Key points:

• A new survey highlights potential complications down the road as AI takes hold in classrooms
• Many districts don’t currently offer professional development for AI
• See related article: Edtech leaders offer guidance on safe AI classroom integration

A majority of teachers and administrators in a recent survey believe artificial intelligence (AI) will have a significant impact on teaching and learning–but that impact may not be all positive, as roughly half of surveyed teachers believe AI will make their jobs more challenging.

As artificial intelligence (AI) quickly becomes a focal point in U.S. schools, the new survey of educators and administrators conducted by Clever, a digital learning platform, underscores the need for greater preparation for educators and administrators on the use of the emerging technology in classrooms.

Clever conducted a comprehensive survey of over 1,500 teachers and administrators nationwide, coupled with insights from over 100 leading edtech companies in spring 2023. The findings emphasize the need for the edtech sector to proactively address the emerging challenges and opportunities presented by AI.

Divergent views on the impact of AI among teachers and administrators: Eighty-five percent of teachers and 78 percent of administrators believe AI will have a significant impact on teaching. However, a striking discrepancy emerges when they consider the consequences: Half of the teachers surveyed (49 percent) express concern that AI will make their jobs more challenging within three years, while a similar proportion of administrators (46 percent) envision AI easing the teachers’ workload.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

Much of the education narrative around ChatGPT has focused on the potential downsides of the AI tool (think Skynet from “The Terminator”). But as a high school teacher who has experimented with the sophisticated word predictor app in my economics, U.S. History, and speech and debate classes, I’ve found that ChatGPT provides opportunities to engage the students in class activities. Here’s how I’ve harnessed a tool that is here to stay (no matter how many school districts try to block it). 

I welcomed our first “speaker,” ChatGPT.

Our student learning is anchored around Harkness discussions, an educational approach in which students discuss class readings, course material, and other texts. Students learn how to prepare for a discussion, have difficult conversations, understand different perspectives, and meaningfully participate. While many students grasp the notion of voicing their ideas, teaching them to build upon another student’s point is more difficult.

In Economics, we spent one class analyzing the dot-com bubble at the turn of the millennium. To prepare, I asked ChatGPT what caused the bubble, and here was the response:

“The dot-com bubble was caused by a combination of factors, including:

1. Irrational exuberance: Investors were overly optimistic about the potential of internet-based companies, leading to a huge influx of investment capital.
2. Overvaluation of tech startups: Startups with no revenue or profits were valued at extremely high prices, leading to a bubble.
3. Lack of regulation: The SEC failed to adjust its regulations to the new realities of the internet and the stock market.
4. Hype around internet technology: There was a lot of hype around the potential of the internet, which fueled the bubble.
5. These factors combined to create the Dot-com Bubble, which burst in 2000-2001 causing many internet-based companies to fail, leading to a significant loss of investment capital.”

Key points:

• AI detection tools are skyrocketing in popularity–but how efficient are they?
• A look at different AI detectors offers an eye-opening look at whether or not AI-generated pieces are identified as such
• See related article: Is AI the future of education?

Nearly every school or university faculty is having at least a few conversations about how to address a world rich in easy-to-use artificial intelligence tools that can generate student assignments.

Multiple AI detection services claim efficacy in identifying whether text is generated by AI or human writers. Turnitin, ZeroGPT, Quill, and AI Textclassifier each represent this ability and are in use by higher-ed faculty and K-12 educators.

In an attempt to determine the effectiveness of Turnitin’s ability to identify artificial intelligence generated materials, students in a doctoral methods course were asked to submit one or two assignments that were fully generated by ChatGPT or another generative tool like Google’s Bard or Microsoft’s Bing AI. It appears that most students used ChatGPT. Of 28 fully AI-derived assignments, 24 of 28 were determined to be 100 percent AI generated. The other four ranged from zero to 65 percent AI-derived. The size of the papers ranged from 411 to 1368 words.

