Finding Your EduZen: AI, Equity, and Design Thinking with Dee Lanier

In this episode, the Digital Learning Services team sits down with the inspirational Dee Lanier, keynote speaker, creator of Solve In Time, and author of Demarginalizing Design.

Fresh off our county-wide "EduZen" workshop, we reflect on how educators can leverage AI tools to find balance and reduce stress, rather than adding to the digital noise. Dee breaks down how his gamified Solve In Time design thinking strategy empowers classrooms, and we dive deep into a critical conversation about elevating equity and centering marginalized voices in real-world problem-solving. Grab a byte of inspiration on how to bring high-tech and high-equity to your students!

For more Digital Learning Services information text DLS news  to 22828 or find us on Twitter @sbcss_edtech

Music by ItsWatR from Pixabay - Wataboi Flavour

Transcript

Finding Your EduZen: AI, Equity, and Design Thinking with Dee Lanier

Intro Music

Sonal: Welcome to the SBCSS Digital Learning Bits and Bytes podcast inspired by our dedication for equitable and inclusive educational technology and computer science.

Omar: All right, all right. Well, hey, hey, welcome everyone to this episode of Bits and Bytes podcast. It is an honor to be here with you today. My name's Omar Shepherd. I have the honor of serving as a project specialist right here in San Bernardino County, with digital learning and computer science education. Actually, I'm honored to be co-facilitating this podcast with my very own, colleague, friend, Tonya Coates.

Tonya, why don't you introduce yourself?

Tonya: Hello, my name is Tonya Coates. I work here at Digital Learning Services at SBCSS as a computer science and digital learning project specialist with Omar Shepherd. Thank you. Thank you. Absolutely. And we are honored to be here today with just someone that's, that's amazing, that's really, I would say, pushing the needle forward when it comes to really looking at ways we can keep equity centered as well as find ways we can leverage AI as a resource. The Dee Lanier. Whoo. That's right. That's right. That's right.

Dee: What's good, y'all? Dee Lanier. I'm now recently titled the senior, senior manager of education solutions for Samsung as well as, continuing my role as the lead experience designer for Lanier Learning.

Omar: Wow. Wow. Wow. So I would say big things popping over there for you, Dee. That's amazing. Congratulations.

Dee: Appreciate that. Appreciate that.

Omar: Yeah, I definitely had an honor to learn from you. Dee actually joined us recently for an amazing event we had titled EduZen, where he led an amazing keynote and interactive activity that we were really inspired by my colleague Tonya and I have really been dipping our toe in the space around design thinking, and Dee really introduced us to something really amazing with his Solve in Time, I'll call it experience.

Different than some of the things we've experienced before where we've learned, I would say approaches to design thinking, but I will say this strategy with Solve in Time was purposeful, it was intentional, really geared towards solving something real, which made it, I would say, really, really tangible, and we had a blast engaging in that.

What do you think, Dee, it is about that specific gamified framework that helps educators and students, of course, break through that blank page syndrome when tackling complex problems?

Dee: Yeah. So ironically enough, I was just having a conversation with a colleague and, we're talking about superpowers as well as kryptonite, right?

And I stated that my superpower is probably first and foremost emotional intelligence, but also from a working standpoint considering it's around simplifying systems. It's about making, especially you think about in classroom and doing classwork, how do you make something rigorous but not difficult because it's overly complex?

Right? So how do we take on big challenges while at the same time motivating people to want to take on those challenges? So my, my kryptonite is overly complicated systems, things that are overly complicated almost by design. Like, what are you trying to do here? So, um, yeah, similar to you, Omar, and what you stated, in my early orientation to design thinking was really about learning about different approaches, different strategies that you can utilize within whatever framework of design thinking you're utilizing.

What I found myself doing was, like, overly thinking all-- whether it's as a participant or as a facilitator with my students, like overly thinking about all of these other things instead of the problem itself, right? And it's, okay, what's the real problem here? Is the problem, something that has personal communal impact or is the problem this process that needs to be learned and revisited, and these strategies that have to be really understood and oh my gosh, it's like how can we get on board with understanding the problem itself, the people that are affected by the problem, and then coming up with solutions that are based on their direct feedback on what needs to be improved?

