ISTE 2024 Pre-Conference Day

If you are reading this, then it’s likely that you have landed here with a similar outlook to myself in terms of how we all grapple with the use of artificial intelligence in K-12 education. ?

This was a ripper start. The day began participating in a Leadership Exchange in the morning.? Clearly, this is a conference top-loaded by AI presentations.

What is cheating and what is creativity?? How do we take what’s in our heads and then bend AI to express our thoughts and imagination??

According to Stanford research, 70% of students in the USA admitted they cheated prior to the pandemic so claims about students using AI to cheat are misplaced.? AI has not accelerated cheating but students will take advantage of any lack of clarity.? It’s not a cheating problem, it’s a cultural problem.

But is it cheating if a parent helps their child with their homework? Is it cheating if a tutor is engaged to help a student with a subject? You can pay $5000 for an editor to proof a dissertation for a PhD.? Is that cheating? The point was made that artificial intelligence is a matter of equity. It’s certainly cheating if a student uses ChatGPT to simply copy and submit.? But that's also a major problem in assignment creation. Around that, our teachers and students need to understand what is a more appropriate way to use artificial intelligence to supplement our knowledge and how it can help refine our ideas.? Harvard research recently measured a 40% improvement in individual productivity for workers who used artificial intelligence compared to those who did not.? Technology will unquestionably continue to change human behaviour. As more research starts to validate that finding, it means that we have a fresh opportunity to imagine how our curriculum can respond more effectively to an ever-changing future.? Student voice will be an essential component of curriculum improvement: it’s highly unlikely that students will want teachers to use AI exclusively to grade their work. ?

The things we need to cherish in our curriculum are the things that AI can never replace.? Culture is more important than technology. You can’t have innovation without culture. Innovation that leads to lasting change is only successful when that change brings people with it.? AI might be able to predict what is going to happen based on an algorithm but discernment, judgement and wisdom are unique human qualities that require emphasis in our curriculum development.? That development must ensure that AI enhances student learning rather than replace it.? Humanities will be more important than ever.? Historians and philosophers will be required to remind us of how we got there and how to develop ethical use and promote deep thinking. If we don’t update what we teach, then AI will inevitably short-circuit our current teaching. ?

If we are at the stage where supercomputers are required to crunch data for artificial intelligence, what then will happen when those supercomputers are replaced by quantum computing? Futurist Ray Kurzweil has always been right in his predictions but the speed of what has occurred with AGI reflects the accelerated pace of development. It's not "if", it is "when".

The pre-conference Leadership Exchange and the Opening Keynotes were part of a brilliant program made up of experts.? Without? wanting? to exclude anyone, notable standouts were Dr Richard Charles, Dr Chante Garrett, Dr Shadae Harris, Marlo Gaddis, Antonio Vigil, Laurel Aguilar-Kirchhoff and Dr Jeremy Owoh to name but a few. Dr. Lyla June Johnston along with Richard Culatta and Sinead Bovell were electrifying as keynotes in the Opening on Mainstage.

It is a privilege to be here. #ISTELive2024, #ISTE, #AI, #Artificial Intelligence, #ChatGPT, #curriculum development, #K-12 education, #EDU