In this discussion, Jim Knight, chair of EACT and Century Tech, and Rob Robson, ASCL Trust Leadership Consultant, delve into the rapid integration of AI in education. They emphasize the need for a balanced approach—learning fast while acting thoughtfully. Key topics include the potential of personalized learning, automated grading, and the risks of data biases and ethical concerns. They advocate for comprehensive AI literacy among educators and highlight the importance of ensuring equitable access to these technologies to avoid increasing inequalities.
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insights INSIGHT
Cautious AI Transformation
AI is transforming education but comes with serious ethical, governance, and environmental risks.
We must slow down adoption to thoughtfully harness AI’s benefits while managing its risks.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Infrastructure Before AI Impact
Improve technology infrastructure with reliable broadband and one-to-one devices before AI can truly impact education.
Address current digital divide to enable equitable AI use in schools.
insights INSIGHT
Balancing Growth and Ethics
AI promises huge economic growth; education must prepare to harness this while grappling with data and ethical challenges.
AI adoption must balance data usage with protecting children's privacy and autonomy.
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We've all seen the headlines - AI is revolutionising everything from how students learn to how teachers teach. The promise of personalised learning paths, automated grading, and AI teaching assistants has created a gold rush mentality in education technology. But in our rush to adopt these powerful new tools, are we moving too fast?
Today we'll explore why when it comes to AI in education, we need to learn fast but act more slowly and thoughtfully. We'll look at both the tremendous opportunities and serious risks that AI tools present for students and educators. We'll examine where AI can truly add value in education versus where human teachers remain irreplaceable. And most importantly, we'll discuss why comprehensive AI literacy and training is absolutely crucial - not just for educators, but for everyone involved in shaping young minds. Drawing on insights from leading experts on the frontlines of AI in education, we'll provide a framework for thinking about how to implement AI tools responsibly and effectively. Whether you're a teacher, administrator, policymaker or parent, this episode will give you practical guidance for navigating the AI revolution in education.
Talking points and questions may include:
Opportunities and risks of the tools:
Adaptive or personalised learning paths, automated marking and feedback, content generation, analytics and teaching assistants, but also inaccuracy and lack of transparency, data risks, biases, ethics and safeguarding, and like social media, the unintended lasting consequences
Where AI is best placed:
Is it EdTech and tools in the classroom, the augmentation and elevation of human intelligence, or is it just learning about AI and what it can do and why (is knowledge=power enough?)
Why it is so important that understanding and training are emphasised and why everyone needs to have such training
Without it there can be safeguarding disasters, skills training can be insufficient, many AI tool providers are offering free training to learn to use their tool but this is consumerised and inadequate and can be ethically questionable; do we want successive generations to only be producing AI tools that are exploitative and using our data and our IP without our consent, or do we want to help people with technology and for the partnership to be of most benefit to them?
The Edtech Podcast 
