THE PREP PERIOD

Quick tips, tools & tricks you can take to the classroom on Monday

AI is changing how we teach and learn. Educators should shape what comes next | This week's tip comes from TED Blog​

Do YOU have tips and tricks that you'd like to share with other educators?

TED and Google have opened up a global search for five educators with the most compelling ideas about the role of AI in teaching and learning.

At TED2027 in San Diego next March, those five educators will share their ideas with the world.

A lot of what AI in schools currently looks like comes from people who aren’t in classrooms. If you’ve learned something novel with your own students, this is an incredible way to share it with a global audience. And bonus: even if you never submit an idea, you get free PD and resources just for finishing the workshop.

How to apply:

1. Register. Sign up for the free Idea Workshop using this link.
2. Take the workshop. This is a one-hour workshop that can be completed on your own timeline.
3. Pick your idea. Think about what you changed in your teaching because of AI and what happened with your students.
4. Submit. Send your idea to TED by November 15 at 11:59pm ET.

Once you finish the workshop, you also get TED’s public speaking course, a TED-moderated community of practice, and Google’s AI Educator Series, all free.

SARAH'S PICK

Sal Khan via LinkedIn

​EdTech Can Work. Decision Makers Have to Check the Evidence First.​

This article is all about research and gets pretty technical. However, I felt it was worth a "pick" today because of how well Sal explains the learnings from and the limits of research on edtech tools.

Lots of tools include facts and figures on their websites touting student gains, but where do these numbers actually come from? How much did teacher implementation play a role in the results? How do we know whether the tool caused the gains, or whether the most motivated students would have grown anyway? Did the students have to use the tool for hours on end to see gains, or just a few minutes a week?

Sal walks the reader through the many different possible answers to these questions. He describes how randomized control trials can show whether a tool caused gains, explains why to look for the word "independent", and provides educators with a framework for asking their own questions.

The read is a bit dense, so I'll stop here so you can dive in!

LOUNGE READS

The AI headlines that matter for your classroom

Are student-facing guardrails on AI tools in schools actually working? How does transparency affect student behavior? And why there's more to "AI cheating" than just identifying it.

PR Newswire

​Data Shows a Nearly 50% Drop in Near-Total Outsourcing of Student Writing in a Transparent Writing Environment​

New data shows that making the writing process visible cuts full AI ghostwriting nearly in half. Take this one with a grain of salt as it's a bit of an ad for Turnitin's product Turnitin Clarity.

"A transparent writing space... gives educators visibility into how a student's work comes together, allowing them to provide more meaningful guidance. When students understand how their work is being evaluated, the anxiety around AI detection can be reduced, along with the temptation to outsource their thinking entirely. The result is a learning environment that protects critical thinking and nurtures learning integrity."

The Educator

​AI Safety in Schools: UNSW Study Exposes Chatbot Guardrail Flaws​

A new study found that the safety guardrails on popular school chatbots have some interesting gaps. I found this quote pretty fascinating:

"The study showed the same models were also significantly more likely to disclose confidential information when trained to mimic drunken speech patterns. The vulnerability held consistently across every method the researchers tested."

Harvard Graduate School of Education

​The AI Cheating Crisis in Schools Isn't (Only) What You Think​

​An AI Policy Isn’t A Playbook highlights the vast impact AI has had in classrooms as more students use the technology to complete their schoolwork, whether allowed to or not.

"Researchers in the report describe the current situation in schools as a 'Ted Lasso moment,' a reference to the TV show where an American football coach finds himself in charge of a soccer team in England. In other words, teachers are now forced to coach a game they don’t know how to play themselves."

A NOTE BEFORE YOU GO...

I'm glad you're here! If something resonated this week, hit reply and tell me. If you know a fellow educator who would find this useful, forward it their way. The village grows when educators share with other educators.

Never hesitate to send me an email if you're looking for some human-forward AI thought partnership!