assessment - Learning Ecosystems

Shift to Self-assessment [Tucker]

On 10/02/2023, in assessment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, pedagogy, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Shift to Self-assessment — from catlintucker.com by Dr. Catlin Tucker

Who decided that grading and assessment should be the exclusive responsibility of teachers? Why do we sideline students when it comes to assessment?

Self-assessment is a powerful strategy that encourages students to become more invested in their learning journeys. It is a process where students evaluate their work, reflecting on what they’ve learned, how well they’ve understood complex concepts, how much progress they’ve made toward mastering key skills, and where they may need to invest time and energy to improve their concept knowledge and skill set (Siegesmund, 2016). Self-assessment shifts the focus from a grade-centric perspective to a learning-centric one. For those of us who want to encourage students to adopt a growth mindset, believing they can always improve and develop with practice and hard work, self-assessment is a critical piece of that puzzle (Wang, Zepeda, Qin, Del Toro & Binning, 2021).

In Iowa, a “Billy Madison Project” Yields a Different Way to do School — from by Sam Chaltain
A great flood reveals a new path . . .

The idea was simple: ask sixty community leaders to fan across the city’s public schools, follow in the footsteps of its youngest citizens, and report back on what they saw.

Fifty-nine said yes. What they found, Pickering says, “were kids with dead eyes. Kids not engaged. And kids who knew that school was a game – and the game was rigged.”

So the Billy Madison team used its findings to design a prospective high school that would actually produce what its participants said they wanted to see:

Let kids pursue their passions. Give them real work to do. And get them out of the school building, and in the community.

Passion. Projects. People.

How 9 of the World’s Most Innovative Schools Ignite Children’s Love for Learning — from learntrepreneurs.com by Eva Keffenheim
And equip the next generation to become changemakers.

This thought-provoking discussion delves into the topic of system replacement in education. Is school transformation possible without replacing the existing education system? Joining [Michael] to discuss the question are Thomas Arnett of the Christensen Institute and Kelly Young of Education Reimagined.

In an educational landscape that constantly seeks marginal improvements, [Michael’s] guests speak to the importance of embracing new value networks that support innovative approaches to learning. They bring to light the issue of programs that remain niche solutions, rather than robust, learner-centered alternatives. In exploring the concept of value networks, [Michael’s] guests challenge the notion of transforming individual schools or districts alone. They argue for the creation of a new value network to truly revolutionize the education system. Of course, they admit that achieving this is no small feat, as it requires a paradigm shift in mindset and a careful balance between innovation and existing structures. In this conversation, we wrestle with the full implications of their findings and more.

From DSC:
This reminds me of the importance of TrimTab Groups who invent or test out something new apart from the mothership.

Technology in education — from unesco.org by ; via Eva Keffenheim
A tool on whose terms?

The 2023 GEM Report on technology and education explores these debates, examining education challenges to which appropriate use of technology can offer solutions (access, equity and inclusion; quality; technology advancement; system management), while recognizing that many solutions proposed may also be detrimental.

The report also explores three system-wide conditions (access to technology, governance regulation, and teacher preparation) that need to be met for any technology in education to reach its full potential.

Bloom Academy is the first and only self-directed learning center in Las Vegas – microschooling as true, nontraditional and permissionless education alternative. 5 Questions with Microschool Founders Sarah & Yamila.https://t.co/RvxtwGXvkZ

— National Microschooling Center (@microschooling) September 27, 2023

Campus Road Trip Diary: 8 Things We Learned This Year About America’s Most Innovative High Schools — from the74million.org by Greg Toppo & Emmeline Zhao

Since last spring, journalists at The 74 have been crossing the U.S. as part of our 2023 High School Road Trip. It has embraced both emerging and established high school models, taking us to 13 schools from Rhode Island to California, Arizona to South Carolina, and in between.

It has brought us face-to-face with innovation, with programs that promote everything from nursing to aerospace to maritime-themed careers.

At each school, educators seem to be asking one key question: What if we could start over and try something totally new?

What we’ve found represents just a small sample of the incredible diversity that U.S. high schools now offer, but we’re noticing a few striking similarities that educators in these schools, free to experiment with new models, now share. Here are the top eight:
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Learners need: More voice. More choice. More control. -- this image was created by Daniel Christian

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Empowering Parents: School Choice and Technology — from obviouslythefuture.substack.com
Ep 2 | Joe Connor, Odyssey Education, ESAs, Streamlined Technology Platform, Informed Choices

What does it take to empower parents and decentralize schooling? Why is a diversity of school models important to parents? Are we at a tipping point?
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PROOF POINTS: Lowering test anxiety in the classroom — from hechingerreport.org/ by Jill Barshay
Review of 24 studies finds quizzes boost achievement and alleviate stress over exams

Several meta-analyses, which summarize the evidence from many studies, have found higher achievement when students take quizzes instead of, say, reviewing notes or rereading a book chapter. “There’s decades and decades of research showing that taking practice tests will actually improve your learning,” said David Shanks, a professor of psychology and deputy dean of the Faculty of Brain Sciences at University College London.

Still, many students get overwhelmed during tests. Shanks and a team of four researchers wanted to find out whether quizzes exacerbate test anxiety. The team collected 24 studies that measured students’ test anxiety and found that, on average, practice tests and quizzes not only improved academic achievement, but also ended up reducing test anxiety. Their meta-analysis was published in Educational Psychology Review in August 2023.

The End of Scantron Tests — from theatlantic.com by Matteo Wong
Machine-graded bubble sheets are the defining feature of American schools. Today’s kindergartners may never have to fill one out.

Benefits of Pretesting in the Classroom — from learningscientists.org by Cindy Nebel

There are several possible reasons why pretesting worked in this study.

Students paid more attention to the pretested material during the lecture.
The pretest activated prior knowledge (some of them are clearly doing a lot of prework), and allowed them to encode the new information more deeply.
They were doing a lot of studying of the pretested information outside of class.
There are some great spaced retrieval effects going on. That is, students saw the material before lecture, they took a quiz on it during the pretest, then later they reviewed or quizzed themselves on that same material again during self-study.

AI 101 for Teachers [Code,ISTE,Khan Academy,ETS,ISTE]; What value do you offer? [Fitzpatrick] + 14 other items re: AI in our learning ecosystems

On 08/15/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Asia, assessment, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, disruption, education, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, India, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, legislatures / government / legal, lifelong learning, mathematics, personalized/customized learning, platforms, policy, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, science, teachers, teaching & learning, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

What value do you offer? — from linkedin.com by Dan Fitzpatrick — The AI Educator

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

So, as educators, mentors, and guides to our future generations, we must ask ourselves three pivotal questions:

What value do we offer to our students?
What value will they need to offer to the world?
How are we preparing them to offer that value?