Turnitin returned evidence of potential plagiarism through its Similarity Scores in the range from zero percent to 49 percent. The average AI generated paper was noted to be 13.75 percent similar to other extant materials. (You can find Turnitin’s AI Writing detection tool FAQ here.)

Key points:

• While AI has its place in the classroom, humans–and their humanity–are a driving force
• There are 5 skills teachers should ensure students have as they move into a world full of AI
• See related article: Edtech leaders offer guidance on safe AI classroom integration

What does it mean to be human in a digital world? At ISTELive 23, that question was central to the annual edtech conference’s focus on what’s happening in education—and what’s next.

“Four years ago, I made a prediction: I predicted that in five years, education would be completely transformed by two factors: a dramatic increase in connectivity, and a dramatic increase in the capabilities of AI,” said ISTE CEO Richard Culatta. “At that time, less than half the schools in the country were one-to-one, and nobody really knew what AI was. It’s interesting to think about where we are just four years later, and how this combination of increased connectivity and AI capabilities is totally changing our world. AI can do some pretty amazing things.”

While AI has exploded in recent months, it’s important to define its place in teaching and learning and identify the skills teachers and students will need as they move into this next generation of education. To that end, ISTE has released a number of resources and guides focused around AI in education.

Three questions have emerged as critical to this process:

1. How can schools use AI to support student learning?
2. How can AI support educators in teaching and in freeing up time?
3. How can we prepare students with the skills they need to thrive in a digital and AI-infused world?

“That last one is one of the most important and also getting the least attention,” Culatta said.

Key points:

• AI will have a wide-ranging impact on education, particularly on personalized learning
• Education’s unpreparedness for the future is exemplified by the emergence of entirely new fields driven by prompt engineering
• See related article: Is AI the future of education?

Some of my most distinct memories from high school involve struggling to grasp abstract concepts without visual or interactive tools. When I was a high school student, technology was significantly limited compared to today’s. I recall longing for resources such as online encyclopedias, interactive simulations, and virtual tutoring that would have made learning more interactive and accessible. Instead, my classmates and I were left to suffer through content-heavy, teacher-led lessons that lacked imagination or passion.

Sound familiar?

At no point did I blame my teachers. They, like most, had the undesirable task of delivering the same content to disengaged teens, not once, but many times a day.  Fast forward to the present, and the landscape has changed dramatically.

Prompt engineering empowers learners to think critically, collaborate effectively, and devise innovative solutions. Artificial intelligence teaching assistants, like Jill Watson at the Georgia Institute of Technology, offer support to students in what was once considered unimaginable ways.  

During the mid-1990s, while pursuing my A-level sociology studies, I became captivated by the enigmatic realm of hyperreality. This concept, coined by French philosopher Jean Baudrillard, posits blurred boundaries between reality and simulation in postmodern societies. Now, a quarter of a century later, I find Baudrillard’s theories informing my work as an educator.

There’s no avoiding it. Artificial intelligence is here: in your classrooms, in your front office, on your phone. And while the topic can be overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be a burden. One of the best pieces of advice regarding managing AI in schools so far came during a conversation yesterday with Melissa Hortman, a senior industry executive at Microsoft, for our sister publication eCampus news, but her advice applies to all levels of education: First, learn how it works. 

That being said, the amount of information out there can be overwhelming and getting worse by the day. Don’t worry, we’re here for you. The following resources should fill up your weekend reading queue quite nicely. And be sure we’ll be diving in deeper as this phenomenon progresses.

From: eCampus News

Open AI is an incredibly powerful technology that has the potential to transform the way we think about teaching, learning, and research. Used properly, faculty and students can explore new ways to approach complex problems, gain insights into data, and make predictions that were previously impossible. Sounds great right? But there are still many questions and reasonable concerns about how to make this potential practical. This conversation cleared up a lot.

Key points:

• AI tools can greatly personalize and individualize tutoring
• ChatGPT brings new perspectives to old problems and helps students think outside of the box

As the layers of post-pandemic classrooms are peeled back and learning losses become more evident, schools are searching for effective means to improve student achievement. Tutoring plays a major role in these efforts–and now, advances in AI are taking tutoring to a new level.

