K-12 related

ChatGPT Has Changed Teaching. Our Readers Tell Us How. [McMurtrie & Supiano] + other items re: AI in our Learning Ecosystems

On 12/20/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, change, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, education, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, future, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, K-12 related, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, more voice more choice more control, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, writing, by Daniel Christian

K12 District-Level Perspectives on AI — from aiforeducation.io by Amanda Bickerstaff, Dr. Patrick Gittisriboongul, Samantha Armstrong, & Brett Roer

Want to know how K12 schools are navigating the adoption of AI and what district-level leaders really think about GenAI EdTech tools?

Join us for this free webinar where we discussed AI technology, literacy, training, and the responsible adoption of GenAI tools in K12. Our panel explored what is working well – and not so well – across their districts from a school leader and practitioner’s perspective.

ChatGPT Has Changed Teaching. Our Readers Tell Us How. — from chronicle.com by Beth McMurtrie and Beckie Supiano

Those vastly different approaches to college writing pretty much sum up the responses to generative AI: They’re all over the map.

One year after its release, ChatGPT has pushed higher education into a liminal place. Colleges are still hammering out large-scale plans and policies governing how generative AI will be dealt with in operations, research, and academic programming. But professors have been forced more immediately to adapt their classrooms to its presence. Those adaptations vary significantly, depending on whether they see the technology as a tool that can aid learning or as a threat that inhibits it.
…
Nearly 100 faculty members shared their stories. While not a representative sample, they teach at a wide range of institutions: 15 community colleges, 32 public and 24 private four-year colleges or universities, seven international institutions, and one for-profit college. They teach a variety of subjects, including animal science, statistics, computer science, history, accounting, and composition. Many spent hours learning about AI: enrolling in workshops and webinars, experimenting with the tools, and reading articles, so that they could enter the fall semester informed and prepared.

The Disruption of AI in CTE Is Real — from techlearning.com by Annie Galvin Teich
An ACTE expert panel urges CTE educators to jump on the AI train as it’s already left the station

10 Best Practices for AI and CTE

Embrace AI and use it first for simple tasks to create efficiencies. Then use it to individualize instruction and for formative assessment tools aligned to standards.
Be creative and conscious of internal bias and ethics. Focus on DEI and access.
Encourage students to use apps and tools to start moving toward an integrated curriculum using AI.
Prepare students for jobs of the future by partnering with industry to solve real problems.
…and others

How are universities responding to generative AI? — from medium.com by Nic Newman
What’s next for higher education as we enter a new wave of edtech innovation: AI-powered learning

Where will AI make a big difference?
At Emerge, we have identified eight high-level trends — what we’re calling “engines of opportunity”. These eight “engines of opportunity” capture our ideas about how AI is being used to drive better practice and outcomes in HE, now and into the future.

They fall into two main categories:

Making learning more engaging: solutions that scale high quality pedagogy at low cost.
Making teaching more efficient: solutions that save educators and organisations time and money.

Learning Societies — “A sweet spot between traditional schooling and at-home online learning” [Gottlieb]

On 12/20/2023, in Alternatives, education, education reform, experimentation, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, online learning, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

The Rise of Learning Societies — from educationnext.org by Alan Gottlieb
A small experiment in rural Idaho holds big promise for student success

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The basic idea is this: Some parents who, for a variety of reasons, hesitate to send their children to a traditional brick-and-mortar school have neither the time, inclination, or temperament to homeschool or to monitor a full-time online program. Learning Societies provide an intimate environment where kids, supervised by professional educators, learn online and in small, in-person groups for six hours a day. Gem Prep leaders describe it as a sweet spot between traditional schooling and at-home online learning. It is particularly well suited to rural areas.

Learning Societies have the potential to achieve a happy medium that combines the strengths of both homeschooling (or online learning from home) and a traditional brick-and-mortar school.