The answers to these questions are crucial, and they will redefine the trajectory of our education system.

We need to create an environment that encourages curiosity, embraces failure as a learning opportunity, and celebrates diversity. We need to teach our students how to learn, how to ask the right questions, and how to think for themselves.

5 Little-Known ChatGPT Prompts to Learn Anything Faster — from medium.com by Eva Keiffenheim
Including templates, you can copy.

Leveraging ChatGPT for learning is the most meaningful skill this year for lifelong learners. But it’s too hard to find resources to master it.

As a learning science nerd, I’ve explored hundreds of prompts over the past months. Most of the advice doesn’t go beyond text summaries and multiple-choice testing.

That’s why I’ve created this article — it merges learning science with prompt writing to help you learn anything faster.

Midjourney AI Art for Teachers (for any kind of teacher, not just Art Teachers) — from The AI Educator on YouTube by Dan Fitzpatrick

From DSC:
This is a very nice, clearly illustrated, free video to get started with the Midjourney (text-to-image) app. Nice work Dan!

Also see Dan’s
AI Generated Immersive Learning Series

What is Academic Integrity in the Era of Generative Artificial intelligence? — from silverliningforlearning.org by Chris Dede

In the new-normal of generative AI, how does one articulate the value of academic integrity? This blog presents my current response in about 2,500 words; a complete answer could fill a sizable book.

Massive amounts of misinformation are disseminated about generative AI, so the first part of my discussion clarifies what large language models (Chat-GPT and its counterparts) can currently do and what they cannot accomplish at this point in time. The second part describes ways in which generative AI can be misused as a means of learning; unfortunately, many people are now advocating for these mistaken applications to education. The third part describes ways in which large language models (LLM), used well, may substantially improve learning and education. I close with a plea for a robust, informed public discussion about these topics and issues.

Dr. Chris Dede and the Necessity of Training Students and Faculty to Improve Their Human Judgment and Work Properly with AIs — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard
We need to stop using test-driven curriculums that train students to listen and to compete against machines, a competition they cannot win. Instead, we need to help them augment their Judgment.

The Creative Ways Teachers Are Using ChatGPT in the Classroom — from time.com by Olivia B. Waxman

Many of the more than a dozen teachers TIME interviewed for this story argue that the way to get kids to care is to proactively use ChatGPT in the classroom.
…
Some of those creative ideas are already in effect at Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor, about an hour from Seattle. In Erin Rossing’s precalculus class, a student got ChatGPT to generate a rap about vectors and trigonometry in the style of Kanye West, while geometry students used the program to write mathematical proofs in the style of raps, which they performed in a classroom competition. In Kara Beloate’s English-Language Arts class, she allowed students reading Shakespeare’s Othello to use ChatGPT to translate lines into modern English to help them understand the text, so that they could spend class time discussing the plot and themes.

AI in Higher Education: Aiding Students’ Academic Journey — from td.org by J. Chris Brown

Topics/sections include:

Automatic Grading and Assessment
AI-Assisted Student Support Services
Intelligent Tutoring Systems
AI Can Help Both Students and Teachers

Shockwaves & Innovations: How Nations Worldwide Are Dealing with AI in Education — from the74million.org by Robin Lake
Lake: Other countries are quickly adopting artificial intelligence in schools. Lessons from Singapore, South Korea, India, China, Finland and Japan.

I found that other developed countries share concerns about students cheating but are moving quickly to use AI to personalize education, enhance language lessons and help teachers with mundane tasks, such as grading. Some of these countries are in the early stages of training teachers to use AI and developing curriculum standards for what students should know and be able to do with the technology.

Several countries began positioning themselves several years ago to invest in AI in education in order to compete in the fourth industrial revolution.

AI in Education — from educationnext.org by John Bailey
The leap into a new era of machine intelligence carries risks and challenges, but also plenty of promise

In the realm of education, this technology will influence how students learn, how teachers work, and ultimately how we structure our education system. Some educators and leaders look forward to these changes with great enthusiasm. Sal Kahn, founder of Khan Academy, went so far as to say in a TED talk that AI has the potential to effect “probably the biggest positive transformation that education has ever seen.” But others warn that AI will enable the spread of misinformation, facilitate cheating in school and college, kill whatever vestiges of individual privacy remain, and cause massive job loss. The challenge is to harness the positive potential while avoiding or mitigating the harm.

Generative AI and education futures — from ucl.ac.uk
Video highlights from Professor Mike Sharples’ keynote address at the 2023 UCL Education Conference, which explored opportunities to prosper with AI as a part of education.

Bringing AI Literacy to High Schools — from by Nikki Goth Itoi
Stanford education researchers collaborated with teachers to develop classroom-ready AI resources for high school instructors across subject areas.

To address these two imperatives, all high schools need access to basic AI tools and training. Yet the reality is that many underserved schools in low-income areas lack the bandwidth, skills, and confidence to guide their students through an AI-powered world. And if the pattern continues, AI will only worsen existing inequities. With this concern top of mind plus initial funding from the McCoy Ethics Center, Lee began recruiting some graduate students and high school teachers to explore how to give more people equal footing in the AI space.

Student loan debt: Averages and other statistics in 2023 — from usatoday.com by Rebecca Safier and Ashley Harrison; via GSV

Excerpt:

The cost of college has more than doubled over the past four decades — and student loan borrowing has risen along with it. The student loan debt balance in the U.S. has increased by 66% over the past decade, and it now totals more than $1.77 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve.

Here’s a closer look at student loan debt statistics in the U.S. today, broken down by age, race, gender and other demographics.

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 54% of bachelor’s degree students who attended public and private four-year schools graduated with student loans, according to the College Board. These students left school with an average balance of $29,100 in education debt.

From DSC:
With significant monthly payments, many graduates HAVE TO HAVE good jobs that pay decent salaries. This is an undercurrent flowing through the higher ed learning ecosystem — with ramifications for what students/families/guardians expect from their investments.

‘Pracademics,’ professors who work outside the academy, win new respect — from washingtonpost.com by Jon Marcus
What’s in a word? A way to help impatient college students better connect to jobs.

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Among its approaches, the university focuses on having students learn from people like Taylor, who work or have worked in the fields about which they teach. Sheffield Hallam even has a catchy word to describe these practical academics: “pracademics.”
…
American universities have pracademics, too, of course. They’re among the more than 710,000 part-time and non-tenure-track faculty members who now make up some 61 percent of all faculty, according to the American Association of University Professors. Other adjectives for them include “adjunct,” “casual,” “contingent,” “external” and “occasional.”

From DSC:
For several years now I’ve thought that adjuncts are the best bet for our current traditional institutions of higher education to remain relevant and have healthier enrollments (i.e., sales) as well as offer better ROI’s that the students are looking for. Why? Because adjuncts bring current, real-world expertise to the classroom.

