5+1 Provocative Statements about AI and EDU
I attended the Online Learning Consortium Innovate conference in Denver, and this morning gave an interactive talk/audience workshop about AI, Open Pedagogy, and Diversity.
I started with some ancient history of the innocent and idealistic web of 20 years ago, and spoke about my experiences with open creation, open education, and open pedagogy with LibriVox, Pressbooks and Rebus. And then I sprung some provocative statements on the room, to encourage what turned out to be a great discussion. I had a roving mic and did my best Phil Donahue imitation.
The lively conversation with administrators, instructional designers, faculty, and a handful of students was great. I learned a lot.
Here are the provocative statements I posed to the room. I should note that these are purposefully spicy hunches of mine, and that anyone who believes they know (really know) what is going to happen with AI and education is most certainly going to be surprised in the coming years and decades.
Five Provocative Statements. +1 Bonus.
1.
Generative AI is going to break traditional assessment of students. If AI can write essays and exams we are going to have to completely rethink much of our to teaching, assigning, and assessing in higher ed.
2.
Generative AI is going to force institutions of learning, and educators to radically transform their pedagogy. Those who don’t will disappear.
3.
Creating something meaningful and sharing it (publicly, authentically) is the most powerful way to learn.
4.
Asking students to bring their own experience to bear on questions is a way to authentically bring diversity into the classroom. Doing this publicly — at scale, (working with AI tools) — might be an antidote to some diversity/bias problems of AI models.
5.
Institutions that aren’t training their students to use AI effectively and critically in 2? 5? 10? years will be completely irrelevant.
BONUS: 6.
Generative AI has the potential to be the most powerful learning accelerant we’ve ever seen, for all learners.
The discussion was illuminating. Whether or not these statements are right, it’s clear there is a huge challenge ahead, and huge opportunites.
What do you think about these statements? Do you disagree? Agree? Let me know!
Links this week:
AI Detection in Education is a Dead End, Leon Furze.
Cartography of Generative AI, Estampa Collective
What Is ChatGPT Doing … and Why Does It Work?, Stephen Wolfram
Great writing, Hugh. I personally think that in 5 years these provocative statements won't be considered provocative !!