any means. 241 00:25:47,806.5202674 --> 00:25:51,286.5202674 Instead, they focused on problems that really impacted people's everyday lives. 242 00:25:51,643.1869341 --> 00:26:00,183.1869341 And I think that was just amazing to be able to see that kind of push through because, you know, like one team looked at how AI could help those individuals experiencing, homelessness. 243 00:26:00,998.1869341 --> 00:26:03,908.1869341 locate nearby resources at shelters and support services. 244 00:26:03,908.1869341 --> 00:26:10,78.1869341 And then another team explored what we've all heard in the news, the DMV processes and how people can navigate them more easily. 245 00:26:10,558.1869341 --> 00:26:13,378.1869341 So to really feel and see how those students. 246 00:26:13,953.1869341 --> 00:26:14,793.1869341 just reflect that. 247 00:26:14,793.1869341 --> 00:26:17,223.1869341 Such a song, strong sense of empathy. 248 00:26:17,733.1869341 --> 00:26:20,823.1869341 Everyone sees Ai saan, oh, this is a technology event. 249 00:26:21,123.1869341 --> 00:26:22,503.1869341 It was way more than that. 250 00:26:22,833.1869341 --> 00:26:27,483.1869341 You know, when when you see that side of things, you get the whole picture. 251 00:26:27,543.1869341 --> 00:26:31,393.1869341 I, I just feel like for, for, for leaders to really, truly see and to understand that it, it was just. 252 00:26:31,944.8536008 --> 00:26:33,829.8536008 Really encouraging, I think, for everyone. 253 00:26:34,49.8536008 --> 00:26:34,469.8536008 Mm-hmm. 254 00:26:34,643.1869341 --> 00:26:50,618.1869341 Well, and I was just gonna point to also that we've been exploring a lot, and Matthew is also a big proponent of PBL back in the day, but the, you ask what was something else that educators can do? And I think that we have to really face the fact. 255 00:26:51,443.1869341 --> 00:26:54,353.1869341 Instructional redesign is an absolute must. 256 00:26:54,633.1869341 --> 00:27:01,833.1869341 in a time when these tools can give us every answer of any traditional assignment, we have to start rethinking those assignments. 257 00:27:01,833.1869341 --> 00:27:10,683.1869341 If we just continue to give them worksheets and five paragraph essays, and then battle with them over whether they cheated with AI or not, then we're. 258 00:27:11,108.1869341 --> 00:27:12,368.1869341 Totally missing the point. 259 00:27:12,548.1869341 --> 00:27:17,228.1869341 And so we have to start redesigning the instruction and we've done a lot of work. 260 00:27:17,228.1869341 --> 00:27:27,78.1869341 Our division, our, our office, we have several people in here are doing a pilot, on micro PBL, AI assisted PBL, where it's really purely standards aligned. 261 00:27:27,78.1869341 --> 00:27:31,428.1869341 You can take us any standard and we've got a whole framework on our guidelines and. 262 00:27:31,483.1869341 --> 00:27:49,783.1869341 Tools to help with it, where teachers can take a standard, put it in there, and put some parameters like their location so that brings that local connection to it and the empathy piece, and it will co-create with them a, a little micro PBL unit of three to five days every how many days they select. 263 00:27:50,203.1869341 --> 00:27:57,223.1869341 That really reinforces all these things we're talking about, these durable skills, the empathy, the, the human judgment and the agents. 264 00:27:57,243.1869341 --> 00:28:17,643.1869341 C and oversight, but it also at the same time helps build that in the teacher because it, it will not just like a lot of these things, you know, you put in a few little bit of information that spits out a lesson plan, this one instead, they have to be engaged throughout the whole process and it reminds them often that they're the teacher, that they bring a lot to it and they need to have oversight themselves. 265 00:28:17,853.1869341 --> 00:28:19,503.1869341 And so they create something that's really. 266 00:28:20,118.1869341 --> 00:28:27,978.1869341 Highly customized to their standard, their students, their community, their classrooms, but they've had the human oversight the whole time. 267 00:28:28,338.1869341 --> 00:28:29,988.1869341 And it is standards aligned. 