While some claim that Artificial Intelligence (AI) ensures students will never have to write another paper again when they can just ChatGPT an essay, education professionals are embracing AI to provide new learning opportunities for students and teachers alike.
AI as Teacher’s Pet
Technology plays a huge role in how teachers teach and communicate with students, parents, and administrators. It’s no surprise that teachers are embracing AI to help them be more effective and efficient. Some use generative AI tools to plan lessons, helping them pull together source material quicker than ever. Others use it to give struggling students a head start on assignments with writing prompts and analysis of their own writing. Still another use is creating email templates for responding to parents, students, and colleagues.
AI is also being integrated into a wide range of existing technologies. Learning Management Systems can use OpenAI as a course-building aid to generate test questions from course content and develop grading rubrics. ChatGPT plug-ins are being used to make large libraries of course content more searchable.
AI Beyond the Classroom
AI can also help with administrative efficiencies in K-12 and higher learning environments. In a university setting, AI can be combined with high performance computing environments, traditionally used for research, to provide new insights into student success, campus safety, and student financial support needs.
AI 101
As teachers and students expand their use of AI, it is critical to develop a new curriculum that directly addresses positive, educated uses of the technology. One district is creating a “Digital Citizenship” program that focuses on how to be safe and smart online. This encompasses cyber hygiene, privacy, and now AI. The course will look at how to use AI in an ethical and safe way. It will have students try using AI to complete an assignment and then challenge them to see how much they have to go back and edit it to make sure it makes sense and confirm all sources are credible.
AI education will be a big part of this year’s annual EDUCAUSE conference. Taking place October 9-12, 2023 in Chicago, IL, this event brings together education professionals and technology providers to network, share ideas, grow professionally, and discover solutions to today’s challenges. If you’re attending EDUCAUSE and would like to connect, let us know!
Along with EDUCAUSE, there are a host of insightful education technology events and resources available on GovEvents and GovWhitePapers that uncover the latest applications of AI in education.
- Report on the Condition of Education 2023 (white paper) – This paper summarizes the latest data on education in the United States, including international comparisons. This year’s edition offers a comprehensive review of education in this country during the coronavirus pandemic. It contains data spanning from early childhood to postsecondary and covers topics such as enrollment, student achievement, teacher openings, and public school strategies for pandemic recovery.
- Training Tomorrow’s AI Workforce: The Latent Potential of Community and Technical Colleges (white paper) – Community and technical colleges offer enormous potential to grow, sustain, and diversify the U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) talent pipeline. However, these institutions are not being leveraged effectively. This report evaluates current AI-related programs and the associated number of graduates.
- Transforming Higher Education with AI and Analytics (white paper) – The growing availability of online and non-traditional learning alternatives continues to test universities’ ability to modernize their offerings and how they are delivered. Advanced data management, artificial intelligence (AI), and analytics technologies can help higher education institutions conquer these challenges.
- EdTech Talks 2023 (October 31- November 2, 2023; virtual) – Over three days, education technology experts will explore the innovative ways that technology is helping schools safeguard learning environments, personalize student experiences, and modernize with advancements in data analytics.
- Learning Leadership Symposium (multiple dates and cities) – Each event is hosted by a local school district in partnership with a regional office of education or service district. To address the unique professional learning needs of each hosting organization and region, a range of content topics will be available to choose from to customize the agenda and experience.
Learn more about AI and Education with additional resources on GovWhitePapers and GovEvents.
