Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet?

What to expect this week:

4 min read

This week we wrap up our look at generative AI in the classroom (for now). So far we’ve covered how it can save you time and improve critical thinking for your students. Now, we’re going to look at how generative AI can impact collaboration within schools. Let’s roll!

• There is no ‘I’ in ‘TEAM’, but maybe there’s an ‘A-I’

• Paradox on paradox

• Video games are good for students…maybe

Tech Talk

Why can’t we be friends? Or at the very least, exchange lesson plans easily?

Collaboration among teachers is key, yet finding time for it can be a challenge. Professional development days are valuable, but they're often not enough. And this is a real shame - without collaborating amongst staff, especially for larger schools where there may be more than one teacher covering the same grade, we teachers could be missing out on the value of teamwork. So, if 2024 is the year that teachers take back AI, can we get some help in this department as well?

Enter Mural - a tool that facilitates real-time visual collaboration. While it's designed for various professions, were going to take a look at its application in education, particularly K-12. Imagine we have a school that has three Grade 9 Science classes, each run by a different teacher. These teachers can set up communal Mural boards to exchange ideas - yes - but they can also use it to organize their lessons and resources. Maybe there’s a difficult topic coming up and unless these teachers happen to all share the same prep time (unlikely), they can brainstorm via Mural in real-time. By making Mural their communal digital workspace, it can save time and improve the lesson quality. So how does it do this?

• 👩‍🏫 Enhancing Collaboration. By making Mural a communal digital workspace, teachers can collaborate effectively, even if they don't share the same prep time. It's a powerful tool for enhancing collaboration and improving lesson planning.

• 🎨 Visual Organization. Unlike traditional methods like Google Drive, Mural offers a more visual approach. Ideas and resources are organized visually, making them more impactful and easier to comprehend. And now, Mural is directly integrated with Microsoft’s Copilot 360, which means AI has entered the chat. 

Let’s run with the same example from before. Let’s now say each of those same three teachers contributes 5 ideas for a lesson topic. Once they do so on Mural, one of them can now ask the tool to simply organize and summarize those 15 ideas into 3 main categories and BOOM within seconds, we have an organized lesson plan. Without Mural, this would take going back and forth and several difficult conversations to achieve. Mural can also work with your students and enhance lesson presentations - but we’ll save that aspect for another issue. For now, it’s all about collaboration.

What about pricing? Mural's pricing is competitive. The free model allows for three Murals and unlimited members per Mural, which can be enough for smaller departments. However, for larger teams, the next package up costs about $10 USD per month per member, offering unlimited access. This is a hefty price and not one that we here at The PEN would recommend for most departments, but perhaps maybe for entire schools.

Your mileage may vary of course but at the very least, if this sounds useful to you, give the free trial a test-drive (it makes no difference to us - we are in no way sponsored by Mural 🤓). Generative AI can do more than make assessments and help students gain some independence - it can now also supercharge your department and school as a whole.

Brainy Bits

Generative AI - The hero we deserve or the villain we created?

Generative AI has been in the spotlight for over a year now, captivating the world with its potential. Yet, amidst its promise, questions linger about its true impact. This week’s Brainy Bit delves into a study by Lim et al. (2023) titled "Generative AI and the future of education: Ragnarok or reformation?". The title itself captures the essence of the debate surrounding AI in education—a paradox where AI can be both a boon and a bane.

First off - kudos to their title - because that is exactly what it feels like. There is a paradox that is present with AI and education. The study reviews previous research to unravel the complexities of AI in education, identifying four paradoxes that highlight its dual nature:

• 🤖Friend and Foe: While tools like ChatGPT offer quick responses and personalized feedback, they blur the line between original and AI-generated work. This challenges educators to rethink assessment methods and emphasizes the need for editing and fact-checking skills.

• 🔄Independent and Dependent: Generative AI is autonomous in generating responses but relies heavily on the quality of inputs it receives. Effective prompts from learners can enhance the tool's performance while empowering students to take ownership of their work.

• 📚Accessible and Restrictive: AI tools like ChatGPT have the potential to democratize access to knowledge, benefiting students facing language barriers. However, the affordability of premium versions raises concerns about widening socio-economic gaps, prompting discussions about funding for equitable access.

• 🔒 Popularity and Bans: The more generative AI is restricted, the more popular it becomes. Schools that ban such tools often face pushback, highlighting the need for educators to integrate AI responsibly into lessons to mitigate distractions and misuse.

So where does this bring us? If you’re like us, upon first reading this information, it feels like we’re back where we started and not anywhere closer to the classroom of tomorrow. ChatGPT and other generative AI technologies (like the ones we explored a few weeks ago) are improving student and teacher skills, but are also raising levels of plagiarism and student laziness. It really is an ever changing paradox. But, as the research authors point out, we’ve been here before. Not too long ago schools were struggling to deal with internet access, and before that we had calculators and computers, and before that… the list goes on and on. Perhaps generative AI is just the next iteration of these.

You want your students to have the best chance after they leave your class/school? For this, their research is clear. Encourage students (and yourself) to draw on teaching and learning from and with generative AI. Lead discussions with them (and your staff) on the pros and cons of it. Let them, regardless of age, help make those decisions - and bring their parents/guardians into the conversations as well because chances are they might be using the tool already in their own place of work. Rather than try and get in front of this train, we should be doing our best to try and steer it.

Surplus Scoop

• Video games help more than just young students according to the Entertainment Software Association of Canada

• Embrace AI, you must at least according to a top Washington education official

• A sign of progress for ASL at least at this New York elementary school

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References

This week’s issue adapts information from the following sources:

Tech Talk:

Berman, J. (2023, November 1). Take teamwork to new heights with Mural and AI. Mural. https://mural.co/blog/mural-ai

Brainy Bits:

Lim, W.M., Gunasekara, A., Pallant, J.L., Pallant, J.I., Pechenkina, E. (2023). Generative AI and the future of education: Ragnarok or reformation? A paradoxical perspective from management educators. The International Journal of Management Education, 21(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2023.100790