From DSC:
And how long before that type of interactivity is embedded into learning-related applications/games?!


 


AI in Learning: The Impact of ChatGPT on L&D & Workflow Learning — from linkedin.com; this event by Bob Mosher features his conversation with Donald Clark

AI in Learning: The Impact of ChatGPT on L&D & Workflow Learning -- from linkedin.com; this event by Bob Mosher features his conversation with Donald Clark



Bill Gates says AI is poised to destroy search engines and Amazon — from futurism.com by Victor Tangermann
Who will win the AI [competition]? (DSC: I substituted the word competition here, as that’s what it is. It’s not a war, it’s a part of America’s way of doing business.)

“Whoever wins the personal agent, that’s the big thing, because you will never go to a search site again, you will never go to a productivity site, you’ll never go to Amazon again,” Gates said during a Goldman Sachs event on AI in San Francisco this week, as quoted by CNBC.

These AI assistants could “read the stuff you don’t have time to read,” he said, allowing users to get to information without having to use a search engine like Google.


EdX launches ChatGPT-powered plugin, learning assistant — from edscoop.com
The online learning firm edX introduced two new tools powered by ChatGPT, the “first of many innovations” in generative AI for the platform.

The online learning platform edX introduced two new tools on Friday based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology: an edX plugin for ChatGPT and a learning assistant embedded in the edX platform, called Xpert.

According to the company, its plugin will enable ChatGPT Plus subscribers to discover educational programs and explore learning content such as videos and quizzes across edX’s library of 4,200 courses.


Bing is now the default search for ChatGPT — from theverge.com by Tom Warren; via superhuman.beehiiv.com
The close partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI leads to plug-in interoperability and search defaults.

Excerpt:

OpenAI will start using Bing as the default search experience for ChatGPT. The new search functionality will be rolling out to ChatGPT Plus users today and will be enabled for all free ChatGPT users soon through a plug-in in ChatGPT.



How ChatGPT Could Help or Hurt Students With Disabilities — from chronicle.com by Beth McMurtrie

Excerpt:

  • Students with mobility challenges may find it easier to use generative AI tools — such as ChatGPT or Elicit — to help them conduct research if that means they can avoid a trip to the library.
  • Students who have trouble navigating conversations — such as those along the autism spectrum — could use these tools for “social scripting.” In that scenario, they might ask ChatGPT to give them three ways to start a conversation with classmates about a group project.
  • Students who have trouble organizing their thoughts might benefit from asking a generative AI tool to suggest an opening paragraph for an essay they’re working on — not to plagiarize, but to help them get over “the terror of the blank page,” says Karen Costa, a faculty-development facilitator who, among other things, focuses on teaching, learning, and living with ADHD. “AI can help build momentum.”
  • ChatGPT is good at productive repetition. That is a practice most teachers use anyway to reinforce learning. But AI can take that to the next level by allowing students who have trouble processing information to repeatedly generate examples, definitions, questions, and scenarios of concepts they are learning.

It’s not all on you to figure this out and have all the answers. Partner with your students and explore this together.


A new antibiotic, discovered with artificial intelligence, may defeat a dangerous superbug — from edition.cnn.com by Brenda Goodman



8 YouTube Channels to Learn AI — from techthatmatters.beehiiv.com by Harsh Makadia

  • The AI Advantage (link)
  • Jason West (link)
  • TheAIGRID (link)
  • Prompt Engineering (link)
  • Matt Wolfe (link)
  • Two-Minute Papers (link)
  • Brett Malinowski (link)
  • 10X Income (link)

AI and the Future of Teaching and Learning | Insights and Recommendations from the Office of Educational Technology

Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning | Insights and Recommendations — with thanks to Robert Gibson on LinkedIn for this resource


Ai Valley -- the latest source of AI tools and prompts

 

Being a new teacher is hard. Having a good mentor can help — from npr.org by Cory Turner

Excerpt:

[Besides this article’s focus on mentorship]

In March, I reported a pair of stories from Jackson, Miss., where the school district is paying for unlicensed classroom aides to go back to school and get their master’s degrees.