Using Drawing as a Powerful Learning Tool [Tlili]

On 12/20/2023, in art, education, experimentation, graphics, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, Learning Experience Design, memory, multimedia, science, student-related, teachers, by Daniel Christian

Using Drawing as a Powerful Learning Tool — from edutopia.org by Selim Tlili
When students draw something they’re learning about, they’re more likely to remember key details.

One of my main goals as a science teacher is to open students up to seeing all of those beautiful and interesting details. I do that by having students draw things and clearly write what they observe. Drawing something requires students to look at their subject far longer than they are accustomed. Writing what they see forces them to consciously acknowledge it. I explain to students that just as every single human is unique, so is every coin, plant, and salt crystal.

An Opinionated Guide to Which AI to Use: ChatGPT Anniversary Edition — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
A simple answer, and then a less simple one.

If you are at all interested in generative AI and understanding what it can do and why it matters, you should just get access to OpenAI’s GPT-4 in as unadulterated and direct way as possible. Everything else comes after that.
…
Now, to be clear, this is not the free ChatGPT, which uses GPT-3.5.

1. America’s Next Top Model LLMs in Educational Settings

PDF
Topics Discussed:
Need for a Comprehensive Student-Centric Approach
Collaboration between EdTech Companies and Educators
Personalized Learning Orchestration
Innovation and Agility of Startups vs. Resources of Big Tech
The Essential Role of AI in Transforming Education
Video recording from Edtech Insiders

2. Hello, Mr. Chips: AI Teaching Assistants, Tutors, Coaches and Characters

PDF
Topics discussed:
Engagement and Co-Creation
Educator Skills and AI Implementation
Teacher Empowerment and Student Creativity
Efficacy and Ethical Concerns
Video recording from Edtech Insiders

3. A Road Less Traveled: AI-Powered Personalized Learning Paths and Study Tools

PDF
Topics Discussed:
Supporting Early Learning Teachers with AI Augmentation
Automation of Routine Tasks for Teachers
Personalization and Ethics in AI
Responsibility in AI Tools for Teachers
Balancing Personal and Communal Learning
Video recording from Edtech Insiders

He Was Falsely Accused of Using AI. Here’s What He Wishes His Professor Did Instead | Tech & Learning — from techlearning.com by Erik Ofgang
When William Quarterman was accused of submitting an AI-generated midterm essay, he started having panic attacks. He says his professor should have handled the situation differently.

Teaching: Practical AI strategies for the classroom — from chronicle.com by Beckie Supiano and Luna Laliberte

Here are several strategies you can try.

Quick Hits: Several presenters suggested exercises that can be quick, easy, and fun for students. Invite your class to complete a Mad Libs using ChatGPT. It’s a playful way to leverage ChatGPT’s ability to predict the next word, giving students insight into how generative AI works on a fundamental level. You can also have your students use ChatGPT to rewrite their own writing in the tone and style of their favorite writers. This exercise demonstrates AI’s ability to mimic style and teaches students about adopting different tones in writing.
Vetting Sources
Grade ChatGPT
Lead by Example

Embracing Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom — from gse.harvard.edu; via Alex Webb at Bloomberg
Generative AI tools can reflect our failure of imagination and that is when the real learning starts

Class Disrupted S5 E3: The Possibilities & Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom — from the74million.org by Michael B. Horn & Diane Tavenner
AI expert and Minerva University senior Irhum Shafkat joins Michael and Diane to discuss where the technology is going.

Schools urged to teach children how to use AI from age of 11 — from news.sky.com by Tom Acres
Artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT are being used by children to help with homework and studying – and there are calls for it to become a central part of the school curriculum.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Schools have been urged to teach children how to use AI from the age of 11 as the technology threatens to upend the jobs market.

Rather than wait for pupils to take up computer science at GCSE, the British Computer Society (BCS, The Chartered institute for IT) said all youngsters need to learn to work with tools like ChatGPT.

The professional body for computing wants a digital literary qualification to be introduced, with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and its practical applications.

An understanding of AI should also become a key part of teacher training and headteacher qualifications, it added.

