ChatEDU: AI in Education

Darron’s reflections on creating tech-free learning spaces and how that can improve attention and engagement (for both students and teachers)

The impact of tech distraction in 1:1 Chromebook environments and strategies to mitigate it.

How his faculty is experimenting with journals and more analog approaches to help students slow down and engage deeply with their learning.

Exploring the SAMR model (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) as a framework to thoughtfully integrate technology where it’s most impactful.

A broader discussion on AI in education, how it differs from traditional EdTech, and the potential future role of AI as a teaching partner.

Darron’s experience with NotebookLM and how AI tools can offer fascinating possibilities for students and teachers.

Skills21 Prompts Page - https://www.skills21.org/prompts 

Next, Curtail the Chromebooks - Fordham Institute - https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/next-curtail-chromebooks 

Educational Screens in Classrooms Do More Harm Than Good - Newsweek - https://www.newsweek.com/educational-screens-classrooms-do-more-harm-good-opinion-1953468 

Recent research comparing Google vs. ChatGPT for student research tasks

Students using ChatGPT reported lower cognitive load

Google users produced more detailed and thorough arguments

Discussion of three types of cognitive load:

Extraneous (filtering unnecessary information)

Intrinsic (complexity of material)

Germane (mental effort for processing information)

Magic School AI:

Offers pre-designed prompts for teachers

Suite of tools for various educational tasks

Designed with teacher feedback in mind

School AI:

Features "Spaces" for student conversations with historical figures

Provides tutorials for standardized tests

Offers accessibility features like voice input

DiffIt:

Quickly creates differentiated materials

Allows adjustment by grade level

Generates supplementary exercises and resources

Teacher adoption varies widely

Most use seen in high school, some in middle school

Free features available despite paywalls

Discussion of teacher guilt around AI use

Need for critical thinking when using AI outputs

The state of “student-facing” AI

EdAdvance AI Resources: skills21.org/AI

EdAdvance AI Micro-Credential: skills21.org/ai/micro 

Cognitve Load / Research Study - https://www.psypost.org/study-finds-chatgpt-eases-students-cognitive-load-but-at-the-expense-of-critical-thinking/ 

Magic School AI: magicschool.ai

School AI: schoolai.com

DiffIt: app.diffit.me

Perplexity: perplexity.ai

Khanmigo (Teacher): khanmigo.ai/teachers 

AI is Changing Computer Science Education:Matt and Liz explore the shifting landscape of computer science education, including the controversial idea that coding may become obsolete as AI advances. They discuss the Teach AI and CSTA report, "Guidance on the Future of Computer Science Education in an Age of AI," which outlines how computer science teaching must adapt to new AI technologies in the following briefs: 

Whether kids still need to learn to code.

How AI can support teachers in teaching and feedback.

How to teach students to be ethical, critical consumers of AI.

The Importance of "Code Sense":The episode unpacks the Teach AI report's emphasis on "code sense"—the foundational understanding of programming that remains crucial despite AI’s capabilities. They discuss the need for students to learn coding to understand, debug, and critically assess AI-generated outputs.

AI and Ethical Use:The audience engages with the topic of ethics in AI education, including the role of middle school educators in teaching students to use AI responsibly. Liz highlights the importance of starting these conversations early to help students develop critical thinking skills around technology.

AI in Assessment:Discussion on Code.org’s AI Teaching Assistant, designed to support computer science teachers with real-time feedback and assessment. Teachers share their experiences and the potential benefits of integrating AI into the classroom.

Teach AI and CSTA Report on the Future of Computer Science Education.https://www.teachai.org/cs 

Google’s Notebook LM: https://research.google.com/notebook-lm/ 

Code.org AI Teaching Assistant: https://code.org/ai 

Netflix Documentary "Coded Bias" https://www.netflix.com/title/81328723 

Introduction of AlphaProteo, a new tool for designing protein binders using AI.

Google.org's "Experience AI" program, offering free project-based resources for young people to create AI and machine learning projects.

Discussion on the importance of AI literacy beyond generative AI tools.