Like can we simplify some stuff? So that's really my perspective.

Omar: Wow. Wow. That sounds so purposeful and intentional, and definitely reflective of the movement we saw that day. The opportunity-

Dee: Yeah

Omar: ... for folks to take these cards that you had to really guide them through... Oh, wow. For those of you- Always have 'em on my desk, man.

You never know. You never know who I'm facilitating. These deck of cards on deck, uh, bringing them up and they are ready, and something that, that I would say really helps to guide through that process. Wow. Wow.

Dee: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And real quick also, you asked about the game of gamified element, which others might not know what that means or what you're talking about 'cause I didn't address it.

But, gamification in short is bringing game-like elements to any exercise to give you that feel of play, right? So some people think that gamification means creating a game of something a- and it can mean that, but not necessarily. So, you know, I have cards, I use timers, have sort of like intense music.

Like those are all gamified elements that give the feel of play. Though the process in which folks are engaging, is very much tackling real challenges. Furthermore, the cards have question prompts. That are randomized amongst groups. And so nothing is the same depending on which group is, is dealing with whatever the cards they have.

Uh, and that also brings excitement for me as a facilitator 'cause I, I don't even know what a particular group may have in terms of its randomized questions of who, what, when, where, why, or how questions that they have as they go through the process. So everyone is experiencing something new every time you go through this process.

Omar: Wow, wow, wow

Tonya: I like that answer. I think, you know, um, design thinking, you do have to make some of the content meaningful and relevant to the students for them to actually grasp and fully understand and process information. I think it really helps them build their creativity and confidence and empathy when they're designing and solving problems.

How do you think students might see themselves, maybe using this process in solving something that, in their own communities or something personal? Something they could really use and move forward

Dee: Yeah, that was actually, that is the original intent, intent behind this activity and it aims to continue to be so, right? The way in which teachers can attempt to tie in problems that are real and relevant to students is first and foremost, I think, to ask the students, right? Ask how they see whatever problems or challenges that are within the content in which they are going through, how they see those very things present or active within their own community.

But also literally looking outside of the window and considering what are problems or challenges that exist right here, right now, and then how can we then identify what those are and then aim to solve them. And I would say lastly, not to force the issue, but definitely to take advantage of the opportunity, I would say looking at the UN Sustainable Development Goals and consider what are problems that students identify that are relevant to them within their immediate context that then they could aim to utilize a design thinking process like Solve in Time to solve, and then connect thal- those particular problems to one of the 17 already identified goals.

And so, at least in my experience, I've learned that it's much more helpful to allow the students to grab hold of something that is real and relevant to them right now, and then say, "Look at how solving this local problem is already or does address a global problem," or see how you can extend this local identification of a problem to more global impact.

I think what ends up happening, and in my experience as a former classroom teacher as well as I continue to travel and have these workshops, is we ask students as well as adults to use their imagination to stretch beyond their context, and that is utilizing It's utilizing imagination, but I've seen it in such a way that they are imagining problems, and then they're imagining the people, and then they're imagining their mindsets.

They're imagining, you know, their statements, and it's, okay, your imagination should not have to stretch that far. You should be able to identify right here, right now, and then from there, see your imagination can connect from here to there. I could give examples after examples in that regard, but that's my short answer for now.

Omar: Wow. Yeah.

Tonya: And I wish I would've been introduced to this process as when I was young, just because it would've gave me that resiliency and that confidence to actually go and make a difference in my community and solve problems. I'm excited that students do have this, ability to do so now, but I feel like I've missed out when I was young to,

Omar: Me too

Tonya: ...engage. But, you know, I can still solve problems now as an adult.

Omar: That's right.

Dee: Of course.

Omar: That's, that's right. You know, one of the things I found interesting, D, was that during our activity, we really leveraged AI to iterate on our solutions. In your view, how does AI change the empathize and ideate phases of the process?

