NetSupport Radio

Maggie from NetSupport joins Phil Hintz from Niles Township School District at ISTE to discuss the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) VR in education.

Phil talks about the challenges of implementing AI in schools, and one concern is that AI might be biased because of the data it’s trained on. To mitigate this, Phil suggests asking vendors questions about their data privacy practices and how they ensure the data is fair and unbiased. Another challenge is figuring out what data privacy agreements need to be in place when using AI tools. Phil talks about the importance of having a data privacy agreement with any vendor and how they got theirs approved.

Phil also talks about his research on the impact of AR and VR for students with intellectual disabilities and learning life and occupation skills.

Al and Jaime Donally catch up at ISTE to discuss AI and XR in education.

They discuss how XR and AI are both evolving fields and how AI can help eliminate limitations in creating 3D assets for the metaverse. Jaime talks about how AI and XR are being used in schools to curate and personalize learning experiences, via VR headsets and iPads for augmented reality in classrooms. 

They also explore the potential dangers of AI, as Jaime brings up the importance of privacy and data security. She also argues that AI should not replace teachers but instead be a tool to free up teachers time so they can focus on human interaction with students.

Maggie is joined by Matthew and Jess from the The University of Melbourne to discuss inclusive esports programs in schools.

Jess and Matthew are conducing research to understand the gaps in regional and rural areas around resources and infrastructure of and how they can help remove some of those barriers for schools and families, helping students to have equity learning experiences whilst enjoying esports. 

They have also looked at inclusivity for females in esports, and ways to make it more accessible and better represented.

Al catches up with Evo Hannan to learn more about sustainability education. Evo discusses his work on the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and climate action in schools.

Evo discusses his passion for SDGs and how he came up with the idea for the design for the SDG project, and how he works with schools across the UK to promote sustainability goals.

Evo highlights how meeting people from all over the world at conferences like ISTE helps him to learn and grow as an educator. He also emphasizes the importance of supporting others and sharing resources.

Al catches up with Matthew Woodruff, who works on Open Educational AI, to discuss the benefits and challenges of AI in education.

Matthew highlights that while Generative AI (Gen AI) has received a lot of attention recently, it is important to focus on the bigger picture of how data can be effectively captured, collected and analyzed for educational purposes. He emphasizes that AI should be used ethically and transparently, and that human agency should be maintained.

One of the key challenges discussed is that Gen AI, if fed with unstructured data sources, can lead to inaccurate results. They discuss Open Educational AI (OEAI) as a solution. OEAI is a collaborative effort that aims to reduce costs and implementation time for AI in education. It leverages existing data and frameworks, allowing educators to focus on the educational use and not worry about the underlying technology.

Maggie is joined by Josh Stock, a middle school English teacher from Santa Fe Middle School at ISTE 2024.

Josh and Maggie talks about the benefits of using video creation in the classroom and give teachers some tips on how to get started. Here are some key points:

Benefits of video creation:
- Students are more engaged when they are creating something.
- Video creation helps students see the practical application of what they are learning in English class.
- Students can develop new skills, such as scriptwriting, filming, and editing.

Tips for getting started:
- Start with a small project, such as having students create a video to accompany an essay they have written.
- Find a video production tool that is easy to use and that all of the teachers in your school can agree on.
- Work together as a team to create videos. This will allow you to break up the work and allow teachers to play to their strengths.
- Let students use the devices they already have to record videos.
- Encourage students to help each other out. There will likely be some students who are already familiar with video creation and can help their classmates.

Maggie is joined by Britney Blackwell, who hosts the podcast "The Resilient Teacher", to discuss teacher burnout and how to avoid it.

Britney says that the main reason teachers are burnt out is because they have too much added to their plate. They are expected to constantly be available to students and parents through emails and technology, and they have to deal with a lot of administrative tasks on top of their teaching duties. This makes it difficult for them to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Britney suggests that teachers set boundaries in order to avoid burnout. This includes things like not checking work emails outside of school hours and taking time for themselves. She also recommends using technology to automate tasks, such as grading essays.

Listen in for more helpful tips for teachers who are feeling burnt out.

Al joins Rachelle Dené Poth at ISTE 2024 to hear all about how to to teach with AI and incorporate it into classrooms.

Insights with NetSupport – Bett 2024 edition: Becky Keene – Minecraft, AI and eSports in education

Welcome to this special Bett 2024 episode of 'Insights with NetSupport'!

In this interview, NetSupport’s Head of Education, Mark Anderson, sits down with Becky Keene, Director at i2e and a former teacher and school leader, to talk about our current attitude to AI in education and how it may change over time, the benefits of Minecraft and how to get started with it in the classroom, and some of the benefits of eSports for students.

00:00 – Introduction 

00:25 – Becky Keene introduction

02:38 – What useful applications of AI are you seeing?

06:17 – Bloom’s 2 sigma problem

08:11 – Ideas to get started with Minecraft

11:17 – Where can teachers find out more information about Minecraft?

12:37 – Where can teachers get Minecraft CPD training?

13:23 – eSports: the lowdown!

14:45 – Where can we find out more about eSports?

Connect with Becky

X: @BeckyKeene

Instagram: @BeckyKeeneEdu

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckykeene/ 

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