Improving Your Teaching With an AI Coach — from edutopia.org by Stephen Noonoo
New tools are leveraging artificial intelligence to help teachers glean insights into how they interact with students.

COMMENTARY
Embracing artificial intelligence in the workforce starts with higher education — from nebraskaexaminer.com by Jaci Lindburg and Cassie Mallette

When students can understand the benefit of using it effectively, and learn how to use AI to brainstorm, problem solve, and think through decision making scenarios, they can work more efficiently, make difficult decisions faster and improve a company’s production output.

It is through embracing the power and potential of AI that we can equip our students with future-ready skills. Through intentional teaching strategies that guide students to think creatively about how to use AI in their work, higher education can ensure that students are on the cutting edge in terms of using advancing technologies and being workforce ready upon graduation.

Also see:

The ChatGPT/AI Prompt Book is a resource for the UNO community that demonstrates how students can use AI in their studies and how faculty can incorporate it into their courses and daily work. The goal: to teach individuals how to be better prompt engineers and develop the skills needed to utilize this emerging technology as one of the many tools available to them in the workforce.

Two Ideas for Teaching with AI: Course-Level GPTs and AI-Enhanced Polling — from derekbruff.org by Derek Bruff

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Might we see course-level GPTs, where the chatbot is familiar with the content in a particular course and can help students navigate and maybe even learn that material? The answer is, yes and they’re already here. Top Hat recently launched Ace, an AI-powered learning assistant embedded in its courseware platform. An instructor can activate Ace, which then trains itself on all the learning materials in the course. Students can then use Ace as a personal tutor of sorts, asking it questions about course material.

Reflections On AI Policies in Higher Education — from jeppestricker.substack.com by Jeppe Klitgaard Stricker
And Why First-Hand Generative AI Experience is Crucial for Leadership

AI is already showing far-reaching consequences for societies and educational institutions around the world. It is my contention that it is impossible to set strategic direction for AI in higher education if you haven’t yet tried working with the technology yourself. The first wave of overwhelming, profound surprise simply cannot be outsourced to other parts of the organization.

I mention this because the need for both strategic and operational guidance for generative AI is growing rapidly in higher education institutions. Without the necessary – and quite basic – personal generative AI experience, however, it becomes difficult for leadership to meaningfully direct and anchor AI in the organization.

And without clear guidance in place, uncertainty arises for all internal stakeholders about expectations and appropriate uses of AI. This makes developing an institutional AI policy not just sensible, but necessary.

A free report for educational leaders and policymakers who want to understand the AI World — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard
And the immediate need for AI literacy

Beyond synthesizing many ideas from educational theory and AI deep learning, the report provides a comprehensive overview of developments in the field of AI, including current “exponential advances.” It’s updated through the release of Gemini and Meta’s new “Seamless” translation technology that arguably eliminates the need for most translators, and probably even the need to learn to speak another language for most purposes.

We were a mere 18 hours too late from covering an entire newscast (and news channel) that is produced with AI in a way that creates representations that are indistinguishable from what is “real” (see below) though it super-charges our comprehensive case and immediate AI literacy.

We also provide several suggestions and a potential roadmap for schools to help students prepare for an AI World where computers are substantialy smarter than them in many ways.

Notebook LM (experiment): Collaborate with a virtual research assistant

On 12/13/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, 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, online learning, online media, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, research, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Google NotebookLM (experiment)

From DSC:
Google hopes that this personalized AI/app will help people with their note-taking, thinking, brainstorming, learning, and creating.

It reminds me of what Derek Bruff was just saying in regards to Top Hat’s Ace product being able to work with a much narrower set of information — i.e., a course — and to be almost like a personal learning assistant for the course you are taking. (As Derek mentions, this depends upon how extensively one uses the CMS/LMS in the first place.)

Some big/recent developments re: education/lifelong learning in Michigan

On 12/11/2023, in 21st century, career development, change, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, education, education reform, higher education, K-12 related, legislatures / government / legal, lifelong learning, Michigan, skills, strategy, United States, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Michigan launches lifelong learning department with acting director — from mlive.com by Simon Schuster

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, deemed MiLEAP, took its first steps Friday [12/1/23] as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer launched the department with an acting director in place to lead it.