Results show AI tutors nearly doubling learning gains compared to traditional methods in a physics course.

AI tutors allowed for personalized, adaptive learning experiences.

Implications for the "flipped classroom" model and potential for more interactive, hands-on learning in class.

Advancements in complex problem-solving and reasoning capabilities.

Discussion on potential risks, including a "medium" security risk for biological and chemical weapons development.

OpenAI developed a watermarking system in 2022 to detect AI-generated text.

The company has not released this tool, likely due to competitive pressures and potential loss of users.

Discussion on the California Digital Content Provenance Standards Bill and its potential impact.

Comparison with YouTube's AI detection tools for content creators.

EdAdvance AI Resources: skills21.org/AI

Google’s AlphaProteo; https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/alphaproteo-generates-novel-proteins-for-biology-and-health-research/ 

Google's Experience AI challenge: https://blog.google/technology/families/improving-ai-literacy-in-young-people/ 

Harvard Study on AI Tutors: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2024/09/professor-tailored-ai-tutor-to-physics-course-engagement-doubled/?utm_source=perplexity 

OpenAI O1 Preview: https://openai.com/index/introducing-openai-o1-preview/ 

OpenAI’s Unreleased Content Detection Tool: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/370419/chatgpt-schools-ai-cheating-plagiarism-detection 

AI as an Assignment Evaluator:

Matt and Liz discuss a large-scale study from National Taiwan University involving over 1,000 students.

Key findings: 75% of students accepted AI evaluators, but 51% reported format issues.

47% of students attempted to "hack" the AI grading system, raising concerns about fairness and accuracy.

UK's First "Teacherless" AI Classroom:

A private school in London is launching an AI and VR-based classroom.

The setup includes three learning coaches for 20 students, challenging the "teacherless" claim.

Matt and Liz critically examine the high cost and limited scalability of this model.

Researchers compared human-generated ideas with AI-generated solutions for circular economy challenges.

Findings: Human solutions were more novel, while AI solutions were more feasible.

The best outcomes resulted from human-AI collaboration, with humans refining AI-generated ideas.

EdAdvance AI Resources: skills21.org/AI

Micro-credential registration: skills21.org/AI/micro

National Taiwan University Study: https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.05216 

The “Teacherless AI Classroom”: https://news.sky.com/story/uks-first-teacherless-ai-classroom-set-to-open-in-london-13200637 

HBR Problem Solving Study with AI: https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/generative-ai-and-creative-problem-solving 

Ideogram 2.0: Matt and Liz discuss Ideogram 2.0 and how this new release addresses (sort of) the challenge of rendering accurate text along with images. They explore its potential applications in education and test it live during the podcast.

Executive Functioning and AI: Liz shares insights from a recent study showing that students who struggle with executive functioning find generative AI significantly more useful for schoolwork than their peers.

Discussion of McKinsey's report on organizational transformation through generative AI

Exploration of Yale University's $150 million investment in AI initiatives

Analysis of how generative AI can drive innovation in schools, from ideation to project completion

Examination of AI's role in upskilling educators and administrators as part of strategic systems efforts

EdAdvance AI Resources: skills21.org/AI

McKinsey Report: "Gen AI's next inflection point: From employee experimentation to organizational transformation" https://mck.co/3LXQN8K

Yale University AI Initiative: https://news.yale.edu/2024/08/28/yale-announces-150-million-support-leadership-ai 

EdAdvance's approach: Using AI to improve service quality and efficiency internally, while helping districts rethink public education through an AI lens

Vision for AI in education: Improving quality of work rather than eliminating positions

Challenges: Adapting curriculum and assessment to an AI-integrated world

Need to reduce curriculum content by approximately 50%

Focus on teaching "durable" skills that can't be easily replicated by AI

Importance of self-directed learning and mastery of skills

Shift from "just in case" to "just in time" learning

Current assessment methods are a significant barrier to educational improvement

Need to align assessment with skills that matter most for future success

Challenge of changing public perception about educational accountability

Jonathan discusses how AI has impacted his hobbies: golf, gym workouts, and cycling

AI tools can help set goals and track progress in various areas of life

Embrace AI and don't be afraid to make mistakes

Focus on where students are going rather than where education has been

Use AI to encourage student interest and skill development

Importance of collaboration and goodwill in navigating the AI transition in education

Excitement about the potential for positive change in education through thoughtful AI integration

AI Bans in Organizations: Matt shares an anecdote about a friend's workplace banning all access to generative AI, while Liz discusses similar bans in various organizations.