But the problem here is that many of these same institutions have treated adjunct faculty members poorly. Adjunct faculty members are often viewed as second-class citizens in many colleges and universities — even though they provide the lion’s share of the teaching, grading, and assessing of students’ work. They don’t get benefits, they are paid far less than tenured faculty members, and they often don’t know if they will actually be teaching a course or not. Chances are they don’t get to vote or have a say within faculty senates and such. They are often without power…without a voice.

I’m not sure many adjunct faculty members in the U.S. will stay with these institutions if something better comes around in the way of other alternatives.

Colgate Adds Trade School to Higher Education Employee Benefit — from colgate.edu by Daniel DeVries; via Brandon Busteed on LinkedIn

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

One of Colgate University’s most important employee benefits has been expanded to support employee children as they seek trade or vocational education.

Colgate, like many leading universities, offers financial support for employee children who attend an accredited college or university in pursuit of an undergraduate degree. Now, at the University, this benefit has been expanded to include employee children who enroll in trade or vocational schools.

Coursera’s degree and certificate offerings help drive Q2 revenue growth — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
The MOOC platform’s CEO touted the company’s strategy of allowing students to stack short-term credentials into longer offerings.

Dive Brief:

Coursera’s revenue increased to $153.7 million in the second quarter of 2023, up 23% compared to the same period last year, according to the company’s latest financial results.
The increases were partly driven by strong demand for the MOOC platform’s entry-level professional certificates and rising enrollment in its degree programs.
During a call with analysts Thursday, Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda attributed some of that enrollment growth to new offerings, which include a cybersecurity analyst certificate from Microsoft and artificial intelligence degree programs from universities in India and Colombia.

Are ‘quick wins’ possible in assessment and feedback? Yes, and here’s how — from timeshighereducation.com by Beverley Hawkins, Eleanor Hodgson, Oli Young
It takes coordination, communication, and credibility to implement quick improvements in assessment and feedback, as a team from the University of Exeter explain

One way to establish this is to form an “assessment and feedback expert group”. Bringing together assessment expertise from educators and academic development specialists, and student participants across the institution establishes a community of practice beyond those in formal leadership roles, who can share their experience and bring opportunities for improvement back into their local networks.

Focusing the group on “quick wins” can encourage discussion to address specific tips and tricks that educators can use without changing their assessment briefs and without significant preparation.

Also re: providing feedback see:

Five common misconceptions on writing feedback — from timeshighereducation.com by Rolf Norgaard , Stephanie Foster
Misapprehensions about responding to and grading writing can prevent educators using writing as an effective pedagogical tool. Rolf Norgaard and Stephanie Foster set out to dispel them

Writing is essential for developing higher-order skills such as critical thinking, enquiry and metacognition. Common misconceptions about responding to and grading writing can get in the way of using writing as an effective pedagogical tool. Here, we attempt to dispel these myths and provide recommendations for effective teaching.

How generative AI like ChatGPT is pushing assessment reform — from timeshighereducation.com by Amir Ghapanchi
AI has brought assessment and academic integrity in higher education to the fore. Here, Amir Ghapanchi offers seven ways to evaluate student learning that mitigate the impact of AI writers

Recommended assessment types to mitigate AI use
These assessment types can help universities to minimise the adverse effects of GAI:

Staged assignments
In-class presentations followed by questions
Group projects
Personal reflection essays
Class discussion
In-class handwritten exams
Performance-based assessments

Instructors Rush to Do ‘Assignment Makeovers’ to Respond to ChatGPT — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young

(Referring to rubrics) But, Bruff says, “the more transparent I am in the assignment description, the easier it is to paste that description into ChatGPT to have it do the work for you. There’s a deep irony there.”

Bruff, the teaching consultant, says his advice to any teacher is not to have an “us against them mentality” with students. Instead, he suggests, instructors should admit that they are still figuring out strategies and boundaries for new AI tools as well, and should work with students to develop ground rules for how much or how little tools like ChatGPT can be used to complete homework.

Nearly 90% of staff report major barriers between traditional and emerging academic programs — from universitybusiness.com by Alcino Donadel
Only 53% of respondents recognized an existing strategic initiative at their institution with regard to PCE units; 17% indicated none existed, and 30% were not sure.

In the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers’ (AACRAO) new survey on how institutions are mediating PCE units’ coexistence with the academic registrar, they found that once-siloed PCE units that are now converging with the academic registrar are causing internal tension and confusion.

“Because the two units have been organically grown for years to be separate institutions and to offer different things, it is difficult to grow together without knowing the goals of each or having a relationship,” one anonymized respondent said in the report.

National ChatGPT Survey: Teachers Accepting AI Into Classrooms & Workflow — Even More Than Students — from the74million.org by Greg Toppo
42% of students use ChatGPT, up from 33% in a prior survey. Their teachers are way ahead of them, with now 63% saying they’ve used the tool on the job

Teachers … and parents … believe it’s legit
Teachers who use ChatGPT overwhelmingly give it good reviews. Fully 84% say it has positively impacted their classes, with about 6 in 10 (61%) predicting it will have “legitimate educational uses that we cannot ignore.”

New Book Aims to Reshape the Future of Learning (With Your Help) — from samchaltain.substack.com by Sam Chaltain

What circumstances would be required for the existing educational model to be deemed obsolete?
What stands in the way of those circumstances coming to pass?
And if you were to craft a tool that actually helped people create those circumstances, what would you want that sort of resource to be, say, and do?

Last week, in Istanbul, a select group of educators, architects, students and entrepreneurs met to wrestle with those questions, as part of a yearlong collaborative design project.

What small changes could have the biggest impact and help spark the larger revolution we seek?

Will the future even have occupations — and if so, what are they most likely to be?

What is most essential to know and embody in the next 25 years?

The Great Unbundling — from educationnext.org by Joseph Olchefske and Steven Adamowski
Is the parents’ rights movement opening a new frontier in school choice?

The mindsets of parents are changing—rapidly—as they make decisions about the schooling of their children. Over the past few years, a convergence of two megatrends—pandemic desperation and parental-rights politics—has driven many families to reconsider the traditional school model and find ways of “unbundling” their children’s schooling into discrete elements that are controlled by the parent rather than the school.

While parent-led unbundling is not a new phenomenon, the current movement has expanded so quickly that it’s been dubbed “the Great Unbundling” of K–12 schooling.

The Great Unbundling is now influencing the education marketplace, as a broad set of nonschool vendors have responded to this unprecedented demand by pitching their education services directly to families: “microschools,” online courses, private tutoring, learning pods, and outdoor learning experiences.