268 00:28:29,988.1869341 --> 00:28:34,428.1869341 It's not ditching the standards, it's, it's looking at a new way of teaching and assessing the standards. 269 00:28:34,878.1869341 --> 00:28:45,653.1869341 And I think that's, that's something that our, our teachers really need to, be trained in and, and start exploring because if not, we're creating this chasm. 270 00:28:46,443.1869341 --> 00:28:55,683.1869341 You know, we're going to, first of all those, if you're, if you're still doing traditional assignments, the kids 100% are gonna use AI tools to do it. 271 00:28:55,683.1869341 --> 00:28:56,643.1869341 And you can't stop them. 272 00:28:57,33.1869341 --> 00:28:57,993.1869341 You can't block, absolutely. 273 00:28:58,73.1869341 --> 00:29:02,693.1869341 You might be able to keep the phone outta the classroom, but when they go home, it also creates a lot of inequity. 274 00:29:02,693.1869341 --> 00:29:07,643.1869341 The ones that have the access and the ones that don't, but they're not learning the skills that they need in their future. 275 00:29:08,438.1869341 --> 00:29:16,298.1869341 I've worn it out, but I quote John Dewey often where he said that if we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow. 276 00:29:16,298.1869341 --> 00:29:19,748.1869341 And I feel like that's more relevant today than it's ever been. 277 00:29:20,228.1869341 --> 00:29:23,268.1869341 And so I think that's an important component, but also I. 278 00:29:23,523.1869341 --> 00:29:24,783.1869341 Learning portfolios. 279 00:29:24,783.1869341 --> 00:29:35,403.1869341 I don't think we can over stress that, that if you can't tell what the end, if the end product was created by ai, then it's time we stop just evaluating that end product. 280 00:29:35,403.1869341 --> 00:29:38,433.1869341 We talk about product over purpose or process over product. 281 00:29:38,763.1869341 --> 00:29:45,873.1869341 That's what we're talking about, that end product, you can't tell, and so you need to be looking at that whole messy, beautiful process of learning. 282 00:29:46,328.1869341 --> 00:29:48,128.1869341 And if you're gonna do that, you've gotta collect it. 283 00:29:48,128.1869341 --> 00:29:54,488.1869341 And so a learning portfolio of something as simple as a Google site or a Google slide can be used to capture all of that. 284 00:29:54,488.1869341 --> 00:30:00,168.1869341 And then along the way, have metacognitive reflective prompts that students have to answer. 285 00:30:00,518.1869341 --> 00:30:06,488.1869341 and if you look at John Hattie's research on effect sizes, that's one of the, the greatest effects. 286 00:30:06,518.1869341 --> 00:30:07,958.1869341 That was almost 0.7, 287 00:30:07,958.1869341 --> 00:30:09,248.1869341 which is like eight months. 288 00:30:09,523.1869341 --> 00:30:13,783.1869341 Growth in a school year if it's done well, that metacognitive reflection. 289 00:30:13,903.1869341 --> 00:30:26,383.1869341 And so building that end of those learning portfolios in a micro PBL unit, I feel like that's the way that schools need to start moving and moving away from the traditional assignments that just aren't working anymore. 290 00:30:26,693.1869341 --> 00:30:31,723.1869341 a lot of those are built for, you know, a world that doesn't exist anymore and our students know that. 291 00:30:32,28.1869341 --> 00:30:33,948.1869341 they know that and they're concerned. 292 00:30:34,8.1869341 --> 00:30:34,938.1869341 They're very concerned. 293 00:30:34,938.1869341 --> 00:30:37,818.1869341 If you talk to students, I don't think a lot enough people do that. 294 00:30:37,938.1869341 --> 00:30:41,328.1869341 And we're actually bringing all, our top three teams on a webinar. 295 00:30:41,538.1869341 --> 00:30:43,608.1869341 April 1st I wanted to get out, out on here. 296 00:30:44,8.1869341 --> 00:30:44,968.1869341 we're having a webinar. 