Dee: Sure. Um, well, so I am anything but anti-AI, right? Wrote a whole book on it, right? Nonetheless, I am cautious as it pertains to AI, and I think the ability to speak to ethical and equitable use of AI is an opportunity every educator has, no matter what they teach. And because I happen to teach design thinking, I then aim to integrate it there, right?

So, you know, one of the things we did in our activity, if you go to the Solve in Time website, there are, there's a Learn About link, or if you scroll down, there's a AI chatbot, and from there you can start to just ask questions around, like, how does this relate to whatever subject matter you may be engaged in.

And it'll use Google Gemini, and it is using a strict data set to give you controlled outcome and response, and that's intentional, right? So that it can be a guide, but not a replacement to the creativity and imagination of the group, right? And then the other thing I would say about AI is I give another warning, and it's really a disclaimer.

It's not a prohibition, if you will, but it's to say, whatever you do when it comes to sharing your creative solution to said problem that you've identified, aim to not have AI replace your creativity or imagination. Utilize your authentic voice, and it's just-- it's an encouragement, right? I think that what we do in education so frequently is we put up barriers and we have strict guardrails, and then we have very, very strong consequences instead of considerations and opportunity to reflect.

And so, for instance, I was just recently at a conference, and I was working with a group of teachers, and then they were using an AI tool for generating a song at the end of their series of questions that they had to process through. And I said, "I got two questions for you. Number one, would you allow students to use that same tool?

And number two, could you justify your use of it?" And that's all I asked them, and they still decided to use it. I was like, "That's fine." And then I told them, "You know what? If we actually had more time if you were moving this from a Problem-based project or problem-based thing that we were doing to a more project-based so we have more extended time, then I would say, "Hey, use that same song that you developed with AI as your reference track, but I would love to hear your original voice put to a beat."

It's just encouragement. Yeah. It's like how can we motivate or encourage people who are engaging in something to elevate what they do and not become so dependent on what AI can do for them from an efficiency standpoint, but never remove their own personal voice, and that's where I want to try and hold onto.

So I know your question sparked something in within me to say how do we aim to ensure that we are maintaining the authenticity, without just restricting? 'Cause I, for lack of better terms maybe, I feel like that can be a little bit of a lazy approach to say what we're gonna do is just restrict.

I think we have the opportunity to teach students and to remind ourselves of ethical use.

Omar: Wow. Wow. Wow. That really is a powerful point, and it's an opportunity really to think about how are we being intentional, how are we centering, our thoughts around AI in ways that are human-centered, that allow our own thinking, intrinsic motivations, personal creativity to really surface in what we're developing and seeing.

Which is really why I think this is a great opportunity for us to unpack some of these ideas. You know, interestingly, Tonya and I both have the honor of being equity fellow, now referred to as impact fellow alumni with the Computer Science Teachers Association, CSTA. But one of the things that we are really inspired by is your work around equity, and in your book Demarginalizing Design, if you didn't know, I invite you to check it out.

It's a great opportunity really to think intentionally and to really be, I would say, focused on ways we can elevate equity. So in your book with the focus on equity, why is it critical that we move beyond standard problem-solving and specifically look at who is being left out of the design process?

Dee: I have so many ways I could try and come at this question because, you know, first of all, like standard problem-solving, like how are we defining problem-solving? Oftentimes in schools I think we over-conflate things that are, you know, activities as problems, and I think when we do that then we minimize the opportunity to really take on real problems or to even recognize, no, this is a real problem and this is re- this requires something else in terms cognitive as well as emotional effort in comparison to these are activities that are skill builders that may be necessary for me to engage a real problem.

So number one, kind of giving that sort of distinction. And then I would say having the opportunity to regularly evaluate what types of problems might we be able to solve in the future with whatever skills are being developed. Like, those are the opportunities. And because ultimately I believe that every educator agrees with the notion of we are in this to help build problem-solvers of the future.