As the NAEP results made clear, students lost an alarming amount of progress in reading and mathematics. Already-overburdened teachers are scrambling to play catch-up and fit entire months of lost learning into their instruction.

Many parents are turning to tutoring solutions to help fill the gaps created by pandemic-related learning loss. As AI tools like ChatGPT become more sophisticated, online and in-home tutoring can become much more personalized for individual students, says Frank Milner, president of Tutor Doctor, which offers one-to-one private tutoring.

“A big part of what makes tutoring effective is the connection and mentorship between tutors and students,” said Milner. “While the tutor-student relationship is inherently human, the developments in AI and the ways it can augment learning are truly exciting. The industry is only scratching the surface in terms of its potential, but we’re constantly hearing from tutors who are using generative AI to go above and beyond to help students learn from developing study questions and brainstorming creative lesson plans to finding educational resources that match students’ individual interests.”  

Key points:

• Textbooks alone won’t help students build critical durable skills
• AI tools have great potential to generate creative ideas and tackle complex problems

The era of the textbook isn’t dead, but it’s important to start looking forwards rather than backwards when addressing education for school children. Whether we like it or not, it is becoming increasingly clear that generative AI will play a pivotal role in shaping the future and, with the workforce demanding greater expertise in AI, it is crucial to equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills required to thrive in this rapidly-evolving landscape.

School leaders must recognize the importance of incorporating generative AI education into curriculums to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow.

AI in different mediums

Relying on traditional textbooks alone is insufficient for teaching these vital skills. Instead, curriculums must be innovative and age-appropriate, offering students a comprehensive introduction to generative AI. Tiered learning opportunities are essential, enabling children to build a robust foundation that then adapts as they grow older. Exposure to generative art, music, stories, games, and coding concepts allows students to explore the boundless possibilities of AI and its applications across numerous industries.

The rising popularity of generative AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Bard, and MidJourney demonstrates AI’s capacity to generate creative ideas and tackle complex problems. Unfortunately, many schools are not doing enough to prepare students for a future where AI will have an increasingly significant role in everyday life. Introducing AI concepts to school children is crucial to fostering a generation of capable leaders and developing indispensable critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Key points:

• Educators should clearly communicate rules and expectations for AI
• It’s also worth keeping an open mind and learning a bit more about how AI tools work

The discussion around the influence of AI writing on education has never been so active – all thanks to the launch of ChatGPT last year. The tool is so advanced compared to other writing tools of its kind that a lot of people instantly started using it for all kinds of ethically ambiguous purposes.

Educators are concerned about the influence AI will have and how its negative effects could be detrimental to education. Without further ado, here’s how to counteract the disruptive influence of AI writing on education.

1. Inform Students

First of all, you need to inform your students about the fact that plagiarism will never be tolerated. Explain that when they use AI tools to generate the texts for their assignments, they are not actually presenting their own writing to you. Though texts generated by AI tools do not exactly fall under the definition of plagiarism, they are still not the student’s work which means the student could suffer consequences for their actions.

If your students understand why using AI tools to do their assignments for them is not the right route to take, they will be less likely to even consider trying such tools. It is your responsibility as a teacher or professor to raise this matter in the classroom and make sure that everyone is on the same page regarding the topic.

Since the public release of ChatGPT took the world by storm last fall, many educators have worried about students using the highly advanced, artificially intelligent chatbot for cheating on school assignments by passing off AI-generated work as their own. But if AI can be used to produce written content, can it also be used to determine whether a piece of writing was created by AI or by a human being?

That’s what Turnitin is hoping to do with a new feature the company has added to its existing writing tools. Beginning April 4, all Turnitin products—including Turnitin Feedback Studio (TFS), TFS with Originality, Turnitin Originality, Turnitin Similarity, SimCheck, Originality Check, and Originality Check+—will include AI detection capabilities for existing users.

