ALI Reads: AI and Education: Supercharging Learning

In this compelling AI driven episode, we explore the fascinating intersection of AI, teaching, and coaching in the agile world of education. This discussion is enriched by an array of sources, from cutting-edge research papers to real-world applications of AI in classrooms, demonstrating the potential of AI as a transformative tool in education and coaching.

 The episode, made in collaboration with an AI 

Find us here: www.agileleanireland.org

Transcript

Hey, everyone. Welcome back. You know how much I love digging into your requests and this one's a doozy. We're diving deep into AI in education today.
And I have to say, the sources you sent over are fascinating. We've got everything from ******** research papers to stories about AI actually being used in classrooms. Someone did their homework.

That's what makes these deep dives so fun, right? With this whole panoramic view. So listeners, buckle up, we're going to unpack how AI works, explore if it can actually make us smarter, and maybe even ponder the future of, well, the future of learning itself.

Yeah. Sounds like a plan, and might I add it's a future that's already here in a. A lot of ways, but to really understand it, maybe we should start, you know, at the beginning.

Love that and this first horse. It kind of takes us back to the dawn of AI. Alan Turing, the OG computer genius. He posed this question back in the 1950s. Can machines think? And honestly, it's a question we're still grappling with.
Right. And back then, they were approaching it in a very different way, trying to basically programme logic directly into computers. There was this programme, the logic. Curious, that was actually designed to prove mathematical theorems.
It's like they were trying to make computers think like, well, miniature mathematicians.

Exactly. And it makes sense for the time. But then things started to change. We began to understand more about how our own brains work, and this whole idea of neural networks emerged, which.
I got to be honest, went a little over my head. All those diagrams and connections. Can you breakdown neural networks in a well? Not so intimidating way.
Hmm.

I'll try think of it like this. Instead of hard coding rules, we're now feeding computers massive amounts of data and letting them find the patterns. It's like how Spotify seems to know exactly what song you want to hear next, even if you've never heard it before.

Oh, so it's like instead of telling the computer how to think, we're showing it a tonne of examples and letting it figure things out on its own.
Exactly. And it turns out that's incredibly powerful. This shift from rule based systems to these data-driven models, that's what led to the AI we interact with every day, from personalised recommendations to those voice assistants. We all talk to more than we probably should.

OK, now that makes sense. But how does this connect back to, you know, making us smarter? That's the big question.

Right. And this is where AI and education gets really interesting. If AI can learn from data, does that mean it can learn how we learn best?
Whoa. OK, now we're talking. So instead of like A1 size fits all. Textbook AI could figure out how I individually learn best.
Exactly, and not just you, but every student. Imagine a world where educational software adapts to your individual needs, your pace, even your interests. That's the potential here.
OK. Yeah, that does sound kind of revolutionary, but some of the stuff you sent over about ChatGPT being used in classrooms, I don't know, seeing an AI that can write essays and answer questions is. A little wild.
It is wild and I think it sparked a lot of really important conversations, but it's crucial to remember that tools like ChatGPT, they're just that tools. They're not here to replace teachers.
More like enhance what teachers can do.
Precisely. Think of it as giving educators super powers, not making them obsolete. Elite, but figuring out exactly how to integrate those superpowers. Well, that's the real challenge.
OK, I'm hooked. Let's dig into that. So AI giving teachers superpowers like where this is going. But how does that actually play out in the, you know, the trenches of education? Does that actually look like?

Well, imagine just for a second, the average teachers day. Right. They're juggling what? Dozens of students, each one's different. Each one learns differently.
And don't forget the grading. I remember those late nights in school, wondering if my teachers ever slept.

Exactly grading lesson planning, finding resources for different types of learners. It's a lot, and it's all time that could be spent well, actually teaching.
OK, I'm seeing where you go with this. AI could take some of those. I don't know those more tedious tasks off their plates.

