Buckle up! Teachers and students are in for a wild ride with artificial intelligence. Are you going to try to ignore it, be afraid of it, fight it, try to catch cheaters, or just be grumpy in general about another change in education? Let’s all be honest. These questions have all entered our heads as we enter the brave new world of artificial intelligence. “If AI is going to change the world in the near future, we need to prepare students for that world. That means we'll need to change too” (Miller, 2023a, p.7).
Don’t panic! AI chatbots have been around since 2022, and the sky has not fallen. ChatGPT was launched in 2022 and added more than a million users in five days (Miller, 2023a). According to Matt Miller, “ChatGPT is the MySpace of AI chatbots. One day we will look back on it and chuckle at how powerful we thought it was (Miller, 2023a, p. 12). The short YouTube video imbeded below is a great example of how ChatGPT could be used to develop classroom resources for teaching the Peloponnesian War (Miller, 2023b). Prepare to be amazed.
Don’t worry! The Department of Education is on it. They have issued a publication that addresses all the questions and fears that educators are facing. The publication reassures teachers that they will not be replaced by AI (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, 2023). A reassuring and positive quote from the publication is shown below. AI may enable achieving educational priorities in better ways, at scale, and with lower costs. Addressing varied unfinished learning of students due to the pandemic is a policy priority, and AI may improve the adaptivity of learning resources to students’ strengths and needs. Improving teaching jobs is a priority, and via automated assistants or other tools, AI provide teachers greater support. AI may also enable teachers to extend the support they offer to individual students when they run out of time. Developing resources that are responsive to the knowledge and experiences students bring to their learning—their community and cultural assets—is a priority, and AI may enable greater customizability of curricular resources to meet local needs (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, 2023, p. 2). Get excited! AI can save teachers time, and more time is what all teachers need. If AI saves teachers time planning, grading, and performing mundane tasks, just think of the amazing lessons that teachers could present to their students–not to mention the the benefits teachers would gain in their personal lives and their mental health. Teaching is hard. If AI eases some of the burden, let's embrace it with all that we have (Miller, 2023a).
Jump in! Students don’t need teachers that have all the answers or that teach perfect
lessons. “Our students need teachers who are willing to consider how their future will differ from ours and bravely explore this new frontier with them” (Miller, 2023a, p. 115). One way to begin learning about AI is to follow educators that share their ideas on social media and other platforms. Matt Miller, the author of AI for Educators: Learning Strategies, Teacher Efficiencies, and Vision for Artificial Intelligence Future, has many free resources for teachers. He has a nicely curated list of 30 AI tools for the classroom. He gives a short overview of each of the 30 AI tools which allows teachers to quickly determine if the tool might be helpful (Miller, 2023c).
Enjoy the ride! We are in the midst of an exciting time for education and technology. AI is going to change how we teach and prepare lessons for our students. It is going to take some time to figure it all out. Take it day by day. Just focus on the following words of Maya Angelou: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better” (Miller, 2023a).
References
Miller, M. (2023a). AI for educators: Learning strategies, teacher efficiencies, and a vision for
an artificial intelligence future. Ditch That Textbook.
Miller, M. [Ditch That Textbook]. (2023b). ChatGPT for the Classroom in 6 minutes [Video] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNJ5yAuspq8
Miller, M. (2023c). 30 AI tools for the classroom. https://ditchthattextbook.com/
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. (2023) Artificial intelligence and the future of teaching and learning: Insights and recommendations.