Turnitin began working on detection capabilities for GPT3, the underlying technology upon which many AI writing applications are based, nearly two years before the release of ChatGPT.

“Educators told us that being able to accurately detect AI-written text is their first priority right now. They need to be able to detect AI with very high certainty to assess the authenticity of a student’s work,” said Turnitin CEO Chris Caren.

In this episode of Innovations in Education, hosted by Kevin Hogan:

• Teachers are burning out. Can AI help?
• Using AI to improve accessibility
• AI in the classroom: Supporting innovative teaching and increased productivity

The teaching profession is in crisis. K-12 teachers report the highest burnout rate among all industries nationally, according to a June 2022 Gallup poll. Job satisfaction is at the lowest it’s been in 40 years. There is an estimated teacher shortage of over 300,000.

Many blame COVID-19, but if you look at the facts: the pandemic only revealed the cracks, long buckling under pressure.

But what if every single teacher could have an AI assistant? Would that change the game?

A similar question was asked by McKinsey three years ago, right before the worldwide pandemic caused the lowest reading and math scores in 30 years.

In summary, McKinsey’s pre-COVID answer was simple: “yes, but in time.”

That time is now. According to McKinsey’s 2017 study, the average teacher worked 50 hours a week (a number that has grown to 54 hours post-pandemic, according to 2022 research).  Only 49 percent of this time involves direct student interaction. Indeed, the time spent on teaching class is less than the time spent on preparation, evaluation, and feedback (grading).

Using AI, we can eliminate much of the time teachers spend on preparation and grading—reducing their week by as much as 30 percent—and giving them more time for what they do best: teaching students. AI can also provide schools tools to foster a less stressful, more flexible work environment. Here’s how.

AI tremendously cuts down on lesson prep.

Preparing lessons is one of the more time-consuming parts of a teacher’s job. According to McKinsey’s study, teachers spend over 20 percent of their time just preparing for class. That’s over ten hours a week. An AI tech company can help by giving teachers the power of AI to scan text and turn it into well-designed slides. By simply sharing a link to a textbook or by uploading a PDF, the AI then auto-creates well-designed slides that teachers tweak to use for sleek lesson presentations. This could save teachers substantial time — while also creating more aesthetically-pleasing results—as most teachers aren’t designers!

AI reduces challenges with time off.

The substitute teacher shortage is dire and hinders a school’s ability to function. Far too often, teachers come to school sick due to the lack of substitutes. Schools must support teachers as humans; AI can help them reduce preparation time and act as an instruction supplement.

 “We’re seeing a major shortage of substitute teachers,” says David McGrath, headmaster of Paragon Prep, a high school in Austin, TX. “Rather than putting a pause on instruction, how marvelous would it be if a teacher could program their own avatar to teach a lesson on a day they have to be out sick or at a conference? A staff member can sit in the room while the avatar plays on the screen.”

Schools can leverage the teacher’s AI-generated lesson on the same subject, while teachers can track and monitor a student’s progress. This gives teachers and the administration more flexibility when missing school days—whether it’s the teacher or a student missing class.

“As long as the teacher can shape the message and is programming the avatar to do their job for them, I think teachers would see this technology not as a threat but as an amazing tool,” explains McGrath.

AI transforms textbooks into interactive study guides.

As Gen Z prefers learning via video platforms like YouTube over reading, it’s clear that textbook publishers need to innovate and evolve in order to help students and teachers. New AI technologies can be used directly by publishers to auto-convert textbooks into engaging video lessons. This could save teachers tremendous time, allowing teachers to edit and personalize lessons for their classes without starting from scratch.  

Students can read while listening and pause or rewatch when needed—making the interactive videos particularly helpful for those struggling with traditional studying forms. These videos benefit teachers who incorporate the “flipped classroom” methodology, which is increasingly popular and promising. With this technology, teachers could also leverage AI-generated avatars in their videos to make the lessons more interesting. For example, teachers could have Pythagoras explain his own theorem in ancient Greece, for example.