The department will handle everything from child care licensing, formerly in the department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, to scholarship administration, which was previously handled by the Department of Treasury.

More than 300 state government employees from four different departments are being consolidated into MiLEAP. The department will have three offices: early childhood education, higher education and education partnerships.

Also re: Michigan, see:

Growing Michigan Together Council | Recommendation Report
November 28 Discussion Draft

Excerpt:

Growing Michigan Together Council Recommendation

Develop a lifelong education system for Michigan kids that prepares them to be successful in a 21st century economy.

01 Redesign the Michigan P–12 education system so that all students have a broad set of future ready skills and competencies to thrive in work and life, and guarantee up to a 13th year to ensure all students achieve this standard
02 Provide all students opportunities to gain up to two years of publicly funded college credits or postsecondary training once they are prepared to succeed
03 Align secondary, postsecondary, higher education, and skills training to create a seamless system of continuous learning so that all Michiganders can be prepared for and adapt to a changing workplace

Educational practices to identify and support students experiencing homelessness [Pavlakis, Kessa Roberts, Richards, Hill, & Mirakhur]

On 12/07/2023, in Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), communications, education, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, Learning Experience Design, parents/guardians, participation, psychology, society, sociology, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, youth, by Daniel Christian

Educational practices to identify and support students experiencing homelessness — from edresearchforaction.org by Alexandra Pavlakis, J. Kessa Roberts, Meredith Richards, Kathryn Hill, and Zitsi Mirakhur

The EdResearch for Action Overview Series summarizes the research on key topics to provide K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students. Authors – leading experts from across the field of education research – are charged with highlighting key findings from research that provide concrete, strategic insight on persistent challenges sourced from district and state leaders.

Central Question
What evidence-based practices can schools and districts implement to identify and support students experiencing homelessness?

Exploring blockchain’s potential impact on the education sector — from e27.co by Moch Akbar Azzihad M
By the year 2024, the application of blockchain technology is anticipated to have a substantial influence on the education sector

Areas mentioned include:

Credentials that are both secure and able to be verified
Records of accomplishments that are not hidden
Enrollment process that is both streamlined and automated
Storage of information that is both secure and decentralised
Financing and decentralised operations

Why Entrepreneurship Might Save Our Kids—and the Rest of Us. — from gettingsmart.com by Katie Kimbrell

Key Points (emphasis DSC):

We need to be asking our students “How did you put your ideas into the world today?”.
To be human is to be entrepreneurial.

One of my favorite mom friends asks her young school-aged kids every day, “What did you make today?”

I love how subtly subversive this question is. Not, “How was school today?” “Were you good today?” or, “How’s [insert school subject] going?” But, “How did you put your ideas out into the world today?”

That simple question understands this fundamental truth: to be human is to create, to employ our imaginations and partake in forming the world we want to live in.

Microschool in a Box: Programs Enabling the Microschool Movement — from gettingsmart.com by Nate McClennen

Key Points

Microschools are not new. In fact, they are as old as learning itself.
Funding and operations can be difficult within a microschool model. Programs and other organizations can support planning, design and implementation.

Microschools are meeting strong market demand for more personalized, more contextualized and more relevant learning for every student. Programs like ASU Prep’s Microschool in a Box make it possible for more learners to become future-ready with access to affordable, relational microschool learning.

Nate McClennen

The Science of Classroom Design — from edutopia.org by Youki Terada and Stephen Merrill
Our comprehensive, all-in, research-based look at the design of effective learning spaces.