In April, I told the story of a remarkable idea: A new high school in San Antonio dedicated entirely to training high-schoolers in the art and science of good teaching.

From DSC:
I would add a few more items:

  • Significantly reduce the impact of legislators on K-12. If they do vote on something that would impact schools, each legislator that votes on such legislation must first spend at least ___ week(s) observing in some of the schools that would be impacted before even starting to draft legislation and/or debate on the topic(s).
  • Instead, turn over more control and power to the students, teachers, K12 administrators, parents, and school boards.
  • Provide more choice, more control as each student can handle it.
  • Stop the one-size fits all system. Instead use AI-based systems to provide more personalized learning.
  • Develop more hybrid programs — but this time I’m talking mixing what we’ve known as public education with homeschooling and smaller learning pods. Let’s expand what’s included when we discuss “learning spaces.”
  • Strive for a love of learning — vs. competition and developing gameplayers
  • Support makerspaces, entrepreneurship, and experiments
  • Speaking of experiments, I would recommend developing more bold experiments outside of the current systems.

Along the lines of potential solutions/visions, see:

Why ‘System Transformation’ Is Likely A Pipe Dream — from michaelbhorn.substack.com by Michael Horn
But I’m for System Replacement

Excerpt:

Foremost among them is this: Despite all the fancy models and white papers around what are all the levers to pull in order to transform a system, system transformation almost never happens by changing the fundamental tenets of the system itself. Instead, it comes from replacing the system with a brand-new system.

To start to understand why, consider the complicated system in which public schools find themselves. As Thomas Arnett explained, they are one part of a vast value network of federal, state, and local regulators, voters and taxpayers, parents and students, teachers, administrators, unions, curriculum providers, school vendors, public infrastructure, higher education institutions, and more.

New ideas, programs, or entities that don’t fit into these processes, priorities, and cost structures are simply not plug-compatible into that value network. They consequently get rejected, tossed to the fringe, or altered to meet the needs of the existing actors in the value network.

 

Inviting Learners into Work That Matters — from gettingsmart.com by Tom Vander Ark

Key Points

  • We’ve found pockets of excellence in three dozen high school visits this spring.
  • Where we’ve spotted evidence of deeper learning (i.e., engagement, critical thinking, excellent public products) it’s been work that matters to the learner and their community– it’s relevant, purposeful, and consequential work.

Students and teachers collaborating in a smart, active classroom type of setup at Barrington High's Incubatoredu class

 

Introducing Teach AI — Empowering educators to teach w/ AI & about AI [ISTE & many others]


Teach AI -- Empowering educators to teach with AI and about AI


Also relevant/see:

 

2023 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report | Teaching and Learning Edition

2023 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report | Teaching and Learning Edition — from library.educause.edu

Excerpt:

The Future of Teaching and Learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm, with new AI-powered tools such as ChatGPT opening up new opportunities in higher education for content creation, communication, and learning, while also raising new concerns about the misuses and overreach of technology. Our shared humanity has also become a key focal point within higher education, as faculty and leaders continue to wrestle with understanding and meeting the diverse needs of students and to find ways of cultivating institutional communities that support student well-being and belonging.

For this year’s teaching and learning Horizon Report, then, our panelists’ discussions oscillated between these seemingly polar ideas: the supplanting of human activity with powerful new technological capabilities, and the need for more humanity at the center of everything we do. This report summarizes the results of those discussions and serves as one vantage point on where our future may be headed.

 




AutoGPT is the next big thing in AI— from therundown.ai by Rowan Cheung

Excerpt:

AutoGPT has been making waves on the internet recently, trending on both GitHub and Twitter. If you thought ChatGPT was crazy, AutoGPT is about to blow your mind.

AutoGPT creates AI “agents” that operate automatically on their own and complete tasks for you. In case you’ve missed our previous issues covering it, here’s a quick rundown:

    • It’s open-sourced [code]
    • It works by chaining together LLM “thoughts”
    • It has internet access, long-term and short-term memory, access to popular websites, and file storage

.