AI helps with automatic grading and assessment creation.

Teachers spend between five to seven hours a week grading. This is widely known as the worst part of teaching. AI can eliminate much of this.

With AI tools, grading becomes automatic. And with instant answers, students can better understand the concepts. AI can also reduce the teacher’s time creating questions, as it automatically generates possible learning assessments.

Furthermore, when it comes to subjects like math, AI can quickly adapt to a student’s level, so homework becomes a way to have a deeper understanding of a student’s mastery of a subject. For instance, AI can challenge certain students who need a challenge and slow down for students who need more time understanding the subject. In turn, this generates better insights into the teachers’ understanding of the student’s efforts.

Many fear that computer-generated grading would only perpetuate the education system’s reliance on multiple-choice questions. But with AI, that is simply not the case. When answering basic questions, AI can read a student’s answers. Perhaps it’s not ready to read a 5-paragraph essay on To Kill a Mockingbird, but it will know if a student paid attention when asked who Boo Radley is.

AI could transform tutoring.

A 2017 study found that tutoring is the most effective way to improve learning outcomes among students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. But most teachers, particularly in public schools, don’t have the time for one-on-one instruction with every student.

AI edtech companies like Hypatia are already making this incredible technology a reality. Technologies have tremendous potential to assist with tutoring as well. Will this replace the need for human tutors? Well, as a mother of two rambunctious kids, I think certainly not. After all, it’s widely agreed that lasting relationships are the key to the efficacy of tutoring. The idea that a robot can replace teachers is laughable. But can it be used as a low-cost, highly scalable tutoring supplement? Absolutely.

So, rather than worrying about how AI might replace teachers, the time has come to ask what AI can do for teachers?

Related:
AI’s promising reality in classrooms
AI is the key to scaling personalized, one-on-one instruction

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be an ambiguous word in education circles, evoking images of machines replacing human teachers in the future. The truth, while less fantastic, is that AI is a solid tool that assists educators in the classroom right now.

Join experts during an eSchool News webinar to discuss the real-world ways AI operates and how AI systems enable teachers to better interact with students, simplify everyday classroom tasks, and improve overall efficiency and productivity.

Key takeaways include:

• How current voice-activated AI systems at home, in cars, and on devices can be put to use in classrooms
• How to use voice commands or a remote to control laptops, interactive displays, internet browsers, apps, and more
• How to scale AI pilot projects into true distinct implementations

The challenges facing K-12 leaders as they start the new school year are enormous. For instance, the latest test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that fourth graders’ average reading skills have dropped by five points on a 500-point scale since the start of the pandemic—the biggest decline in more than 30 years.

This isn’t surprising news, as educators know their students are behind where they should be in terms of basic literacy skills. These skills underpin all other skills that students learn in school; if children can’t read well, then their entire education is at risk.

Making up this lost ground while continuing to ensure that students learn grade-level skills is hard enough. But many school systems will be doing this while also facing unprecedented staffing shortages.

While not all states or school systems are grappling with a shortage of qualified instructional staff, many are. Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA, the School Superintendents Association, told the Washington Post: “I have never seen it this bad.” The newspaper reports that 3,000 teaching positions in Nevada remained unfilled as of August 2022, while Illinois had a shortage of more than 2,000 qualified teachers. These staffing shortages are hurting students who need extra reading support in particular, Education Week observes.

The term “perfect storm” tends to be overused, but this really is a perfect storm of challenges for leaders to overcome. Closing the gaps in reading skills requires personalized, one-on-one instruction that schools simply can’t provide if they don’t have enough reading teachers, coaches, and specialists on staff. It’s like trying to win a heavyweight boxing match with one hand tied behind your back.

Fortunately, there is help available. At the same time K-12 leaders are facing these challenges, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology provide significant potential to support the kind of highly personalized instruction that can close reading gaps and accelerate students’ learning—helping them learn to read faster so they can master grade-level content.

Read more:
How online tutoring helps us close learning gaps and support teachers
4 ways to address learning gaps for underserved students