Precisely, what if, instead of grading papers every night, a teacher could use AI to do the initial assessment? They could focus their energy on the students who need that extra guidance right on creating those amazing classroom experiences.
OK. Yeah, that makes sense. It's not about replacing the teacher. It's about, like you said, giving them those superpowers.
Super powers. I like that and think about personalization for a second. One of the sources you sent it talked about AI tracking how students learn, right? Like what time of day are they most focused? Do they prefer visuals or hands on activities?
And AI could figure that out for each student. I mean, that sounds incredibly individualised, but how is that?
Mm-hmm.

Even possible? Well, there's some.

Pretty fascinating stuff happening with facial recognition and what they call sentiment analysis. Basically a I might be able to pick up on those subtle cues you know. Are you frowning? Are you leaning in? Are you getting that? Uh-huh. Look on your face.

OK. Whoa, hold on. That's a little, I don't know. Big Brother issue, isn't it?
Yeah.

Like I get. How? That data could help personalise things, but what about the privacy issues?
Oh, absolutely. And that's something, you know, we can't just gloss over as AI becomes more. Powerful those ethical considerations. They have to be front and centre.

So it's not just about can we do something with AI, but should we?
Exactly. It's about finding that balance right using AI to make education better, but not at the cost of, you know, turning schools into some kind of sci-fi dystopia.
No robot overlords allowed.

Definitely not. But seriously, figuring out how to use this technology ethically, that's a conversation we need to have as a society, not just, you know, leave it up. To the tech companies.

Right. Because this impacts everyone really. So we've talked about AI helping teachers personalising things. For students. But what about the actual you know, the learning itself? Does AI change what we teach?

That is the $1,000,000 question and it leads us to one of the most exciting and maybe even a little scary possibilities of AI creating the learning content itself.
AI creating the learning content itself. OK, now that sounds both futuristic and I'm not going to lie a little unnerving. How would that even work?
We'll think about it like this right now we've got textbooks, we've got websites, we've got videos, but it's all pretty much, you know, one-size-fits-all. What if instead of just picking from what's already out? There, AI could actually create a learning experience tailored just for you.

Like a customised textbook generated just for me would have my name on.
It well, maybe not a physical textbook, but yeah, that's the idea. It could pull from all the information in the world, adjust the complexity based on what you already know, even create interactive simulations and games to make it, you know, actually fun.

OK, now that's pretty cool. But can AI really get that good? I mean, we've all seen those ChatGPT screenshots where it goes a little well off the rails.
Right. It's not about AI being perfect right out of the gate. It's about AI constantly learning and. Acting just like you know, a good teacher learns from their students. The AI would learn from how people interact with the content, what works, what doesn't.

So it's kind of a two way St. the AI is learning from us as much as we're learning from it.

Exactly. And that's what's so transformative. Instead of just passively absorbing information, it becomes more of a, you know, a dialogue, a partnership between the learner and the AI.

I mean, it's a little weird to think of a computer as a learning partner, but I can kind of see how it could work.

It's definitely a shift, right? And it makes you rethink this whole education thing. What if, instead of just memorising facts, AI could help us make those connections? You know, see how different subjects relate to each other? How what we're learning applies to the real world.

It's like it could help us find the. So what of it all, like, why does this matter? Why should I care?

Exactly. It could help us tap into our curiosity or passions, even things we didn't know we were interested in. It's about making learning meaningful, not just, you know, checking boxes.

Wow. OK. So we've gone from AI grading homework to. To AI basically reshaping how we think about education itself.

That's the thing about this technology. It pushes the boundaries of what we thought was possible, and honestly, we're just getting started.

It's almost like AI is forcing us to, you know, step up our game when it comes to education.

I think that's a great way to put it. And you know, as with any powerful tool, it's not inherently good or bad. It's all about how we choose to use it.

So as we wrap up this deep dive with a one thing, the one take away you hope listeners will remember about AI and education.

Don't be afraid of it. Don't be afraid to ask tough questions. This technology, it's going to impact all of us, so let's make sure we're shaping it, not the other way around.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks for for taking this deep dive with me. It's been well enlightening, to say the least.
The pleasure was all mine, truly, and to everyone listening, keep those questions coming, keep exploring and most importantly, keep learning.
And on that note, we'll see you next time for another deep dive.