297 00:30:45,28.1869341 --> 00:30:59,733.1869341 Student saw voices from the student Sabbath on, and so they'll be sharing their pitches, but they're also at the end of it, gonna be kind of talking through, you know, what are their concerns for the future? What do they feel like? Schools should be doing about AI and in the K 12 environment. 298 00:30:59,733.1869341 --> 00:31:06,663.1869341 And so there'll be a little bit of time for that at the end, but I think that's something everybody needs to be doing is really bringing those students in. 299 00:31:06,663.1869341 --> 00:31:10,983.1869341 Because we've done that was that last spring, Matthew, we had the student panel. 300 00:31:10,983.1869341 --> 00:31:12,573.1869341 We've had two different student panels. 301 00:31:12,603.1869341 --> 00:31:12,663.1869341 Yeah. 302 00:31:13,113.1869341 --> 00:31:18,873.1869341 and it, it really blows me away every time how intelligent and well spoken and how thoughtful they are. 303 00:31:19,413.1869341 --> 00:31:24,703.1869341 But, but they're, they're concerned and they, they want to, most, most of them feel like that. 304 00:31:25,28.1869341 --> 00:31:32,78.1869341 Schools should be teaching them about it and they're concerned about the jobs and, and so I think that's an important voice that it needs to be listened to. 305 00:31:33,878.1869341 --> 00:31:37,628.1869341 Earlier in the show, you talked about how one of the students said. 306 00:31:38,203.1869341 --> 00:31:41,323.1869341 That was, this was like the most that they had ever learned. 307 00:31:41,353.1869341 --> 00:31:45,613.1869341 Like they learned more in this project than they had in, in their whole time in school. 308 00:31:45,613.1869341 --> 00:31:53,473.1869341 And I was thinking about how what you did with the Sellathon wasn't just about ai, it was also about creating a project over time. 309 00:31:53,683.1869341 --> 00:31:58,258.1869341 And if you had just been, you, you weren't having them just use ai, you were having them, you know. 310 00:31:58,998.1869341 --> 00:32:00,618.1869341 Think in different ways. 311 00:32:00,618.1869341 --> 00:32:05,898.1869341 Use design thinking, be empathetic, solve real problems, analyze what's happening in their community. 312 00:32:05,898.1869341 --> 00:32:15,658.1869341 There were all these, these sublayers that happened below that, and so bear, as you were talking, just, you know, a moment ago about redesigning education, it made me think about. 313 00:32:16,858.1869341 --> 00:32:35,338.1869341 The proof point that the Sabbath on gave you, because you used AI and you redesigned in a project based way, and then students learned a tremendous amount and AI didn't replicate thinking, but it really expanded it because the students participated, were in school before there was AI to to use. 314 00:32:35,338.1869341 --> 00:32:38,968.1869341 And so they've really, they're living that shift in that their education. 315 00:32:38,968.1869341 --> 00:32:42,958.1869341 okay, well I wanna ask, I have one last question before we wrap up. 316 00:32:43,18.1869341 --> 00:32:50,908.1869341 And so, you know, you all spent months watching students identify real problems in their community and they used AI to build those solutions. 317 00:32:51,28.1869341 --> 00:33:00,977.9955651 And so when you think about the solve Aon experience, what do you think it revealed about what students are capable of? And we trust them to build meaning, them with meaningful challenges. 318 00:33:01,330.100901 --> 00:33:11,0.100901 I think that, it opens our eyes to see, I'll go back to what I said earlier, just what kids are capable of when we put, give them a blank canvas and some guardrails. 319 00:33:11,459.4789056 --> 00:33:12,809.4789056 we've gotta do more of that. 320 00:33:12,979.4789056 --> 00:33:20,774.4789056 I've always told my teachers over and over like, is your lesson plan Googleable? 'cause if it's Googleable, the kids are gonna Google it and they're gonna get the answers. 321 00:33:20,774.4789056 --> 00:33:22,964.4789056 And they're gonna put the answers, and then you're gonna be frustrated. 322 00:33:23,814.4789056 --> 00:33:25,194.4789056 And I'm like, it's the same thing. 