Two Questions for Teachers Preparing for a New School Year in 2024.

In 2023, I wrote an article for this blog that suggested a couple of ways teachers could prepare to teach in light of the rise of AI (artificial intelligence). In that article I said, “It appears that ChatGPT-like technology will only expand and improve” and that, indeed, is what has happened. A recent EdSurge article warned, “Tech giants Google, Microsoft and OpenAI have unintentionally assigned educators around the world major homework . . . adjusting their assignments and teaching methods to adapt to a fresh batch of AI features that students will enter classrooms with.” Regardless of the subject(s) teachers teach, there is technology available for students to use. And there is much debate about what technology students should or should not use and how they should or should not use it. This blog post presents a two-question framework that teachers can use to evaluate technology based on the goals they have for their students and the purposes of their courses and assignments. How teachers answer these two questions will help them determine how, or if, they need to adjust or adapt to new technology.

Is it a tool or a creator?

In spring 2023, I completed Google’s “Generative AI for Educators” course. In that course, technological resources were categorized as either AI or non-AI. Although Google, and many others, refer to both AI and non-AI technology as tools, based on the descriptions provided in the course, it is clear that non-AI is a tool but AI is a creator. Google describes non-AI as technology that executes instructions and produces a predefined, predictable outcome. On the other hand, AI is described as technology that produces new, unpredictable content that is not pre-programmed. Google even refers to AI as generative, which means it creates or produces. The difference between a tool and a creator is significant in education.

Non-AI technology could be likened to a writing tool, such as a pencil or word-processing software, that students use to display their own research and writing on paper or a screen. Conversely, AI technology, such as Gemini or ChatGPT, is a creator that produces something students did not research or write.

Whether teachers want students to create their own completed assignments using only non-AI tools or have some or all of their assignments created by generative AI will determine what technology they allow or encourage. Therefore, the first question to ask when evaluating any technology for student use is if it is a tool (non-AI) or a creator (generative AI). After answering that question about who or what teachers want creating the assignments, they must then consider the goal of the course and purpose of assignments.

Is it helping students learn or produce?

Teachers assign in-class and out-of-class work to their students. The technology that they allow or encourage students to use to complete those assignments reveals whether they want students, first and foremost, to learn or simply produce.

In the Google course I completed, AI was defined as “computer programs that complete cognitive tasks typically associated with human intelligence.” The course material then defined cognitive tasks as “any mental activity, such as thinking, understanding, learning, and remembering” and stated that “cognitive abilities enable people to make effective choices and thoughtfully solve problems.” All teachers would likely agree with those statements. However, all teachers do not agree about the use of technology for cognitive tasks.

The Google course material said that the point where people reach their cognitive limit is “where AI comes in.” According to Google, “AI acquires knowledge, then adapts and improves over time. It tackles challenges that have many variables and uncertain outcomes, then makes decisions based on data. And it uses data patterns to make predictions and choose actions, not pre-programmed responses.”

Therefore, the second question teachers need to answer is if they want their students to acquire knowledge beyond their current cognitive abilities or use AI when they have reached their cognitive limit. Do teachers want students to mentally tackle challenges that have variables and uncertain outcomes and then make their own decisions and choose their own actions or do they want AI to do that for them?

The answers to the questions 1) Is it a tool or creator? and 2) Do we want students to mainly learn or produce? should help guide teachers toward what technology they allow or encourage their students to use based on the goal of their course(s) and purpose of their assignment(s).

 

Brenda Thomas has a Master of Arts in Humanities and has worked as an online instructor and instructional designer in higher education.