Welcome to D2L’s Learning Bytes, your hub for bite-sized AI insights tailored for educators.
Each week, we comb the web and curate the most compelling stories related to artificial intelligence in education. Whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or lifelong learner, our 5-minute roundups consolidate the best AI for educators’ content in one convenient spot.
D2L’s Learning Bytes – June 20, 2024
What Teachers Want From AI
The Hechinger Report shared details about an AI professional development opportunity for teachers designed by technology nonprofit Playlab.ai and faculty at the Relay Graduate School of Education. Over five weeks, a group of teachers, school and district leaders, higher ed faculty, education consultants and AI researchers came together to learn how to use AI and develop their own basic AI tools and resources.
Some of the tools created included an AI chatbot that walks students through the process of solving math problems, an AI instructional coach that helps English teachers create lesson plans and an AI tutor that helps middle and high schoolers become better writers. While it remains to be seen whether these tools will be fully integrated into classrooms, the experiment demonstrated that educators want to use AI, but just need some guidance around how to do so.
Read the full piece.
New Jersey Unveils Resources for Educators Using AI in Schools
Over on Chalkbeat, a reporter broke down New Jersey governor Phil Murphy’s plan for an “artificial intelligence moonshot”. Last week, the state’s department of education unveiled a set of resources aimed at helping educators understand, implement and manage artificial intelligence in schools.
The resources range from articles about teaching and learning on artificial intelligence to a webinar that explains the history of AI and how it’s used in education. They’re also the state’s first attempt at guiding school districts on responsible and effective AI use in classrooms.
Read the full piece.
An AI Boost for Academic Advising
“If AI can help complement that workload and free up advisers to talk through things like career exploration, navigating four-year plans, alternative credentials … we’re definitely on board with that.”
Higher education institutions are turning to AI to help navigate the turbulent world of class planning, testing out tools that piece together student schedules with directions about majors and desired classes on specific days and times.
The tools, which can be initially met with hesitation, are not meant to replace advisers. Instead, institutions are hoping new technology will reduce time spent on rote tasks so that advisers can spend more time with students on topics like career planning.
Read the full piece.
Academics Despair as ChatGPT-written Essays Swamp Marking Season
“It’s not a machine for cheating; it’s a machine for producing crap.”
That’s one UK professor’s opinion on the influx of ChatGPT-produced essays that are rising at an alarming rate. Academics are arguing that the increased prevalence of students using ChatGPT to write essays should prompt a rethink about whether current policies encouraging “ethical” use of artificial intelligence are working.
Read the full piece. (If that link doesn’t work, try this.)
That’s a wrap for this week. Be sure to return next Friday for more learning bytes.
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