323 00:33:25,194.4789056 --> 00:33:38,334.4789056 Like, you know, how do we get our kids to truly design? How do we get them to think, critically and to use those skills and collaborate? And so when you really think about the soft skills of this. 324 00:33:38,754.4789056 --> 00:33:42,974.4789056 That were developed, the teams had to commun, communicate with each other to develop all of this stuff. 325 00:33:43,394.4789056 --> 00:33:46,154.4789056 Uh, we hear so many times, our kids are always stuck in their phones. 326 00:33:46,154.4789056 --> 00:34:00,914.4789056 Well, they were, they had a lot of face time together to be able to discuss and say, Hey, you know, I like your idea, but no, this, have you thought about this? So really going back to creating a space that allows, I'll go back again. 327 00:34:00,944.4789056 --> 00:34:03,794.4789056 The fail forward mentality of allowing our kids to fail. 328 00:34:04,394.4789056 --> 00:34:04,574.4789056 but. 329 00:34:05,669.4789056 --> 00:34:07,19.4789056 Moving forward at the same time. 330 00:34:07,19.4789056 --> 00:34:21,869.4789056 So what did you learn from this? You know, we, the system has been always pass fail and so to me, one of the most beautiful things I think in my, even my own career, a failure has really been a success because I've learned something from it and I know what not to do next time. 331 00:34:22,349.4789056 --> 00:34:25,724.4789056 And so I think creating that kind of culture is key as we move forward. 332 00:34:26,396.9669796 --> 00:34:31,106.9669796 Right, because when you're working at a job, we don't live in a pass fail world professionally. 333 00:34:31,106.9669796 --> 00:34:39,386.9669796 Like a project may work or it may not work, but it's not like a grade you get on a test or an assignment, you're actually reflecting, thinking and responding. 334 00:34:39,386.9669796 --> 00:35:00,737.3019215 And so, the how do we mirror a learning experiences that are similar to what students do in the real world feels so critical to preparing students for the world of the future, And, and creating that culture of, curiosity where students and teachers feel comfortable experimenting with new ideas without that pressure of perfection. 335 00:35:01,367.3019215 --> 00:35:11,37.3019215 Because we all wanna be, you know, we have the kids have pressures from their parents to come home with a on a roll and so forth and, and, and, you know, be in the top of the class and so forth. 336 00:35:11,37.3019215 --> 00:35:17,812.3019215 But having that, being comfortable with experimenting the news idea, news, idea new ideas, and then the schools need access, of course. 337 00:35:18,459.7660513 --> 00:35:24,912.0148679 to the right tools and, and mentors that cultivate this, collectively there. 338 00:35:26,866.8597364 --> 00:35:29,56.8597364 Vera and Matthew didn't just organize a competition. 339 00:35:29,306.8597364 --> 00:35:35,66.8597364 They created a space where students could connect AI to real human problems, and the results speak for themselves. 340 00:35:35,196.8597364 --> 00:35:41,976.8597364 The Sellathon shows what's possible when we stop debating whether students are ready and start building the conditions for them to lead. 341 00:35:42,276.8597364 --> 00:35:49,916.8597364 To stay connected with Vera and Matthew's work, check out NC DPI's Learning Resources and check out the recording of the Student Voices webinar that was on April 1st. 342 00:35:50,216.8597364 --> 00:35:51,356.8597364 I'll link it in the show notes. 343 00:35:51,566.8597364 --> 00:35:53,906.8597364 This is just the beginning of our Salva on series. 344 00:35:54,116.8597364 --> 00:36:04,66.8597364 Over the next four episodes, you'll hear directly from the student teams who competed, and we'll close things out with a broader conversation about how AI and education leadership came together here in North Carolina. 345 00:36:04,276.8597364 --> 00:36:11,596.8597364 Stay with us and if you'd like more conversations and resources exploring human-centered AI and education, visit kin wise.ai. 346 00:36:11,776.8597364 --> 00:36:15,316.8597364 Until next time, stay curious, stay grounded, and stay kin wise,