In this episode, Alex dives into the world of Artificial Intelligence in K-12 education with guest Tai Paschall. Tai, a seasoned educational leader, author of "When AI Goes to School," and a visionary in digital learning strategies, challenges the status quo, questioning if education systems are adapting fast enough. They discuss Tai's vision for integrating AI across administration, teaching, and student levels, the practical steps educators can take, crucial ethical considerations around data and bias, the need for a clear AI literacy framework, and how AI can foster equity and a deeper focus on student creation in the classroom.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• • Education Lag: Education systems, like governments, are often the slowest sectors to adopt and integrate new technologies compared to industry.

  • Integrated Approach: AI implementation should span administrative uses (data analysis), teacher uses (differentiation, planning), and student uses (learning, creation).

  • Practical Starting Point: Teachers can begin by utilising AI tools already integrated with their school's existing platforms (e.g., Gemini for Google schools, Copilot for Microsoft schools) to maintain data containment.

  • Ethical Foundation: Safeguarding student data and understanding where information goes is paramount. Using platform-aligned tools helps manage this risk.

  • Equity Catalyst: AI tools can significantly enhance equity by providing students with diverse needs or starting points the ability to contribute and participate at a higher level through modifications.

  • Assessment Evolution: The AI era necessitates a shift from traditional, memory-based assessments towards evaluating creation, project-based learning, and the process of using AI as a tool.

  • AI Literacy: Explicitly teaching students how to use AI ethically, effectively, and discerningly (prompting, evaluating outputs) is essential and should be part of the curriculum across subjects.

  • Teacher Empowerment: A common misconception is that AI replaces teachers; instead, it can be a powerful tool to enhance their effectiveness and capacity.

  • Focus on Creation: AI's greatest potential lies in enabling students to reach the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy – creation – by automating lower-order tasks and providing tools for rapid prototyping and idea generation.

  • Framework Needed: A clear, regional or systemic framework for AI literacy and implementation is needed to guide schools and educators effectively.

BEST MOMENTS

"We're always late. And in education, we're always kind of the step behind in industry."
"I just... smelled what was coming out of the kitchen... and I was just like, we gotta pay attention to this."
"I always approach now, you know, the three strands... administration, the teacher level, and then of course the student level."
"Safeguarding, student information, student data... that's gotta be now something that is a part of our daily routines as 21st century teachers."
"What if we allow a specific level to be used based on a modification?"
"We can't just focus on these same endpoints for assessments anymore... It can't just be exams or quizzes..."
"No, it's going to... make you better. Like you'll gain your superpower from this."
"Remember not just the why... Remember what we're told as educators that we must do. We must take students through that evolution of learning that we call the Bloom's Taxonomy... the highest level of learning is creation."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Tai Paschall on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tai-paschall/
Website: https://whenaigoestoschool.com/

CONNECT & CONTACT

Instagram: https://instagram.com/theinternationalclassroom
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandergray84/
Website: https://ticproductions.com

In this episode, Alex dives into the complex world of Artificial Intelligence in education with guest Bianca Farthing. Bianca, a practicing UK teacher and founder of AI Edify, challenges common assumptions about AI, questioning whether we're focusing on the right things. They discuss the practical realities of using AI in the classroom today, the critical importance of ethics, why AI won't replace teachers, and how we should be preparing students for a digital future, moving beyond AI as just an efficiency tool to seeing its potential as a cognitive aid.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• • Reframe the Question: Instead of asking "What can AI do for education?", we should ask, "What should education look like in a new digital era?" to evaluate our systems more broadly.
  • Focus on Practicality: While AI promises future revolutions, teachers need tools and strategies that help now, within the constraints of a standard lesson.
  • Options Over Answers: AI's value lies in providing options, perspectives, and challenges to stretch thinking, rather than simply generating answers.
  • Ethics are Foundational: Understanding data privacy, potential bias in outputs, and the ethical implications of AI use is non-negotiable before implementation for both teachers and students.
  • AI Can't Replace Care: Teaching is more than content delivery; it requires care, belief, and human connection, elements AI inherently lacks.
  • Cognitive Aid, Not Crutch: AI should be used to enhance and challenge thinking (cognitive aid), not replace the learning process or critical thought (cognitive crutch).
  • Critical Evaluation Needed: Users must be aware that AI outputs can be biased, incomplete, or even factually incorrect (e.g., generating fictitious citations).
  • Mind the Equity Gap: Differences in access, school policies, and training can widen existing inequalities if not addressed systemically.
  • Assessment Needs Rethinking: Current assessment models (especially memory-based ones) may need re-evaluation in an AI era, potentially shifting towards assessing process, problem-solving, and resourcefulness.
  • Involve Parents: The conversation about AI use in schools needs to include parents, ensuring transparency and understanding.

BEST MOMENTS

• • "What if we're asking the wrong questions?"
  • "When I've got my 45 minute lesson, I want to know what can I do for those 45 minutes?"
  • "Ultimately when we think about AI, it doesn't inherently care."
  • "We don't need answers. We need options to be able to stretch and challenge ourselves."
  • "Ethics in terms of AI... is inherently the most important thing."
  • "Use AI not as an answer generator, but something that is a creative aid, ask for options, not answers."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• • AI Edify Website: ⁠aiedify.com⁠
  • Connect with Bianca Farthing on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/biancafarthing/

ABOUT THE GUEST

• • Bianca Farthing: Bianca is a practicing teacher based near London, UK, and the founder of AI Edify, a platform dedicated to the ethical and effective integration of AI into education. Currently also pursuing her Masters (MSci) focusing on AI in education, she is passionate about creating practical tools and training that support teachers in using AI as a cognitive aid to enhance learning and critical thinking, rather than just for efficiency. Her work emphasizes ethics, teacher agency, and preparing students for a technology-driven future.

CONNECT & CONTACT

• • Instagram: https://instagram.com/theinternationalclassroom
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandergray84/
  • Website: https://deepprofessional.com/