not A1, but, AI...
The goal was to find out how AI works as well as how deep students are into the use of artificial intelligence for schoolwork. The first goal is the toughest: how AI works.
HUH? What's up with that?
I nudged a little bit closer to understanding the concept with this interpretation from CSU Global: AI systems work by combining large sets of data with intelligent, interactive processing algorithms to learn from patterns and features that they analyze.
That explanation provides me with an understanding starting point, but, it is just a bare bones beginning.
Hanging around English teachers during my 17 year Encore Performance made me aware of bad writing habits, such as cliches, long paragraphs, overuse of exclamation points and plagiarism.
The more I hear about AI's potential, the more I can see how easy it would be to plagiarize any paper or assignment. As an example: what if a teacher gave a project that focuses on the migratory habits of a Bar-tailed Godwit. Perhaps AI is too easy to access and used too often, but, then again, maybe that's not true.
I took the case of AI plagiarism to Brian Dunn, a former English teacher who is now a school administrator in Franklin Township Schools in Indianapolis.
I grew up in Franklin Township, he said. I got my Bachelor's at Butler University and my Master's at Purdue.
When I worked with you, you were an English teacher first, then promoted to the English Department Chair at Franklin Central High School.
Yes, he agreed. I taught for 15 years and am now the Assistant Principal at our Junior High.
Why the change from teaching?
I found my role was more and more administrative as a Department Chair, he admitted. I had 26 teachers and I decided to go all in. I went back to Butler and got my second Master's. This one was in Educational Administration.
Let's talk about the influence of Artificial Intelligence on education. Have writing Standards changed since AI?
The Standards haven't changed, but the way teachers approach the writing process is evolving, he informed me. Some teachers have students write more by hand to ensure they are getting original thoughts. Other teachers have embraced AI at times and are teaching students how it can be useful.
What are schools doing to detect AI written material?
Some teachers use advanced detection systems that cost quite a bit, but, from my experience, it is often easy to detect the use of AI once you are familiar with a student and their writing style. Google Docs makes it easy to check revision history to see if a student is actually engaging with the writing process or just copying and pasting large chunks of text.
Did you have anyone turn in anything that was artificially generated when you were teaching?\
No, but, my students wrote all of their test essays by hand, he answered.
Is there a set discipline for a student who turns in an AI paper and calls it his or her work?
The National School Boards Association has not released guidance over AI yet, he told me. That being said, we treat these instances with care and emphasize to the student that we want to hear their thoughts and see their writing in order to improve both thinking and writing.
Do students have an understanding of what AI is capable of achieving in medicine and research and the like?
I believe that teachers are going to embrace AI quicker than the students, he guessed. Sites like MagicSchoolAI are fantastic for teachers in regards to lesson ideas and activities. AI is a way to get ideas quickly, generate a list of questions over a passage, or, get help phrasing a question for a parent.
That sounds like it could be really helpful to a teacher.
Once teachers see this benefit, they will teach students AI can be a benefit, but, will never be a replacement for human interaction, final draft, or, collaboration, he surmised.
What do you say to a student who says, Why do I need to learn to write sentences or paragraphs?
I tell them, YES! You do! he exclaimed. Schools are becoming more and more focused on college and career readiness. With that in mind, employers are looking for great communicators and literate students.
Will AI spread to math and history? All subjects really.
It already has , but, it is important to know that it is still necessary for humans to check the output, he declared. Since AI learns from the internet and other human inputs, it can have bias, incorrect information, and, bad advice.
What is your answer to, There will be a day when we won't have to think?
Thinking is hard work, but, it can be fun when it is engaging and interesting to students, he concluded.
You hinted before that you think classrooms are changing.
They definitely are changing, he added. For example, Social Studies used to be more about memorizing dates, places, and, locations. Students are now often tasked with engaging in the big issues of an era or solving real world problems. AI may be able to assist in those processes, but, the world is too chaotic for every problem to be solved by AI alone.
I imagined AI to be far more invasive in student's lives than the picture you have painted. Thanks for a welcome perspective.
Any time.
Coming up: another oddities, observations, & ?'s; a conversation with more people over 60, and; what about those New Year's Resolutions?
And, finally. I tip my faded red ball cap to Michael Jordan who has donated 10 million dollars to Novant Medical in North Carolina. The money was used to build the second Michael Jordan Health Center in his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina. That brings the total number of facilities he has built to four.
HUH? What's up with that?
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