Yes, AI could profoundly disrupt education. But maybe that’s not a bad thing — from theguardian.com by Rose Luckin; with thanks to Will Richardson and Homa Tavangar for this resource
Humans need to excel at things AI can’t do – and that means more creativity and critical thinking and less memorisation

Staying ahead of AI will mean radically rethinking what education is for, and what success means. Human intelligence is far more impressive than any AI system we see today. We possess a rich and diverse intelligence, much of which is unrecognised by our current education system.

How we can teach children so they survive AI – and cope with whatever comes next — from theguardian.com by George Monbiot
It’s not enough to build learning around a single societal shift. Students should be trained to handle a rapidly changing world

I don’t claim to have definitive answers. But I believe certain principles would help. One is that rigidity is lethal. Any aspect of an education system that locks pupils in to fixed patterns of thought and action will enhance their vulnerability to rapid and massive change. For instance, there could be no worse preparation for life than England’s Standard Assessment Tests, which dominate year 6 teaching. If the testimony of other parents I know is representative, SATs are a crushing experience for the majority of pupils, snuffing out enthusiasm, forcing them down a narrow, fenced track and demanding rigidity just as their minds are seeking to blossom and expand.

Education, to the greatest extent possible, should be joyful and delightful, not only because joy and delight are essential to our wellbeing, but also because we are more likely to withstand major change if we see acquiring new knowledge and skills as a fascinating challenge, not a louring threat.

BRINGING AI TO SCHOOL: TIPS FOR SCHOOL LEADERS— a mini ebook from ISTE

Artificial Intelligence is having a major impact on education. Whether you are excited or
concerned about AI, as a school leader you have a responsibility to ensure AI is approached
thoughtfully and appropriately in your school community and informs your vision for teaching and learning. This guide will help you quickly gain the background you need as a learning leader in an AI infused world.

Schools that have been successful in bringing AI into their schools in purposeful ways have some common strategies. The following five strategies are critical for a successful AI culture in your school.

The Potential Impact of AI Technology on Education. — from medium.com by Happiness Uduak

In this article, we’ll explore the potential impact of AI on education, and then take a look at how it could shape the human view of learning for good.

Teaching Through Asking Rather Than Telling — from edutopia by Jay Schauer
High school teachers can promote active learning by strategically replacing some direct instruction with questions that produce thoughtful conversations.

Does much of your teaching resemble the lectures you and 20 or 50 or 400 of your closest college friends received from a “sage on the stage”? Are you frustrated that most of your students won’t remember much from the fascinating information you just delivered to them for 15 or 30 or 55 minutes? If so, maybe it’s time to implement more ARTT—Ask, Rather Than Tell—into your teaching.

I started doing a lot of asking in order to help students make connections, establish common baseline understandings, and identify knowledge gaps or areas of misunderstanding, rather than telling them information. My lectures then evolved into more meaningful conversations.

Best Free Virtual Labs — from techlearning.com by Diana Restifo
These best virtual lab sites and apps are all free, highly engaging, and informative—and most don’t require registration

Many schools don’t have robust in-person laboratory facilities, instead relying primarily on dry textbooks to teach difficult STEM topics. But even schools with quality labs can benefit from these innovative and flexible online simulations.

The following top virtual lab sites and apps are all free, highly engaging, and informative—and most don’t require registration. Since most browsers no longer support Java or Flash, sites built exclusively with those outdated technologies have been excluded.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer launching new education-focused state department — from detroitnews.com by Craig Mauger and Chad Livengood

Whitmer’s office said Wednesday the new Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Achievement and Potential, or MiLEAP, will feature offices governing early childhood education, higher education and “education partnerships.”

“Establishing MiLEAP ensures all available resources, data and dollars are aligned around a single vision — supporting an education system focused on lifelong learning that can support the economy of the future and helping anyone make it in Michigan,” according to a “talking points” document obtained by The Detroit News on Wednesday morning.

How to Get Kids to Read for Fun — from nataliewexler.substack.com by Natalie Wexler
An overemphasis on analytical skills can make reading a joyless task.

Schools have been giving students isolated bits of text rather than letting them sink their teeth into engaging novels, and they’ve prioritized teaching analytical reading skills over allowing kids to immerse themselves in a good story.

Celebrating Student Interests to Create a Positive High School Culture — from edutopia.org by Nicole Rossi-Mumpower
Events that center students’ picks in art, music, and food can create powerful opportunities for them to increase their sense of belonging.

Modeled after the First Friday events that take place in many cities and towns (when community members gather to experience local culture), First Fridays at school offer students a chance to listen to music, view art, and sample cuisine.?The tradition has become a cornerstone of our school community and is replicable across school sites.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A MEANINGFUL SCHOOL CULTURE
Creating a positive school climate and culture is essential for student success. When students feel like they are an important part of the community, they’re more likely to be engaged in their learning and have a positive attitude toward school.

“YouTube tests AI-generated quizzes on educational videos” [Forristal] + numerous other items re: AI in education/HE/corporate training

On 07/13/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, assessment, change, colleges, community colleges, computer science, education, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, journalism, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, lifelong learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, programming, research, science, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

YouTube tests AI-generated quizzes on educational videos — from techcrunch.com by Lauren Forristal

YouTube is experimenting with AI-generated quizzes on its mobile app for iOS and Android devices, which are designed to help viewers learn more about a subject featured in an educational video. The feature will also help the video-sharing platform get a better understanding of how well each video covers a certain topic.

Incorporating AI in Teaching: Practical Examples for Busy Instructors — from danielstanford.substack.com by Daniel Stanford; with thanks to Derek Bruff on LinkedIn for the resource

Since January 2023, I’ve talked with hundreds of instructors at dozens of institutions about how they might incorporate AI into their teaching. Through these conversations, I’ve noticed a few common issues:

Faculty and staff are overwhelmed and burned out. Even those on the cutting edge often feel they’re behind the curve.
It’s hard to know where to begin.
It can be difficult to find practical examples of AI use that are applicable across a variety of disciplines.

To help address these challenges, I’ve been working on a list of AI-infused learning activities that encourage experimentation in (relatively) small, manageable ways.

September 2023: The Secret Intelligent Beings on Campus — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard
Many of your students this fall will be enhanced by artificial intelligence, even if they don’t look like actual cyborgs. Do you want all of them to be enhanced, or just the highest SES students?

How to report better on artificial intelligence — from cjr.org (Columbia Journalism Review) by Syash Kapoor, Hilke Schellmann, and Ari Sen

In the past few months we have been deluged with headlines about new AI tools and how much they are going to change society.

Some reporters have done amazing work holding the companies developing AI accountable, but many struggle to report on this new technology in a fair and accurate way.

We—an investigative reporter, a data journalist, and a computer scientist—have firsthand experience investigating AI. We’ve seen the tremendous potential these tools can have—but also their tremendous risks.

As their adoption grows, we believe that, soon enough, many reporters will encounter AI tools on their beat, so we wanted to put together a short guide to what we have learned.

