Playing with AI

I've been thinking about AI and it's role in schools. ChatGPT (and other AI systems) are everywhere, even (gasp) in classrooms and used by young children.

When I started teaching back in the day, my classroom was kitted out with the latest tech, a sick suite of four networked Apple 2E computers AND a dedicated classroom phone. It was a different time, we took messages on pieces of paper. Now every teacher and student carries a dedicated phone and every encyclopedia, news story, and countless hours of pet content in their pocket. How are teachers and parents supposed to keep students engaged with this level of distraction at everyone's fingertips?

When I was starting to learn how to use the technology in my classroom, there were some teachers who said it was a waste of time and the technology would soon be outdated. They were right about one thing, the tech is painfully outdated, but time spent learning something new is NEVER wasted.

The best way for learning is through play. Play is what we in early childhood call "doing something just for fun". It is something most adults make time for, in our busy, fast paced lives. I took some time to play around and here is what I found after just a few hours of play.

AI can be used to help with making texts more accessible. Research, text books and news stories can be simplified, so more readers can access them. We can also use AI to provide examples from literature, entertainment or the news to make learning more concrete and personal.

We can use AI to repeat difficult concepts, rephrasing and repeating until the person understands without getting tired or frustrated. As with making texts more accessible, this could be a valuable tool for students who need extra time and instruction.

We can use AI to help students understand and respond to social situations in ways that benefit them socially. Many special needs students struggle with understanding social cues. If a child is isolated from peers because of some behaviors AI can help adults write social stories using the details of the child's situation.

AI can be another tool in our teaching tool bags. If we learn how to use it, we might make education better and more accessible for all. If we ignore AI, or try to band or police it we run the risk of becoming as outdated as the Apple 2E I had in my classroom all those years ago.

Tips for talking to kids about AI:

1. 1. Remind kids that AI is a tool people use - AI doesn't do the work; it is a tool we use to help us do better work. The answers are only as good as our questions.

2. Be intentional about language - AI is a tool used by people. AI doesn't DO anything, we USE AI to help us learn and solve problems and have fun too.

3. AI is not a substitute for research, again it is a tool we can use to help us do our resource, it will not evaluate the veracity of a claim (unless specifically prompted)

4. AI makes mistakes. Help kids spot mistakes or limitations.

5. AI is only as good as your questions. Talk to kids about asking good questions and being specific in their searching.

6. Teach and empower kids to spot AI generated content. Learn this yourself

7. Give kids time to explore and play with AI in a guided manner. Play with images and texts, see if it can tell you a funny joke

8. Talk about the dangers and limitations of AI as a substitute for an actual human connection

9. 5. Be realistic - your kids probably already know more than you do. So learn from them. Ask them questions about how they use AI and help them become critical consumers.