Moderna's AI Adoption: Liz highlights Moderna's extensive use of custom GPTs across their organization, with 750 custom GPTs created and 40% of users actively using them weekly.

Grok2 Image Generation Tool: Matt introduces Elon Musk's new AI model, Grok2 which lacks typical content filters. They discuss its potential misuse in school settings and the challenges it presents for educators and parents.

Student Attitudes Toward AI in Education: Liz shares findings from a global AI student survey by the Digital Education Council, revealing that many students believe overuse of AI in teaching devalues education and negatively impacts academic performance.

Discussion of the study's methodology using AI to simulate research participants based on demographic profiles

Exploration of potential applications in cost-effective pilot studies and augmenting traditional research methods

Demonstration of the approach using Liz's doctoral dissertation on student self-efficacy in high school mathematics

Simulation of a research participant named Amber and comparison of AI-generated responses to actual research data

Digital Education Council Global AI Student Survey: https://www.digitaleducationcouncil.com/post/digital-education-council-global-ai-student-survey-2024 

NYU and Stanford Research Paper: https://docsend.com/view/ity6yf2dansesucf# 

EdAdvance AI Resources: skills21.org/AI 

Grok2 Image Woes: https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/14/24220173/xai-grok-image-generator-misinformation-offensive-imges 

AI-Generated Video Tools: Matt introduces new AI video generation tools like Runway Gen-3 and Kling, discussing their potential use in education and the need for critical evaluation skills.

AI in College Essays: Liz shares findings from a Foundry 10 study revealing that a third of students admitted to using AI in some capacity for their college application essays, sparking a discussion on fairness and ethics in the application process.

Demonstration of STORM's capabilities by quickly generating a comprehensive abstract for Liz's dissertation topic

Discussion on the implications of such powerful research tools for education and skill development

Exploration of the balance between efficient task completion and the value of productive struggle in learning

Consideration of how educators might need to adapt teaching and assessment methods in response to AI tools

Runway Gen 3 - https://runwayml.com/product 

Kling AI Video Generation - https://klingai.org/ 

Foundry 10 Study on AI in College Essays - https://www.foundry10.org/stories/new-research-ai-is-changing-the-college-application-process 

Stanford University STORM Tool - https://storm.genie.stanford.edu/ 

Dear Sydney Ad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgtHJKn0Mck 

Foundation and Baseline Understanding

Matt unpacks his approach to establishing a baseline understanding of AI for educators

Covers the "great everything making machine" concept and demonstrates AI capabilities

Addresses how teachers have responded to AI in the past year

Differentiated Learning Approaches

Elementary school focus: Productivity tools and building AI literacy foundations

Middle and high school: Durable and vulnerable assessments, potential student-facing AI pilots

Advanced users: Exploring Leon Furze’s AI assessment scale

Academic Integrity and Guidelines

Importance of consistent, district-wide guidelines for AI use

Implementing guidelines: Human steps and procedures for addressing potential misuse

Engaging Professional Learning Techniques

Matt shares his approach to making AI professional learning engaging and relevant

Emphasizes the importance of humanity, humor, and vulnerability in presentations

Ongoing Professional Learning Strategies

Connecting AI to district priorities and ongoing initiatives

Suggestions for embedding AI learning into regular school activities (faculty meetings, lunch and learns)

Importance of continuous learning due to rapidly evolving AI landscape

Special Populations and AI

Brief discussion on AI tools for students with special needs and multilingual learners

Mention of translation tools and their ease of use

Skills21.org/prompts - Prompt library

Skills21.org/AI - AI resources page

AI student scenarios document

Professional learning survey (Google Form)

AI policy/guideline examples

AI literacy resources for K-12