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DSC:
Something I created via Adobe Firefly (Beta version)

The 5 reasons L&D is going to embrace ChatGPT — from chieflearningoffice.com by Josh Bersin

Does this mean it will do away with the L&D job? Not at all — these tools give you superhuman powers to find content faster, put it in front of employees in a more useful way and more creatively craft character simulations, assessments, learning in the flow of work and more.

And it’s about time. We really haven’t had a massive innovation in L&D since the early days of the learning experience platform market, so we may be entering the most exciting era in a long time.

Let me give you the five most significant use cases I see. And more will come.

AI and Tech with Scenarios: ID Links 7/11/23 — from christytuckerlearning.com by Christy Tucker

As I read online, I bookmark resources I find interesting and useful. I share these links periodically here on my blog. This post includes links on using tech with scenarios: AI, xAPI, and VR. I’ll also share some other AI tools and links on usability, resume tips for teachers, visual language, and a scenario sample.

It’s only a matter of time before A.I. chatbots are teaching in primary schools — from cnbc.com by Mikaela Cohen

Key Points

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates saying generative AI chatbots can teach kids to read in 18 months rather than years.
Artificial intelligence is beginning to prove that it can accelerate the impact teachers have on students and help solve a stubborn teacher shortage.
Chatbots backed by large language models can help students, from primary education to certification programs, self-guide through voluminous materials and tailor their education to specific learning styles [preferences].

The Rise of AI: New Rules for Super T Professionals and Next Steps for EdLeaders — from gettingsmart.com by Tom Vander Ark

Key Points

The rise of artificial intelligence, especially generative AI, boosts productivity in content creation–text, code, images and increasingly video.
Here are six preliminary conclusions about the nature of work and learning.

The Future Of Education: Embracing AI For Student Success — from forbes.com by Dr. Michael Horowitz

Unfortunately, too often attention is focused on the problems of AI—that it allows students to cheat and can undermine the value of what teachers bring to the learning equation. This viewpoint ignores the immense possibilities that AI can bring to education and across every industry.

The fact is that students have already embraced this new technology, which is neither a new story nor a surprising one in education. Leaders should accept this and understand that people, not robots, must ultimately create the path forward. It is only by deploying resources, training and policies at every level of our institutions that we can begin to realize the vast potential of what AI can offer.

AI Tools in Education: Doing Less While Learning More — from campustechnology.com by Mary Grush
A Q&A with Mark Frydenberg

Why Students & Teachers Should Get Excited about ChatGPT — from ivypanda.com with thanks to Ruth Kinloch for this resource

Excerpt re: Uses of ChatGPT for Teachers

Diverse assignments.
Individualized approach.
Interesting classes.
Debates.
Critical thinking.
Grammar and vocabulary.
Homework review.

SAIL: State of Research: AI & Education — from buttondown.email by George Siemens
Information re: current AI and Learning Labs, education updates, and technology

Why ethical AI requires a future-ready and inclusive education system — from weforum.org

A specter is haunting higher education — from aiandacademia.substack.com by Bryan Alexander
Fall semester after the generative AI revolution

In this post I’d like to explore that apocalyptic model. For reasons of space, I’ll leave off analyzing student cheating motivations or questioning the entire edifice of grade-based assessment. I’ll save potential solutions for another post.

Let’s dive into the practical aspects of teaching to see why Mollick and Bogost foresee such a dire semester ahead.

Items re: Code Interpreter

Code Interpreter becoming available for all ChatGPT Plus users over the next week. Really amazing for any data science use case: https://t.co/hpel8xKyEg pic.twitter.com/Fd3SnPvVmT

— Greg Brockman (@gdb) July 6, 2023

I put together an initial prompt to set up Code Interpreter to create useful data visualizations. It gives it some basic principles of good chart design & also reminds it that it can output many kinds of files.

It is a first draft, feel free to improve: https://t.co/m4yAdKROiJ pic.twitter.com/r5A7PznqSC

— Ethan Mollick (@emollick) July 10, 2023

What AI can do with a toolbox… Getting started with Code Interpreter — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
Democratizing data analysis with AI

Code Interpreter continues OpenAI’s long tradition of giving terrible names to things, because it might be most useful for those who do not code at all. It essentially allows the most advanced AI available, GPT-4, to upload and download information, and to write and execute programs for you in a persistent workspace. That allows the AI to do all sorts of things it couldn’t do before, and be useful in ways that were impossible with ChatGPT.

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BREAKING: Code Interpreter is FINALLY rolling out to all ChatGPT Plus users.

It’s the most powerful feature OpenAI has released since GPT-4. It makes everyone a data analyst.

Here are 15 mind-blowing use cases of Code Interpreter: pic.twitter.com/qX0txynENS

— Aakash Gupta ? Product Growth Guy (@aakashg0) July 7, 2023

Legal items

2 authors say OpenAI ‘ingested’ their books to train ChatGPT. Now they’re suing, and a ‘wave’ of similar court cases may follow. — from businessinsider.com by Gabriel Rivera
Authors Are Suing OpenAI & Meta For Copyright Infringement — from theneurondaily.com by Noah Edelman

MISC items

America’s first law regulating AI bias in hiring takes effect this week — from downes.ca by Stephen Downes
Eric Schmidt: This is how AI will transform the way science gets done — from technologyreview.com by Eric Schmidt
Science is about to become much more exciting—and that will affect us all, argues Google’s former CEO.
Microsoft unveils first professional certificate for generative AI skills — from zdnet.com/ by Lance Whitney
With the new AI Skills Initiative, people can take free online training via LinkedIn to learn concepts of AI good toward a Career Essentials certificate.
What is Claude 2? How to access this ChatGPT competitor. — from mashable.com by Cecily Mauran
It’s a decent alternative, and it’s easy to use.
Claude 2 — from anthropic.com

The Homework Apocalypse — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
Fall is going to be very different this year. Educators need to be ready.

Excerpt:

Students will cheat with AI. But they also will begin to integrate AI into everything they do, raising new questions for educators. Students will want to understand why they are doing assignments that seem obsolete thanks to AI. They will want to use AI as a learning companion, a co-author, or a teammate. They will want to accomplish more than they did before, and also want answers about what AI means for their future learning paths. Schools will need to decide how to respond to this flood of questions.

The challenge of AI in education can feel abstract, so to understand a bit more about what is going to happen, I wanted to examine some common assignment types.

AI for Education Webinars [Barrett & Co.] plus other items re: AI in our learning ecosystems

On 07/07/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, Asia, assessment, Australia, bots, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, digital learning, digital textbooks, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, ethics, experimentation, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, library / librarians, morals/values, multimedia, new media literacies, online media, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, society, staying relevant, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, textbooks, the downsides of technology, tools, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

AI for Education Webinars — from youtube.com by Tom Barrett and others

Post-AI Assessment Design — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman
A simple, three-step guide on how to design assessments in a post-AI world

Excerpt:

Step 1: Write Inquiry-Based Objectives
Inquiry-based objectives focus not just on the acquisition of knowledge but also on the development of skills and behaviours, like critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and research skills.

