Technology NOW – Don’t Wait for the Future
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider.
Almost a full year ago I shared the quote, “Technology is not technology if it was invented before you were born“. Since that time, the rise of AI programming has increased rapidly and the coversation surrounding platforms such as Chat GPT have inundated the education world. The quote of the week, shared in the graphic above, was created by Chat GPT. In the past few weeks I have been immersed in this topic as I have:
- refined resources and supports for teachers in our MVSD ICT Resources notebook (linked in this website’s tabs)
- facilitated a forum conversation on AI-Assisted Creation during our February MAETL meeting
- accepted a panel invitation to speak to the role of AI at an upcoming MSLA event
- spoke on behalf to MAETL to the Winnipeg Free Press on the role of AI in education
As I navigated each of these conversations I couldn’t help but think of the points made by John Spencer (see Instagram slides embedded). The way I see information being shared definitely echoes John’s statement that, “… we are at peak freak-out mode with AI”.
With that being said, my messaging in these conversations has been that, “educational programming should be reflective of the world that students live in and the reality is that AI-assisted content creation is becoming increasingly common”.
Technological advancements, like AI-assisted creation, is not some imagined future. It is our present. I believe we are doing our students a disservice if we gloss over this, pretend it does not exist, or ban programs based on fear (or exhaustion). My recommendation to educators would be to:
- Inform yourself on the programs that are available
- What is Chat GPT? What Educators Should Know
- Former blog post shared in December
- Let’s Talk About AI in Teaching and Learning
- Presentation by Dr. Alec Couros, large selection of resources and review on a variety of AI programs
- What is Chat GPT? What Educators Should Know
- Have open conversations with students about their capabilities and limitations
- John Spencer has a great post on his blog responding to AI in education, including a variety of prompts that can be used in facilitating conversations
- Identify the role AI can play in a variety of contexts
- How to Use #chatgpt in a High School Math Class (YouTube Video)
- 60+ Must Try ChatGPT Prompts for Teachers (ebook)
The fact is, programs such as AI are not some topic for the future. Our students are experiencing them right now and we can’t afford to be stagnant.
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