Lawrence Rao’s Post

A High School in the UK Just Started Replacing Its Teachers With AI A school in London is introducing AI tools to help students around the age of 15 prepare for their standardized exams, despite concerns that AI is no substitute for human teachers. The pilot project aims to assist both struggling students and those excelling beyond their peers, allowing personalized learning at each student's own pace. Co-principal at David Game College, John Dalton, emphasized that AI-powered adaptive learning could tailor education to individual needs, alleviating the issue of classes progressing either too quickly or too slowly for some students. However, critics warn that relying too heavily on AI in education is premature. The technology’s tendency to "hallucinate" — producing incorrect or misleading information — could harm students, particularly in such formative years. While AI will not entirely replace teachers in this trial, as students will have support from three full-time learning coaches, some argue the initiative is a step too far. Concerns about AI's limitations, exemplified by the failure of an AI chatbot in the Los Angeles Unified School District, highlight the need for quality educators that AI simply can't replace. Whether this experiment will ease England's ongoing teacher shortages or exacerbate the problem remains to be seen.

A Pew Research Center survey shows many K-12 teachers are uncertain about using AI in education—35% aren't sure of its impact, while only 6% see more good than harm. High school teachers are most concerned, with 35% saying AI does more harm than good. Via Luona Lin at Pew Research: https://shorturl.at/Hj0QQ. What are your thoughts about AI software in schools? If you've experienced AI harm in schools or your place of work, we want to hear from you. Fill out a harms report at report.ajl.org.

In K-12 in the U.S., views about AIs impact on education tilt negative. And yet… Teachers say workload is too high. They wish they could spend more time engaging with students. Individualized learning remains an unmet goal. The supply of teachers is dwindling. Students are increasingly disengaged. I’m convinced that AI - properly designed and used - can help all of these challenges. #ai #education #learning #school #teachers

With Tasmanian Year 12 completion rates still lagging, it’s clear that a one-size-fits-all approach is insufficient. In 2024, Teachers Assistant AI has conducted interviews with a range of college staff and administrators to gain insights and perspectives on the data. AI has the potential to personalise learning, providing support tailored to each student's journey, wherever they may be. How might AI make an impact on this data? This is an area we're exploring as we continue to support existing initiatives for better student outcomes. #EduTech #AIinEducation Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gWk73eRT

How can you increase the AI literacy of a group of non-technical adult learners? How about giving them interactive web-based tools that allow them to experiment with algorithms that detect edges in images, or objects in videos, or gestures. That's what Duri Long and Maalvika Bhat at Northwestern University did with a group of 42 adult learners. Small sample size, but it seems that these tools tended to increase their confidence in explaining these capabilities to others, and identify them in use in the real world. Also particularly interesting, toward the end of the paper, you'll find their identification of personas (e.g. "the tinkerer," and "the ethical observer") as well as interaction patterns (e.g. "exploration," "future speculation"). Very cool to see this kind of work being done, as I think we need to learn a LOT about how adult learners can grow in AI literacy in the years ahead. Link to the full paper below.

❇ TAS College Educators > https://lnkd.in/gcDeeHAz This survey seeks insights from Tasmanian educators and administrators on the current efforts to improve Year 12 completion rates, the challenges faced, and suggestions for future approaches. Appreciate perspectives that will continue our work toward AI solutions with Teachers Assistant AI.

This feature is so exciting to me. Letting students learn how to interact and utilize AI to enhance and extend their learning should excite us all! Students now are the future. We need to prepare them for that future. Reach out to me if you wanna learn more about the magic you can create with your students using MagicSchool for Students! #MAGICSCHOOLAI #aiforstudents #thefuture #enhancelearning #aipioneer #techyasheck 🤖💻🪄✨

Over the past year, I've been trying to develop my own teacher-centric custom AI models. I've been developing ways to use AI as a 'teacher-extender' instead of thinking of AI as a teacher-replacement. I've presented at several educational conferences on my research and custom-built models. This is a 5-minute supercut of my original 90-minute ATC '24 presentation. This edit overviews how I create student reports to help parents better understand their children's data and provide custom suggestions on how parents can offer support at home. Another use of my model is to differentiate student assignments by referencing spreadsheet data. For example, the entire class can read the same story, yet the questions will be created based on previous student results. The goal is to continuously raise student assignment difficulty by 5% regardless of their level - per assignment. The video ends by discussing ways AI needs to prioritize student privacy and safety. These models are capable of being downloaded and run locally. There is no need for private and personal student data to ever be uploaded online. Thanks for the interest!

Educators, looking for your help! Are you an educator in K-12 or higher education who is working with Generative AI tools? Would you like to share your practices or areas of exploration - and learn from others? We are conducting a study and would love to hear more! You are invited to complete a short survey (5-7 mins): https://lnkd.in/eUnQq5jn. Any educator working in K-20, who is either using GenAI or thinking about it is invited to participate. Get access to a mega library of resources for your participation!

Hey parents! You play a key role in your child's education. What should you be asking (of yourselves and/or your kids' schools) related to AI? I've included some below...what am I missing? Learn more in my recent blog: AI 101 for Parents: Supporting Your Child's Learning in the Digital Age https://lnkd.in/gRjUzdiP