From DSC:
I want to highlight that paper from Stanford, as I’ve seen it cited several times recently:.

Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior -- a paper from Stanford from April 2023


From DSC:
And for a rather fun idea/application of these emerging technologies, see:

  • Quick Prompt: Kitchen Design — from linusekenstam.substack.com by Linus Ekenstam
    Midjourney Prompt. Create elegant kitchen photos using this starting prompt. Make it your own, experiment, add, remove and tinker to create new ideas.

…which made me wonder how we might use these techs in the development of new learning spaces (or in renovating current learning spaces).


From DSC:
On a much different — but still potential — note, also see:

A.I. could lead to a ‘nuclear-level catastrophe’ according to a third of researchers, a new Stanford report finds — from fortune.com by Tristan Bove

Excerpt:

Many experts in A.I. and computer science say the technology is likely a watershed moment for human society. But 36% don’t mean that as a positive, warning that decisions made by A.I. could lead to “nuclear-level catastrophe,” according to researchers surveyed in an annual report on the technology by Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered A.I., published earlier this month.


 
 

13 Formative Assessments That Inspire Creativity — from edutopia.org by Paige Tutt
Sometimes mixing in formative assessments that go a step beyond exit slips and low-stakes quizzes can inject some fun—and creativity—into learning.

Excerpt:

Quick checks for understanding aren’t new, of course, but when time allows, occasionally injecting an element of creativity into formative assessments can deliver unexpected benefits. For example—regardless of a student’s artistic talent—research suggests that drawing the information they’re learning can increase student recall by nearly double. And when kids are encouraged to tap into their imagination to show what they know, they tend to ask more innovative questions of themselves, brainstorm fresh solutions to problems, and synthesize material in original and surprising ways.

Here are 13 formative assessment strategies that lean into creativity—inspired by the work of several Edutopia contributors, and from Finley’s handy list of quick checks for understanding.

Also see:

Is This Elementary School Near Pittsburgh the Future of Education? — from smithsonianmag.com by Kellie B. Gormly; with thanks to Tom Vander Ark out on Twitter for this resource
Ehrman Crest Elementary and Middle School is an innovative blend of children’s museum and classroom

A winding ramp curls up the center of the school. Laura Peters/CannonDesign

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

At Seneca Valley’s Ehrman Crest Elementary and Middle School, K-6 students are benefiting from an unusual collaboration. School leaders, architects and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh teamed up on the $63 million project, which opened in August 2022 after 790 construction days. With a student capacity of 1,400, the 200,000-square-foot facility takes a novel approach, forgoing the traditional school design for the playful, interactive, colorful elements of a children’s museum. Time magazine declared it one of the “Best Inventions of 2022.”

Matilda McQuaid, acting curatorial director at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, says this is the first time she has heard of a museum collaborating with a school to create a new environment from the ground up.

From DSC:
I love this collaboration — a children’s museum and a school district! — and the energy and creativity throughout this learning space!

17 Engaging Taxonomy Activities — from teachingexpertise.com

17 Engaging Taxonomy Activities

Students Need More Exercise. Here’s How to Add Activity Without Disrupting Learning — from edweek.org by Sarah D. Sparks

5 Ways to Inspire a Love for Learning in Students — from edweek.org by Elizabeth Heubeck

 


Speaking of AI-related items, also see:

OpenAI debuts Whisper API for speech-to-text transcription and translation — from techcrunch.com by Kyle Wiggers

Excerpt:

To coincide with the rollout of the ChatGPT API, OpenAI today launched the Whisper API, a hosted version of the open source Whisper speech-to-text model that the company released in September.

Priced at $0.006 per minute, Whisper is an automatic speech recognition system that OpenAI claims enables “robust” transcription in multiple languages as well as translation from those languages into English. It takes files in a variety of formats, including M4A, MP3, MP4, MPEG, MPGA, WAV and WEBM.

