AI Insights #4

Welcome to edition four of the AI Insights newsletter!

Ever felt overwhelmed by a flood of student projects, all demanding your attention at once? I’ve been there too. This week I explored how AI can transform that chaos into something manageable and enjoyable.

In this issue, you’ll find practical insights on everything from personalised feedback that helps students thrive, to an peek at AIDUCATION'25, where we’ll be getting hands-on with AI in education.

Plus, you’ll get a glimpse into how AI can turn a hectic day into one where you still have time for a coffee break.

Let’s jump in!

How Multimodal AI and Personalised Feedback

Picture this: 78 Year 9 students, each engrossed in their unique Canva projects. Now imagine them all turning to you at once, clamouring for feedback. "Is my layout good?" "Does this colour scheme work?" "Will my animation impress?" It sounds overwhelming, doesn't it? And it would be if I were tackling it alone.

For this project, students didn't just receive a rubric; they crafted it themselves through AI chat. With their guidelines set, they uploaded screenshots of their work-in-progress, eager for the AI's assessment. The AI, using their custom rubric, provided detailed, personalised feedback for each student.

For many, this was a confidence boost, confirming they were on the right track. Others, however, were quick to challenge the AI. "It missed my animation!" or "It didn't mention my intricate background!" they'd protest. I'd remind them, "Just tell the AI about those features, and it will adjust its feedback accordingly."

This interaction wasn’t just novel; it was making a real difference. Students began refining their projects well ahead of the final submission date, tweaking designs and reworking visuals based on real-time advice. It felt as if I had 78 extra pairs of eyes, each focused on the details of every project.

The result? A seemingly impossible task, tracking each individual project in detail, became not just manageable but remarkably effective. Students received timely, tailored feedback that genuinely improved their work, while I maintained oversight without feeling overwhelmed.

In the end, this approach proves that managing 78 individual projects isn’t just possible, it’s genuinely effective.

AIDUCATION'25

Join us on 15th February 2025 at the Cambridge School of Bucharest for AIDUCATION'25, a event focused on practical applications of AI in education. This year we won’t just be talking about the future of AI in education—we’ll be rolling up our sleeves and diving into practical applications that you can implement in your school today.

We’ve assembled an incredible line-up of speakers, each of whom will bring a wealth of experience and fresh perspectives:

Dan Fitzpatrick – Best selling author of The AI Classroom and leading expert in AI-driven education. As a regular contributor to Forbes, he provides insightful commentary on educational transformation, reaching a broad audience of educators, parents, and entrepreneurs.

Philippa Wraithmell – Award-winning educator and author of The Digital Ecosystem, Philippa will lead workshops on digital strategy and safeguarding, helping schools navigate technology integration with confidence.

Ben Whitaker – Co-host of the Edufuturists podcast and EdTech consultant, Ben will run dynamic sessions on fostering creativity and problem-solving.

Al Kingsley – A recognised EdTech advisor, mentor, author, CEO of NetSupport and EdTech thought leader, Al will explore the transformative power of A.I.

Early bird tickets are on sale now —don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn from the best and prepare your school for the future!

A huge thanks to our event partners: NetSupport , sAInaptic , Ben Whitaker (The IDEAS Guy), Inventor Club , Texthelp , Quizizz , TeachMateAI , LCL Advisory , British Romanian Chamber of Commerce and COBIS - Council of British International Schools .

If any companies, organisations, and individuals who share a passion for innovation and education. Let me know if you are interested in partnering with AIDUCATION'25. Reach out! I'd love to explore opportunities for collaboration.

A Day With AI By My Side

It’s strange how some days spiral out of control before you’ve even had your first cup of coffee. Wednesday was one of those days. My to-do list was overflowing: school policies that needed updating, job adverts—both internal and external—that needed drafting, and three separate surveys to prepare for staff, parents, and students. Then came lesson planning for Year 9 and Year 13, reviewing rubrics across multiple subjects, and, as if that wasn’t enough, creating a review survey for our first round of educational bots. Oh, and the emails. How could I forget the emails? They seemed to multiply every time I blinked.

Yet, despite all that, I wasn’t chained to my desk. Instead, I found myself out of the office, setting up VR headsets in our brand-new school building. And, amidst the chaos, I even managed to grab coffee with co-workers and sneak in a quick round of the Google Doodle Popcorn game.

How did I manage it all? The not-so-secret weapon at my disposal: AI.

For me, the real value of AI isn’t just speed—it’s sanity. It streamlined the chaos, making juggling multiple priorities not only possible but efficient. More importantly, it gave me something far more valuable: time. Time to enjoy my work. Time to step away from my desk, interact with colleagues, and focus on projects that need a human touch.

