Never heard such a loud audience before I started! But that positive and was indicative of the whole day. The Woodland Academy Trust have set out on a journey with AI and this is a leap on that journey – with a series of presentations and workshops, opening up the possibilities, and practicalities.
My line in the Keynote was that the whole world is using ‘AI on the sly’ already – learners, parents employees. Rather than let this uncontrolled activity happen, it is time to act. I’m not one for Gartner curving everything, especially AI, as they hype curve is not always right. Printing, personal computer, internet, Google search, Wikipedia… major technical innovations tend to be pretty much linear ascents, as is AI. In fact, its ascent has been steeper than any technology in the history of our species. My focus was more on where you are and want to be on the maturity curve.
A.I. Kingsley
I was followed by a good, practical talk by Al Kingsley or A.I. Kingsley. He pressed the slide clicker, only to see the screen rise and disappear towards the roof – ooops…. wrong clicker. He’s an entertaining presenter, so turned it into a bit of fun. Never seen that before!
He made the point that DfE and OFSTED not really prepared for AI then got super practical.
I liked his point, which I also emphasised, that tech needs to be EASY TO USE. Then proffered a plan:
Where to start with AI?
- A few core tools
- Set baseline policy
- Let staff play and explore
- Feedback and share
- Agree policy (usefully showed an actual school policy)
That was followed by his vision of a school for a digital world. Ask where are we as a school, as all on different parts of improvement journey. And don’t get obsessed with the classroom as lots of tech not in classroom. Don’t try to do too many things at once – build confidence, set up pedagogy checks.
I liked his 6 pillars for a successful strategy slide:
- Innovate learning
- Student digital skills
- Teacher skills
- Technology & infrastructure
- Effective communication
- Everyone’s wellbeing
Tech is NOT the solution, it’s a lever. A final point was to develop CHAMPIONS – question from audience confirmed this and went down well. PedTech not EdTech!
Are we nearly there yet?
He was followed by Mark Anderson, with a presentation called ‘Are we nearly there yet?’
It started with an image of a worn shortcut path across the grass. AI helps shortcut your progress. Then a great list of tools that are already being used. Very useful.
A must read paper was recommended The Future of AI in education; 13 things we can do to minimise the damage. This was followed by some good lines. But darn there’s that Gartner curve again – it gets everywhere.
After rightly dissing Blooms 2 sigma problem he had a go at illustrating the limits of AI with the now famous meme:
How many Rs in strawberry?
ChatGPT
There are two "r"s in the word "strawberry."
I’m not so sure about these ‘edge’ cases, as who would ever ask that question? Much better and more likely teacher questions include:
What the most common mistake children make when spelling strawberry?
ChatGPT
The most common mistake children often make when spelling "strawberry" is leaving out one of the "r"s, particularly the second "r" before the "y."
Why is the word strawberry difficult for dyslexics?
ChatGPT
The word "strawberry" can be particularly challenging for individuals with dyslexia for several reasons:
1. Phonological Complexity:
Multiple Syllables: "Strawberry" is a three-syllable word ("straw-ber-ry"), and dyslexic individuals often struggle with breaking down and accurately sequencing the sounds in multi-syllable words.
Consonant Clusters: The word begins with the consonant cluster "str," which can be tricky to process and remember, especially for those who struggle with phonological awareness.
2. Irregular Spelling:
Irregular Phonics: The word "strawberry" contains irregular phonetic elements. For instance, the "aw" sound in "straw" and the silent "w" can be confusing because they do not directly correspond to typical phonetic rules that dyslexic individuals might rely on.
Double Letters: The presence of double letters ("rr") adds to the difficulty, as remembering which letters are doubled and where they appear in the word can be challenging.
3. Visual Similarities:
Letter Reversals: Dyslexic individuals often struggle with letter reversals or substitutions, such as confusing "b" and "d." The presence of "b" and "r" in close proximity, as in "berr," can lead to confusion.
Letter and Word Length: Longer words with many letters, like "strawberry," can be harder for dyslexic individuals to process visually and mentally. They may lose track of the sequence of letters or skip over parts of the word.
4. Memory Load:
Working Memory Challenges: Dyslexia is often associated with difficulties in working memory, making it harder to remember and sequence the individual components of longer and more complex words like "strawberry."
Where do strawberries come from?
ChatGPT
Long and brilliant answer…
AI and the humans
Then Fiona Aubrey-Smith with a talk on AI and the humans. She rightly put pedagogy first.
Again, however, there was the assumption that technology always goes through a cycle of hype and failure. This is not always true. But I wholly agree with her point on the lack of agreement about what schooling is for…. but wonder of that is ever possible. It may well be that schools have different roles for different people. Politicians frame it as a national, economic issue. Some parents see it as a vehicle for their children’s success, other parents simply something that happens. Teachers tend to see in terms of their workplace.
She sees pedagogy as an umbrella term and I agree, to a point, as it stimulates questions around AI, such as; What does it mean to be a learner in age of AI? What is role of teacher in age of AI?
Then a point I REALLY agree with - Digital technology too often focuses on teachers not learners. This is so true. Government initiatives and spend too often focus on the teacher but teaching is a means to an end, that end being the learner. Children spend 1267 hours per year? How much of that is limited by our practices and capacity? Let’s use AI to make us more efficient – not just faster but better. I also liked her point about using AI to promote Metacognition in learners.
Conclusion
Altogether, a fine one-day event. I have a theory of education – defined as ‘creating autonomous adults’. I like the word ‘autonomy as it doesn’t define a fixed curriculum or teaching methods. What it does in focus entirely on the outcome for learners – autonomy in life, autonomy in finance and health. Autonomy in life. AI not only accelerates that goal, in terms of time to actual competences, it induces autonomy and agency in the learner. Fun day, fun people tackling a serious issue – AI in schools.
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