Topics include:

Light
Ventilation and air quality
Complexity and color
Data walls
Nature, plants, and greenery
Representation
- Students can experience representation in classrooms by seeing their own or peers’ artifacts on walls and in shared virtual spaces, or by being exposed to images and references that mirror their interests, passions, and backgrounds.
Flexibility
Learning differences and neurodivergence
Heat
Acoustics/noise
Seating arrangements
Learning Zones

Addendum on 12/1/23:

From NPR: The Student Podcast Challenge

On 11/22/2023, in digital audio, digital storytelling, K-12 related, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, podcasting, student-related, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

We’re inviting students from around the country to make a podcast and compete for a chance to have their work featured on NPR.

Students in fifth grade through college are eligible to participate, but the rules vary depending on your grade.

Make your voice heard! Be a part of NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge!

“edX & Jobs for the Future Offer Free MicroBachelors Programs” [Lucariello] + other items re: higher education in general

On 11/17/2023, in colleges, community colleges, higher education, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, trends, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Unpacking 3 major trends in ed tech and for-profit education — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
CEOs of major companies recently told investors how they fared in their most recent financial quarters, offering insight into the broader higher ed sector.

Education companies double down on degree programs
…
These programs allow Coursera users to count open courses they complete on the platform toward credit for degree programs. Students can also be admitted to degree programs based on their performance in these courses,Maggioncalda said.

Coursera recently announced it had built several of these pathways to master’s degrees offered by Illinois Tech. Coursera users can now complete professional certificates offered on the website — including from Google, IBM and Meta — as credit toward these programs.

Report Finds Students Struggling with Being Prepared for Courses and Increasingly Turning to Generative AI, Social Media to Study — from campustechnology.com by Kate Lucariello

In its second annual 2023 “Study Trends Report,” McGraw Hill found that college students were feeling unprepared for their courses, but also that they have turned to generative AI and social media to study and would like more learning resources in a similar format.

The study, conducted by Morning Consult between July 18 and Aug. 11, 2023, surveyed 500 undergraduate college students and 200 college instructors. Some of the key findings include:

The Plot To Kill Shop Class — by Ryan Craig

I suspect College Board may be trying to repent for its original sin: killing vocational education. Now known as career and technical education (CTE), America’s college-or-bust mentality has long relegated CTE to a shadowy corner of high school.
…
But make no mistake: the College Board’s fingerprints are on the weapon that killed CTE. College Board launched Advanced Placement courses in 1955 with 500 students across 18 elite schools like Andover, Bronx Science, and Newton High School. The original idea was guiltless: more challenging curricula for gifted and talented students to accelerate the development of leaders and win the Cold War. But it soon became clear that AP’s primary purpose would be to give students a leg up in competitive college admissions; as early as 1960, Exeter worried about “a dangerous tendency to regard advanced placement teachers and students as an elite worthy of special praise.”

When College Board’s primary source of revenue (and profits) is AP courses and demand for AP is driven by a weighted GPA formula that discriminates against all other forms of education, any attempt to create a level playing field between career discovery and college is window dressing: CTE theater. College Board knows which side its bread is buttered on (hint: it’s in its name).

2U, USC Curtail Online Partnership — from insidehighered.com by Doug Lederman
Southern California and the online program manager will part ways on master’s degrees that became a target of scrutiny because of their high price.

Which makes it fitting, perhaps, that Thursday 2U and USC announced that that they would largely wind down their 15-year partnership, which in the eyes of consumer advocates and some journalists had come to exemplify how involving companies intimately in the delivery of education could undermine, rather than expand, access and affordability to higher education.

edX and Jobs for the Future Offer Free MicroBachelors Programs — from campustechnology.com by Kate Lucariello

Three MicroBachelor programs are currently available:

Statistics Fundamentals and Mathematics and Statistics Fundamentals from The London School of Economics;
Marketing Essentials and Business and Professional Communication for Success from Doane University; and
Full Stack Application Development from IBM.

PROOF POINTS: Professors say high school math doesn’t prepare most students for their college majors — from hechingerreport.org

In case one or more of these podcasts are helpful to you [Christian]

On 11/17/2023, in education, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, podcasting, student-related, teachers, by Daniel Christian

DC: In case one or more of these are helpful to you, see:https://t.co/Bjhm8eMh7h

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) November 17, 2023

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