Introducing ChatGPT and Whisper APIs — from openai.com
Developers can now integrate ChatGPT and Whisper models into their apps and products through our API.

Excerpt:

ChatGPT and Whisper models are now available on our API, giving developers access to cutting-edge language (not just chat!) and speech-to-text capabilities.



Everything you wanted to know about AI – but were afraid to ask — from theguardian.com by Dan Milmo and Alex Hern
From chatbots to deepfakes, here is the lowdown on the current state of artificial intelligence

Excerpt:

Barely a day goes by without some new story about AI, or artificial intelligence. The excitement about it is palpable – the possibilities, some say, are endless. Fears about it are spreading fast, too.

There can be much assumed knowledge and understanding about AI, which can be bewildering for people who have not followed every twist and turn of the debate.

 So, the Guardian’s technology editors, Dan Milmo and Alex Hern, are going back to basics – answering the questions that millions of readers may have been too afraid to ask.


Nvidia CEO: “We’re going to accelerate AI by another million times” — from
In a recent earnings call, the boss of Nvidia Corporation, Jensen Huang, outlined his company’s achievements over the last 10 years and predicted what might be possible in the next decade.

Excerpt:

Fast forward to today, and CEO Jensen Huang is optimistic that the recent momentum in AI can be sustained into at least the next decade. During the company’s latest earnings call, he explained that Nvidia’s GPUs had boosted AI processing by a factor of one million in the last 10 years.

“Moore’s Law, in its best days, would have delivered 100x in a decade. By coming up with new processors, new systems, new interconnects, new frameworks and algorithms and working with data scientists, AI researchers on new models – across that entire span – we’ve made large language model processing a million times faster,” Huang said.

From DSC:
NVIDA is the inventor of the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), which creates interactive graphics on laptops, workstations, mobile devices, notebooks, PCs, and more. They are a dominant supplier of artificial intelligence hardware and software.


 

Homework seating collection by Alexander Lotersztain for Derlot — from dezeen.com by and Lotersztain

Homework seating collection by Alexander Lotersztain for Derlot

Also see:

Derlot dot com

 

Best Document Cameras for Teachers — from techlearning.com by Luke Edwards
Get the best document camera for teachers to make the classroom more digitally immersive

Along the lines of edtech, also see:

Tech & Learning Names Winners of the Best of 2022 Awards — from techlearning.com by TL Editors
This annual award celebrates recognizing the very best in EdTech from 2022

.
The Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence: Best of 2022 celebrate educational technology from the last 12 months that has excelled in supporting teachers, students, and education professionals in the classroom, for professional development, or general management of education resources and learning. Nominated products are divided into three categories: Primary, Secondary, or Higher Education.

 

Closing the digital divide in Black America — from mckinsey.com
Five steps could help to bring broadband and digital equity to every Black household in the United States—urban and rural—while bolstering efforts to create a more inclusive economy.

Excerpt:

But broadband access is only part of a much bigger picture. Ensuring all Americans can fully participate in civic life and the digital economy requires afford­able subscriptions, internet-enabled devices, applications, digital skills, and high-quality technical support. For example, while smartphone and tablet penetration are approximately equal among White, Black, and Hispanic and Latino adults in the United States, only 69 percent of Black Americans and 67 percent of Hispanic Americans have desktop or laptop computers, compared with 80 percent of White Americans (Exhibit 1).5 A 2020 OECD survey found that roughly half of Black workers had the advanced or proficient digital skills needed to thrive in our increasingly tech-driven economy, compared with 77 percent of White workers.6

 

Some example components of a learning ecosystem [Christian]

A learning ecosystem is composed of people, tools, technologies, content, processes, culture, strategies, and any other resource that helps one learn. Learning ecosystems can be at an individual level as well as at an organizational level.