They do this by requiring learners not just to recall or “describe back” concepts that are delivered via text, lecture or video. Instead, inquiry-based objectives require learners to construct their own understanding through the process of investigation, analysis and questioning.

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Massive Disruption Now: What AI Means for Students, Educators, Administrators and Accreditation Boards
— from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard; via Will Richardson on LinkedIn
The choices many colleges and universities make regarding AI over the next 9 months will determine if they survive. The same may be true for schools.

Excerpts:

Just for a minute, consider how education would change if the following were true –

AIs “hallucinated” less than humans
AIs could write in our own voices
AIs could accurately do math
AIs understood the unique academic (and eventually developmental) needs of each student and adapt instruction to that student
AIs could teach anything any student wanted or need to know any time of day or night
AIs could do this at a fraction of the cost of a human teacher or professor

Fall 2026 is three years away. Do you have a three year plan? Perhaps you should scrap it and write a new one (or at least realize that your current one cannot survive). If you run an academic institution in 2026 the same way you ran it in 2022, you might as well run it like you would have in 1920. If you run an academic institution in 2030 (or any year when AI surpasses human intelligence) the same way you ran it in 2022, you might as well run it like you would have in 1820. AIs will become more intelligent than us, perhaps in 10-20 years (LeCun), though there could be unanticipated breakthroughs that lower the time frame to a few years or less (Benjio); it’s just a question of when, not “if.”

On one creative use of AI — from aiandacademia.substack.com by Bryan Alexander
A new practice with pedagogical possibilities

Excerpt:

Look at those material items again. The voiceover? Written by an AI and turned into audio by software. The images? Created by human prompts in Midjourney. The music is, I think, human created. And the idea came from a discussion between a human and an AI?
…
How might this play out in a college or university class?

Imagine assignments which require students to craft such a video. Start from film, media studies, or computer science classes. Students work through a process:

Generative Textbooks — from opencontent.org by David Wiley

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

I continue to try to imagine ways generative AI can impact teaching and learning, including learning materials like textbooks. Earlier this week I started wondering – what if, in the future, educators didn’t write textbooks at all? What if, instead, we only wrote structured collections of highly crafted prompts? Instead of reading a static textbook in a linear fashion, the learner would use the prompts to interact with a large language model. These prompts could help learners ask for things like:

overviews and in-depth explanations of specific topics in a specific sequence,
examples that the learner finds personally relevant and interesting,
interactive practice – including open-ended exercises – with immediate, corrective feedback,
the structure of the relationships between ideas and concepts,
etc.

Also relevant/see:

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Generating The Future of Education with AI — from aixeducation.com

Designed for K12 and Higher-Ed Educators & Administrators, this conference aims to provide a platform for educators, administrators, AI experts, students, parents, and EdTech leaders to discuss the impact of AI on education, address current challenges and potentials, share their perspectives and experiences, and explore innovative solutions. A special emphasis will be placed on including students’ voices in the conversation, highlighting their unique experiences and insights as the primary beneficiaries of these educational transformations.

How Teachers Are Using ChatGPT in Class — from edweek.org by Larry Ferlazzo

Excerpt:

The use of generative AI in K-12 settings is complex and still in its infancy. We need to consider how these tools can enhance student creativity, improve writing skills, and be transparent with students about how generative AI works so they can better understand its limitations. As with any new tech, our students will be exposed to it, and it is our task as educators to help them navigate this new territory as well-informed, curious explorers.

Japan emphasizes students’ comprehension of AI in new school guidelines — from japantimes.co.jp by Karin Kaneko; via The Rundown

Excerpt:

The education ministry has emphasized the need for students to understand artificial intelligence in new guidelines released Tuesday, setting out how generative AI can be integrated into schools and the precautions needed to address associated risks.

Students should comprehend the characteristics of AI, including its advantages and disadvantages, with the latter including personal information leakages and copyright infringement, before they use it, according to the guidelines. They explicitly state that passing off reports, essays or any other works produced by AI as one’s own is inappropriate.

AI’s Teachable Moment: How ChatGPT Is Transforming the Classroom — from cnet.com by Mark Serrels
Teachers and students are already harnessing the power of AI, with an eye toward the future.

Excerpt:

Thanks to the rapid development of artificial intelligence tools like Dall-E and ChatGPT, my brother-in-law has been wrestling with low-level anxiety: Is it a good idea to steer his son down this path when AI threatens to devalue the work of creatives? Will there be a job for someone with that skill set in 10 years? He’s unsure. But instead of burying his head in the sand, he’s doing what any tech-savvy parent would do: He’s teaching his son how to use AI.

In recent months the family has picked up subscriptions to AI services. Now, in addition to drawing and sculpting and making movies and video games, my nephew is creating the monsters of his dreams with Midjourney, a generative AI tool that uses language prompts to produce images.

The AI Dictionary for Educators — from blog.profjim.com

To bridge this knowledge gap, I decided to make a quick little dictionary of AI terms specifically tailored for educators worldwide. Initially created for my own benefit, I’ve reworked my own AI Dictionary for Educators and expanded it to help my fellow teachers embrace the advancements AI brings to education.

7 Strategies to Prepare Educators to Teach With AI — from edweek.org by Lauraine Langreo; NOTE: Behind paywall

Who Does the Thinking: The Role of Generative AI in Higher Education — from youtube.com by Trine Jensen, Chris Dede, Frank Tsiwah, and Kate Thompson

Description:

Generative AI has taken the world by storm since OpenAI launched ChatGPT-3 in November 2022. Generative AI is characterized by its capacity to generate human-like content based on deep learning models in response to prompts. There is a wealth of opinions about how this will impact higher education spanning from the need to limit the use in the protection of higher education to embracing the tool as a means to improve higher education. In this webinar session, speakers from different regions shared their views and perspectives and discuss how Generative AI will transform higher education. What are the challenges to be addressed and which opportunities can be pursued to improve the quality of higher education? Watch the webinar and learn about the uncertainties, tensions, and opportunities triggered by Generative AI.

Trust and Transparency Are Key Factors When Using AI in Academia — from by Dr. Andrew Lang
Much can be learned from embracing artificial intelligence in the teaching and learning process. Here, two professors share their experiences using ChatGPT freely in the classroom.

A Professor Encouraged Students to Use ChatGPT. OpenAI Asked Her What She Learned — from techlearning.com by Erik Ofgang
Dr. Francine Berman permitted her students at UMass to use ChatGPT to help them write. Despite limitations, she found there were ways it could help edit student work.

