3 education myths (and how busting them will improve your teaching).
It’s often said that the first casualty of war is truth.
Well, as AI stormed the gates in many of our schools, it wasn't the fog of war that descended, but the fog of change.?
In the fog of change, myths can obscure the truth. It can be hard to tell which way is up.
As someone who has been on the front lines of this change for the last few years, let me do my best to cut through the fog for you.
Let’s challenge 3 prominent AI myths and let the truth have it’s day.
Myth: It’s wrong for me to use AI if I tell my students not to
Fact: It’s perfectly reasonable to say that AI will help you facilitate learning, but it may not help students learn.
If you’re anything like me, you have a strong sense of justice.
You may get squeamish asking your students not to use AI, finishing class, going back to the staffroom, and spending the next 30 minutes creating resources with AI.
I get it. On the surface, it looks like a contradiction.
But there’s one key idea that makes this contradiction vanish, and it’s this:
Teacher and students have two fundamentally different goals.
The teacher is there to facilitate learning.
The student is there to learn.
There may be any number of things that help a teacher facilitate learning but don’t help a student learn. The obvious example would be the 3 cups of coffee I have some mornings, but we won’t go there.. During every lesson, there will be ways that I use my
in a way that would be inappropriate if a student did it.
It’s perfectly reasonable to say that AI will help you facilitate learning, but it may not help students learn.
You can use AI to do more evidence-based practices more often for more learners - there's a clear benefit to your students. If we open up student use, however, the benefit is not so clear.
If that’s triggering your hypocrisy radar, feel free to recalibrate your device - it’s a false positive!
Myth: AI is only for tech enthusiasts
Fact: AI is exciting not because of the tech, but because of the possible benefits we can give our students if we use it wisely.
Let me start with a confession:
I’m not a tech person.
Even though I have a tech company, consult with schools about tech, and have written a book on emerging technologies, I don’t get that excited about technology.
I’m not lining up for the latest iPhone or smart watch. It just doesn’t excite me.
But I do get very excited about AI.?
Not because of the technology, but because of the impact.
With only an hour or two of training, very teacher can use AI to put their students in a more tailored, personalised, feedback rich environment than ever.
We can use AI to benefit our learners, how exciting is that!
I’m not a tech enthusiast, but I am a student-benefit enthusiast!
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To see this yourself, just think of all the simple adjustments that took so long in the pre-AI world:
What once took hours can now be done in minutes with AI.
This means more learning for more learners - I know that kind of thing gets you excited!
Have a look at this process in action in MyTeacherAide
Myth: AI requires me to do radical new things in the classroom
Truth: We don’t have to use new tech to do new things, we can use new technology to do the basics better.
Every teacher (yes - even you!) has a bag of tricks.
We have certain patterns, rhythms, phrases, and teaching moves that we lean on regularly.
It’s a big part of what makes us, us.
It’s easy to think that if we start to use new technology then we have to put this bag in the bin. Many teachers recoil from this. I don’t blame them; no one wants to start over!
Thankfully, you don’t have to.
You see, using new tech isn’t about doing brand new things in the classroom. It’s not about
Instead of using new tech to do new things, we can use new technology to do the basics better.
We can use AI to do the things we know work more often for more learners
Things like
You can see this principle in action as I use MyTeacherAide.
Conclusion
I hope that I’ve been able to take the leaf-blower of truth and scatter the fog of change.
These are by no means the only AI myths out there.
Can you think of any others?
Why not send them through? I’ll write about them in the next few weeks.
Until then,
Happy teaching!
“全球教育战略家与金融专家 | 合美思教育咨询创始人 | 拥有20年国际教育规划与10年以上金融行业经验”
2 个月Good insight
Head of Digital Learning | AI in Education | Black Box Thinking | MIEE
2 个月I never say no, I just say show me how.....
HASS Learning Area Leader
2 个月If I use AI to create key points for a lesson or even a sample response and tell the students I’ve done so, there’s no issue. I am not pretending it is my work. I am not trying to earn credits for it.
AI Consultant for Colleges | Professor of English & Applied Media | Keynote Speaker | Author of The AI Edventure Newsletter | Providing colleges with no-nonsense advice about leveraging AI
2 个月It does seem important to distinguish between roles, and how AI could play into them. I think this conversation also changes quite a bit, depending on the grade. I personally stick to the same rule as my students. But I also teach college students, so that sometimes shifts things.
University Librarian, Charles Sturt University
2 个月Both teachers and students can benefit from AI use, potentially enhancing learning and digital literacy. The key is teaching responsible AI use rather than prohibiting it outright.