As well as keeping me sane amidst the whirlwind of tasks, AI did something even more remarkable: it gave me time back. And when I finally wrapped up the day, I wasn’t exhausted. I had the energy to cook dinner for the family, take the kids to the playground, attend webinar hosted by Steven Hope and Ben Whitaker , and even sneak in a cuddle with the cat.

AI didn’t just help me finish everything on my to-do list; it gave me space for the things that matter most. What could have been a stressful, overwhelming day turned into one that was both productive and enjoyable—all thanks to a little help from AI.

AI Explainer Guides

Last summer, I created a series of AI Explainer Guides based on UNESCO’s global AI curriculum review, and I'm now sharing for FREE on Gumroad!

If you're curious about AI or just want to brush up on the essentials, these guides are perfect for you.

They cover:

?? What AI is (and isn’t)

?? Parts of an AI System

?? The History of AI

?? Natural Language Processing

?? Design Thinking & AI

?? Generative AI Tools & Features

Whether you’re an educator, student, or AI enthusiast, these guides make AI accessible to everyone.

Download them for free and kickstart your AI learning journey! AI Explainer Guides ( gumroad.com ) ??

AI in Education: Dystopia or Utopia?

Vinod Khosla’s recent essay, AI: Dystopia or Utopia? , paints an ambitious picture of how AI could transform society, with education at the forefront of this shift. According to Khosla, AI has the power to democratise learning, making high-quality resources and near-free tutoring accessible to students worldwide. At first glance, it sounds like a dream. Imagine a world where students in remote villages have the same access to cutting-edge knowledge as those in elite private schools. But, as always, the devil is in the details.

For all the talk of AI levelling the playing field, let’s not forget that we’re living in a world where a good Wi-Fi connection is still a luxury in many places. Khosla’s vision assumes that equitable access to AI tools will be a priority, but if history has taught us anything, it’s that "equitable access" tends to come as an afterthought – if at all.

Democratising Education or Deepening Inequality?

For all the talk of AI levelling the playing field, let’s not forget that we’re living in a world where a good Wi-Fi connection is still a luxury in many places. Khosla’s vision assumes that equitable access to AI tools will be a priority, but if history has taught us anything, it’s that "equitable access" tends to come as an afterthought – if at all. Think about the pandemic-era rush to online schooling. Those who had stable internet and a laptop at home coped. Those who didn’t? They fell further behind. If AI-enhanced learning follows the same path, we might end up deepening the very inequalities we’re hoping to fix.

AI could indeed provide near-infinite educational resources, but what’s the point if underserved communities can’t access them? If we’re serious about AI in education, governments and institutions will need to put real money behind ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table, not just the well-connected few.

Teaching Ethics in an AI-Driven World

But let’s say, for a moment, that we manage to roll out AI across the educational spectrum. Another critical challenge looms: How do we prepare students for the ethical minefield AI is creating? As Khosla himself points out, the development of AI comes with a host of international challenges – data privacy, algorithmic bias, surveillance, and even the potential for AI to destabilise job markets.

It’s all well and good teaching students how to use AI, but we must go further. They need to understand the societal implications of this tech, how it might perpetuate biases or be misused by those in power. Otherwise, we’ll be creating a generation of users who understand the mechanics of AI but not the consequences of its unchecked deployment. In a world increasingly dominated by AI, ethical literacy should be as fundamental as reading and writing.

The Human Touch in a Tech-Heavy Classroom

Then, there’s the issue of what happens inside the classroom itself. Khosla suggests AI could free teachers from routine tasks, giving them more time to focus on those crucial human connections – the kind that foster critical thinking, empathy, and collaboration. It sounds ideal: let AI handle the drudgery, while teachers focus on mentoring and inspiring.

But there’s also a danger here. We need to ensure that AI is seen as a tool to enhance education, not to replace the human elements that are so vital. Take creativity, for instance. AI can churn out art, music, even stories, but at the end of the day, it’s still following patterns and rules set by humans. If students rely too heavily on AI for creative tasks, are we not at risk of stifling their own imagination? The challenge will be to teach students how to use AI to augment their creativity, while maintaining the sense of personal creation that defines human expression.

A Brave New World, or the Same Old Problems?

AI undeniably holds incredible potential to reshape society and education, but whether it leads us to a brighter future or simply magnifies existing problems depends on how we choose to implement it. Equitable access, ethical literacy, and a thoughtful blending of AI with traditional teaching methods are key.

Otherwise, we might just end up where we’ve been before – dazzled by the promise of technology but struggling with its practical realities. So, is AI the saviour or just another flashy gadget? That’s a question we should be asking every step of the way.

Ta-ra, duck!

And with that, I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your weekend.