Artificial intelligence glossary: 60+ terms to know — from techtarget.com by Ben Lutkevich
AI is moving fast and can be hard to keep up in real time. Use this glossary as a reference for AI terms.

The AI-Education Divide — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Philippa Hardman
How the rise of AI has reinforced inequity in education (and what we need to do to reverse it)
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101 creative ideas to use AI in education, a crowdsourced collection [Nerantzi, Abegglen, Karatsiori, & Martínez-Arboleda (Eds.)]

On 06/28/2023, in Africa, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, Asia, assessment, Australia, Canada, creativity, digital learning, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, Europe, experimentation, graphics, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, India, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, participation, platforms, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, project-based learning, skills, student-related, teachers, tools, UK, United States, vendors, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

101 creative ideas to use AI in education, A crowdsourced collection — from zenodo.org by Chrissi Nerantzi, Sandra Abegglen, Marianna Karatsiori, & Antonio Martínez-Arboleda (Eds.); with thanks to George Veletsianos for this resource

As an example, here’s one of the ideas from the crowdsourced collection:

On a somewhat related note, also see:

Merlyn Mind launches education-focused LLMs for classroom integration of generative AI — from venturebeat.com by Victor Dey

Excerpt:

Merlyn Mind, an AI-powered digital assistant platform, announced the launch of a suite of large language models (LLMs) specifically tailored for the education sector under an open-source license.

Designing courses in an age of AI — from teachinginhighered.com by Maria Andersen
Maria Andersen shares about designing courses in an age of artificial intelligence (AI) on episode 469 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.

With generative AI, we have an incredible acceleration of change happening.

Maria Andersen

“The economic potential of generative AI” [McKinsey & Co.] + using AI in the classroom + other AI-related items

On 06/27/2023, in adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, assessment, business, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, digital learning, digital video, economics, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, graphics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, liberal arts, lifelong learning, new business models, open courseware and systems, personalized/customized learning, platforms, policy, society, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, UK, United States, universities, workplace, writing, by Daniel Christian

The economic potential of generative AI — from mckinsey.com; via Superhuman

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DC: It should prove to be interesting & fun to watch how #AI and #XR related technologies will be integrated into games & the #gamification of #learning .https://t.co/HO2CftqNrs via @VRScout

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) June 23, 2023

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On giving AI eyes and ears — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
AI can listen and see, with bigger implications than we might realize.

Excerpt:

But even this is just the beginning, and new modes of using AI are appearing, which further increases their capabilities. I want to show you some examples of this emerging world, which I think will soon introduce a new wave of AI use cases, and accompanying disruption.

We need to recognize that these capabilities will continue to grow, and AI will be able to play a more active role in the real world by observing and listening. The implications are likely to be profound, and we should start thinking through both the huge benefits and major concerns today.

Ethan Mollick

5 Steps to Transforming Images into Videos Using AI Tools — from heatherbcooper.substack.com by Heather Cooper
A simple guide to layering AI tools for quick video creation

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‘Nobody wins in an academic-integrity arms race’ — from chonicle.com by Ian Wilhelm
How artificial intelligence is changing the way college thing about cheating

Even though generative AI is a new thing, it doesn’t change why students cheat. They’ve always cheated for the same reason: They don’t find the work meaningful, and they don’t think they can achieve it to their satisfaction. So we need to design assessments that students find meaning in.

Tricia Bertram Gallant

Caught off guard by AI — from chonicle.com by Beth McMurtrie and Beckie Supiano
Professor scrambled to react to ChatGPT this spring — and started planning for the fall

Excerpt:

Is it cheating to use AI to brainstorm, or should that distinction be reserved for writing that you pretend is yours? Should AI be banned from the classroom, or is that irresponsible, given how quickly it is seeping into everyday life? Should a student caught cheating with AI be punished because they passed work off as their own, or given a second chance, especially if different professors have different rules and students aren’t always sure what use is appropriate?

GPT-4 Can Use Tools Now—That’s a Big Deal — from every.to by Dan Shipper; resource via Sam DeBrule
What “function calling” is, how it works, and what it means

Excerpt:

…OpenAI built tool use right into the GPT API with an update called function calling. It’s a little like a child’s ability to ask their parents to help them with a task that they know they can’t do on their own. Except in this case, instead of parents, GPT can call out to external code, databases, or other APIs when it needs to.

Each function in function calling represents a tool that a GPT model can use when necessary, and GPT gets to decide which ones it wants to use and when. This instantly upgrades GPT capabilities—not because it can now do every task perfectly—but because it now knows how to ask for what it wants and get it.
.

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How ChatGPT can help disrupt assessment overload — from timeshighereducation.com by David Carless
Advances in AI are not necessarily the enemy – in fact, they should prompt long overdue consideration of assessment types and frequency, says David Carless

Excerpt:

Reducing the assessment burden could support trust in students as individuals wanting to produce worthwhile, original work. Indeed, students can be co-opted as partners in designing their own assessment tasks, so they can produce something meaningful to them.

A strategic reduction in quantity of assessment would also facilitate a refocusing of assessment priorities on deep understanding more than just performance and carries potential to enhance feedback processes.

If we were to tackle assessment overload in these ways, it opens up various possibilities. Most significantly there is potential to revitalise feedback so that it becomes a core part of a learning cycle rather than an adjunct at its end. End-of-semester, product-oriented feedback, which comes after grades have already been awarded, fails to encourage the iterative loops and spirals typical of productive learning.
.

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The full 12 uses are here: https://edgeoflearning.com/your-new-teaching-superpower-ai-tools/

The AI Tools in Education Database — from kiwi-path-612.notion.site by EdTech Insiders

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Since AI in education has been moving at the speed of light, we built this AI Tools in Education database to keep track of the most recent AI tools in education and the changes that are happening every day. This database is intended to be a community resource for educators, researchers, students, and other edtech specialists looking to stay up to date. This is a living document, so be sure to come back for regular updates.

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Time for Class 2023 Study finds students are earlier adopters of generative AI tools than faculty, and majority (69%) of learners prefer hybrid, blended or online course formats — from globenewswire.com by Tyton Partners

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AI Could Prevent Hiring Bias — Unless It Makes It Worse — from nerdwallet.com by Anna Helhoski
Advocates say AI can eliminate human biases in hiring. Skeptics point out that AI tools are trained by … humans.

Excerpt:

These claims conjure up the rosiest of images: human resource departments and their robot buddies solving discrimination in workplace hiring. It seems plausible, in theory, that AI could root out unconscious bias, but a growing body of research shows the opposite may be more likely.
…
Companies’ use of AI didn’t come out of nowhere: For example, automated applicant tracking systems have been used in hiring for decades. That means if you’ve applied for a job, your resume and cover letter were likely scanned by an automated system. You probably heard from a chatbot at some point in the process. Your interview might have been automatically scheduled and later even assessed by AI.

