Unlocking Potential: The Role of AI in Education

In this episode, we (Mark Raffler and Sarah Shoemaker) connect with the Kent ISD Ed Tech team of Ron Houtman, Keith Tramper, & Sarah Wood.   The Kent ISD Educational Technology Team joining us today is the team behind the creation of the “For The Purpose of...” podcast. In education, lots of questions are arising about artificial intelligence and how it could or should be used in the classroom.  This focus is the topic of our podcast today. 

Here is a quick brief of our conversation:

Sarah starts the dialogue by asking:  “There is so much buzz about artificial intelligence. Tell us about artificial intelligence.  Would you     define it for us?”  While artificial intelligence is relatively new for a lot of people, the common definition is still being clarified.  “It is thought of as computer systems that perform tasks that would typically require some sort of human interaction,” says Sarah Wood.  Keith Tramper adds that AI is not new, however, we have new uses of artificial intelligence that are intersecting with education.  AI does try to simulate human intelligence.  Ron Houtman adds that we’re approaching the one year anniversary of ChatGPT for public use.  We are going to see the interesting impact of the unintended use of artificial intelligence.

Mark adds to the dialogue by asking:  “What are some artificial intelligence educational uses our listeners need to know about?”  Efficiency, effectiveness, and accommodations are the facets of artificial intelligence Keith names as impacting teaching and learning. AI tools will assist in supporting teachers by easing the cognitive load in some ways.  Think of it as a copilot.  Sarah reviews the 80/20 rule thinking about AI, reminding us that you can never emphasize the human element enough sharing this quote:  “A brilliant solution to the wrong problem can be worse than no solution at all.”  Keep that in mind when we think about how we’re using AI.

Sarah responds:  “How does artificial intelligence reinforce creating equitable literacy learning opportunities for all?  Ron Houtman tells us that artificial intelligence is able to be personalized for students, so it is really allowing them to dig in to topics they are interested in through the “oracle in your pocket” via AI on devices.  Sarah details some examples of how AI can provide some efficiency for teachers.

*Mark prompts:  “With artificial intelligence becoming a part of education what are some things that we might need to be cautious of?”  Keith emphasizes the need to keep the human in the loop.  We also need to be careful about creating a greater digital divide by blocking or banning AI in schools.  Ron cautions us about data privacy and security as we move forward with artificial intelligence. 

*Following our normal podcast protocol, we ask for resources for educators to learn more about artificial intelligance and encourage our fabulous Kent ISD Ed Tech team to highlight some departing words for our listeners.  Ron encourages us to stay away from books related to artificial intelligence because the information is changing faster the books can be published.  He does direct us to educational youtube channels and professional organizations.  Check out our resource page for all the links!

We wrap up this episode by asking listeners to share your thoughts on podcast topics - your voice matters!  Please visit bit.ly/LLCNtopics to tell us what you want future podcasts to focus on in relation to literacy.  

All resources in this LLCN Brief (and future podcasts) can be found at:  bit.ly/LLCNresources2324  Subscribe to the Literacy Leadership and Coaches Network podcasts here: anchor.fm/llcnbrief or your favorite podcast platform.

Please note the audio used as an introduction an