Some example components:

  • Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) such as faculty, staff, teachers, trainers, parents, coaches, directors, and others
  • Fellow employees
  • L&D/Training professionals
  • Managers
  • Instructional Designers
  • Librarians
  • Consultants
  • Types of learning
    • Active learning
    • Adult learning
    • PreK-12 education
    • Training/corporate learning
    • Vocational learning
    • Experiential learning
    • Competency-based learning
    • Self-directed learning (i.e., heutagogy)
    • Mobile learning
    • Online learning
    • Face-to-face-based learning
    • Hybrid/blended learning
    • Hyflex-based learning
    • Game-based learning
    • XR-based learning (AR, MR, and VR)
    • Informal learning
    • Formal learning
    • Lifelong learning
    • Microlearning
    • Personalized/customized learning
    • Play-based learning
  • Cloud-based learning apps
  • Coaching & mentoring
  • Peer feedback
  • Job aids/performance tools and other on-demand content
  • Websites
  • Conferences
  • Professional development
  • Professional organizations
  • Social networking
  • Social media – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook/Meta, other
  • Communities of practice
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) — including ChatGPT, learning agents, learner profiles, 
  • LMS/CMS/Learning Experience Platforms
  • Tutorials
  • Videos — including on YouTube, Vimeo, other
  • Job-aids
  • E-learning-based resources
  • Books, digital textbooks, journals, and manuals
  • Enterprise social networks/tools
  • RSS feeds and blogging
  • Podcasts/vodcasts
  • Videoconferencing/audio-conferencing/virtual meetings
  • Capturing and sharing content
  • Tagging/rating/curating content
  • Decision support tools
  • Getting feedback
  • Webinars
  • In-person workshops
  • Discussion boards/forums
  • Chat/IM
  • VOIP
  • Online-based resources (periodicals, journals, magazines, newspapers, and others)
  • Learning spaces
  • Learning hubs
  • Learning preferences
  • Learning theories
  • Microschools
  • MOOCs
  • Open courseware
  • Portals
  • Wikis
  • Wikipedia
  • Slideshare
  • TED talks
  • …and many more components.

These people, tools, technologies, etc. are constantly morphing — as well as coming and going in and out of our lives.

 

 

What factors help active learning classrooms succeed? — from rtalbert.org Robert Talbert

Excerpt:

The idea that the space in which you do something, affects the thing you do is the basic premise behind active learning classrooms (ALCs).

The biggest message I get from this study is that in order to have success with active learning classrooms, you can’t just build them — they have to be introduced as part of an ecosystem that touches almost all parts of the daily function of a university: faculty teaching, faculty development and support, facilities, and the Registrar’s Office to name a few. Without that ecosystem before you build an ALC, it seems hard to have success with students after it’s built. You’re more likely to have an expensive showcase that looks good but ultimately does not fulfill its main purpose: Promoting and amplifying active learning, and moving the culture of a campus toward active engagement in the classroom.

From DSC:
Thank you Robert for your article/posting here! And thank you for being one of the few faculty members who:

  • Regularly share information out on LinkedIn, Twitter, and your blog (something that is all too rare for faculty members throughout higher education)
  • Took a sabbatical to go work at a company that designs and develops numerous options for implementing active learning setups throughout the worlds of higher education, K12 education, and the corporate world as well. You are taking your skills to help contribute to the corporate world, while learning things out in the corporate world, and then  taking these learnings back into the world of higher education.

This presupposes something controversial: That the institution will take a stand on the issue that there is a preferred way to teach, namely active learning, and that the institution will be moving toward making active learning the default pedagogy at the institution. Putting this stake in the ground, and then investing not only in facilities but in professional development and faculty incentives to make it happen, again calls for vigorous, sustained leadership — at the top, and especially by the teaching/learning center director.

Robert Talbert


 

Also see:

Redbridge | The future of lifelong learning — from redbridgesf.org and with thanks to Michael Horn for this resource

Excerpts from their home page:

  • Red Bridge is a school that teaches students to set goals, work together, reflect, and own their learning.
  • For families who value lifelong learning and share a sense of responsibility for their community.
  • Our vision is for all students to graduate with a sense of ownership over their learning and their lives – so that no matter what the future looks like, they have the capacity to adapt and flourish.

 

 
© 2024 | Daniel Christian