From DSC:
Here was my reflection on this:

DC: Along these lines, I wonder if Applicant Tracking Systems cause us to become like typecast actors and actresses — only thought of for certain roles. Pigeonholed.

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) June 23, 2023

Also related to AI in hiring, see:

4 in 10 Companies Will Be Using AI Interviews by 2024 — from resumebuilder.com

In June, ResumeBuilder.com surveyed more than 1,000 employees who are involved in hiring processes at their workplaces to find out about their companies’ use of AI interviews.

The results:

43% of companies already have or plan to adopt AI interviews by 2024
Two-thirds of this group believe AI interviews will increase hiring efficiency
15% say that AI will be used to make decisions on candidates without any human input
More than half believe AI will eventually replace human hiring managers

Watch OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on the Future of AI — from bloomberg.com
Sam Altman, CEO & Co-Founder, OpenAI discusses the explosive rise of OpenAI and its products and what an AI-laced future can look like with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang at the Bloomberg Technology Summit.

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PowerSchool Announces Collaboration with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to Provide Personalized Learning at Scale in K-12 Education — from powerschool.com
Large-scale language models integrated within PowerSchool Performance Matters and PowerSchool LearningNav products will empower educators in delivering transformative personalized learning pathways

The implementation of generative AI within these products will dramatically improve educators’ ability to deliver personalized learning to students at scale by enabling the application of personalized assessments and learning pathways based on individual student needs and learning goals. K-12 educators will also benefit from access to OpenAI technology…

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FETC 2023 Virtual Roundtable: How AI Will Transform K-12 Education

AI could be the great equalizer!

Holly Clark

Example screenshots:

Is It Time to Rethink the Traditional Grading System? [Young & Talbert]

On 05/15/2023, in adjunct faculty, assessment, change, faculty, higher education, instructional design, learning, learning ecosystem, love of learning, motivation, pedagogy, research, student-related, teaching & learning, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Is It Time to Rethink the Traditional Grading System? — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young and Robert Talbert

Excerpt:

After that, this professor vowed never to use traditional grades on tests again. But he wasn’t quite sure what to replace them with.

As Talbert soon discovered, there’s a whole world of so-called alternative grading systems. So many, in fact, that he ended up co-writing an entire book about them with a colleague at his university, David Clark. The book, which is due out this summer, is called “Grading for Growth: A Guide to Alternative Grading Practices that Promote Authentic Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education.”

EdSurge connected with Talbert to hear what he uses in his classes now, and why he argues that reforming how grading works is key to increasing student engagement.

An Open Letter from a Future Lawyer Now Studying for the Bar Exam

On 05/02/2023, in assessment, career development, higher education, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, student-related, by Daniel Christian

An Open Letter from a Future Lawyer Now Studying for the Bar Exam — from abaforlawstudents.com by Megan Parker

Excerpt:

The Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) spans two days, with closed-book testing comprising three components prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

On the first day (a Tuesday), I’ll write six multistate essay exam (MEE) responses in the morning. The MEE questions can pertain to any one of the following areas of law: business associations, conflicts of law, constitutional law, contracts/sales, criminal law and procedure, evidence, family law, federal civil procedure, real property, secured transactions, torts, and trusts and estates.

In the afternoon, I’ll write two multistate performance test (MPT)responses that require composing two real-life practice documents from a “file” and “library” of approximately 25 pages each that I must read, analyze, and digest on the spot.

On the second day (a Wednesday), I’ll need to answer 200 multistate bar examination (MBE)multiple-choice questions covering six subject areas: constitutional law, contracts/sales, criminal law and procedure, evidence, federal civil procedure, real property, and torts.

Also relevant/see:

Q&A with a Bar Exam Tutor—Frequently Asked Questions about the Bar Exam — from abaforlawstudents.com by JD Advising

Excerpts:

What is the best advice for passing the bar exam the first time?

What everyone says is true: studying for the bar is a marathon, not a sprint. Investing the time early in your studies to be diligent and sticking to your study schedule will reward you in the long run.
Be Consistent
Take Care of Yourself
Make a Schedule
Use the Strategies That Work for You

“7 reasons to get rid of the law degree” + “A better pathway to lawyer licensing” [Furlong]

On 04/28/2023, in 21st century, accreditation, assessment, business, Canada, career development, cost of getting a degree, Cost of legal services - including access, credentialing, ideas, law schools, learning ecosystem, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, skills, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

7 reasons to get rid of the law degree — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
Requiring a law degree for bar admission imposes unfair burdens on new lawyers and blocks innovation in legal education. Here’s what we can do instead.

Excerpt:

Hey there, legal sector participant! Do you feel that law school is too expensive? That law students graduate too heavily in debt and deeply stressed? That legal education seems impossible to reform? That the whole lawyer development and bar admission system in general is an enormous hot mess?

If so, you’re like thousands of others who’ve grown massively frustrated with the profession’s broken-down approach to developing new lawyers. But I’m here with some good news! There’s a simple and straightforward path to resolving these and many other problems with legal education and bar admission.

We start by getting rid of the law degree.

Now, hold on, let me be clear — I don’t mean kill the law degree itself. That would be crazy.

No, I mean, let’s get rid of the law degree as a mandatory element of the lawyer licensing process. Law schools should continue to offer whatever sort of degree programs they like — but legal regulators and bar admission authorities should no longer require everybody who wants to be a lawyer to get one.

From DSC:
I need to think on this further, but Jordan could be onto something here…

A better pathway to lawyer licensing — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
No law degree; a single knowledge exam; training in legal, business and professional skills; and a term of supervised practice. This is how we do it.

Excerpt:

Previously here at Substack, I provided a pretty comprehensive takedown of the law degree requirement for lawyer licensing. It generated a ton of fascinating and gratifying feedback, here and especially at LinkedIn, with a few objections but mostly a lot of support.

Of course, it’s easy to criticize legal education — fun, too — but look, most people in the legal profession already know all the problems with the law degree, and complaining about it is kind of a vacuous pastime. What I’m really interested in here is a bigger and more important question: How does — how should — someone become a lawyer?

Learning Ecosystems

“Who Does the Thinking: The Role of Generative AI in Higher Education” [Jensen, Dede, Tsiwah, & Thompson]+ other items re: AI in education/higher education

“The economic potential of generative AI” [McKinsey & Co.] + using AI in the classroom + other AI-related items

“7 reasons to get rid of the law degree” + “A better pathway to lawyer licensing” [Furlong]

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Tags

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DSC: Something I created via Adobe Firefly (Beta version)

Items re: Code Interpreter

Legal items

MISC items

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DSC:
Something I created via Adobe Firefly (Beta version)