Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay. AI systems take huge amounts of data from various sources and generate new products. This process has many unseen benefits to people in different fields.
Is AI scary?
There are a lot of fears surrounding Artificial Intelligence. BCC News reported that AI could replace over 300 million full time jobs and that there have been cases of discrimination and bias noted from systems that use AI. AI can sometimes pull incorrect information from sources and therefore create products that are not accurate. This means AI should rarely be used, especially in the classroom, if you do not check the content.
AI for the classroom
AI saves time in a teacher’s life. There are a lot of tasks that a teacher has to complete throughout each day, from finding activities, planning, communicating with colleagues and parents, grading, and so much more. With popular AI tools, like ChatGPT, teachers can cut down on the preparation time allotted for each of these things. AI can also provide teachers with innovative ideas that align with students’ interests.
AI for the Early Elementary Special Education Classroom
I teach in a special education kindergarten setting, so students’ use of AI is limited. Over the week my students learned more about AI during morning meeting with videos like Learning Mole!
There are a lot of AI opportunities for me as an educator. Just this week, Edutopia posted this guide to AI in the early learning classroom. Throughout the week I started using Project Read to assist with my Orton Gillingham tutoring. It is an easy way to create personalized decodable passages for each student.
AI Allows:
- Teachers and students to engage in critical consciousness.
- AI allows teachers to provide information from a lot of resources!
- Teaching and learning to honor people’s full humanity
- AI allows us to look at larger issues within society and see how our individual identities interact with the knowledge provided to us.