Anytime I ask that question in a crowd, say, "Do we agree with this?" And every hand goes up. No one disagrees with that. But then we have some problems with that, so to speak, in that we don't properly define, I think, what problems are, and we don't properly aim to address problems. Instead, we're just activity after activity after activity, memorization for regurgitation in order to pass a quiz or pass a test that then takes you to the next step or next level, and it's like At what point are we going to engage and intervene and recognize the things that exist that are real problems that affect our students and affect our communities, and then start building the skill set, the mindset, and even the practical know-how to begin engaging the problems that they care about?

And so en-engaging the students directly and then I would say what is not second, but if it's 1A, then 1B is actually engaging the people that are affected by the problem. In my last school that I taught at we were right outside, we were in uptown Charlotte and homelessness is prevalent.

So how do we engage the problem of homelessness without just doing the simple work of saying, "Oh, we're just gonna, we're gonna do community service"? Well, and that's great, and community service is absolutely great, but how do we actually develop the skills that are necessary for solving this problem that is so prevalent?

Well, what if we actually built the skills within our students and then also brought in the people who are affected by said problem and asked them their direct feedback on ways in which we could address the problem that they are, they're dealing with? I mean, just understanding what may be more of the root cause of homelessness within your proximate area in comparison to just making a lot of assumptions or basing it on what maybe media has told you.

Um, so building your emotional capacity, I think is is the challenge, right? Like building, like even talking about solving global problems. The problem is that most of us don't have the emotional capacity to even aim to relate to a problem that is too far off, right?

But if we can bring it home and then recognize what's already home, and then say, "All right, we're gonna aim to solve this problem," not for others, but with others. That's the challenge.

Omar: Wow. Wow.

Tonya: I like that answer. I think we the way education is designed currently is more of a copy and paste type of environment.

And I'm just wondering as AI evolves, as it gets embedded into our everyday lives, how do you think teachers are gonna have to change the way they teach so that students are thinking more critically, and they're not assigning things where they can just copy and paste and regurgitate answers?

Dee: Yep. It's gonna have to change, and, I probably say this a lot, and by the way, the the book Demarginalizing Design was written prior to AI being introduced to the public. But in its timing, and when I was writing it was actually during the pandemic, and what I saw happening was some things having to be changed because there was no other option, right?

And I think that my hopefulness was that the pandemic was going to disrupt so much of our educational system that it started to dismantle some of these things that we've been doing for 100 years, right? And then when the pandemic ended, you could tell we're turning back to normal. Small example, but very meaningful one, right?

Like multimodal feedback, right? Like allowing students to share their understanding of whatever content beyond just a multiple choice quiz or a five paragraph essay, right? Like giving multiple opportunities. So no one argues with the fact that AI is a disruptor. The question is, is education prepared to transform its systems in a way which it's currently set up, which is the way it was set up when we were all in school, which is the way it was set up when all of our parents were in school, likely way it was set up when our grandparents were in school What is gonna be the disruptor that says the system may need to change instead of, "Well, we're gonna block it here, we're gonna block it there, we're gonna give consequences if it's used in this way."

And at the end of the day, a lot of teachers are being trained how to utilize AI for efficiency purposes and how to create worksheets and how to give feedback on 170 different essays that they have to give feedback on within a week, and students are being told they can't use it.

And I'm like, is no one gonna question why we're still creating worksheets? Can we get back to really evaluating the learning outcomes and opportunities in the types of assignments that we're given and the learning opportunities in the sort of ways in which we assess students? Like, how do we take things back to research-based approach to actual learning and not just saying, "Well, the standards say, and the objectives are, so then therefore the activities are," and I'm rewarded by these as an educator.

I'm rewarded by things being standardized in this way, and literally my school is rewarded by growth being rewarded in this way. My district is rewarded by... It's like, okay, so we have rewards and we have consequences on things that are arbitrary instead of things that are actually research-based for true learning outcomes, and AI is, like, smacking a lot of the things that we've done for generations because it's oh, you want busy work?

Boom, I got you. And then you have on the other end, on the recipient end, oh, you want, fill in the blanks, correct answers to that busy work? Boom, there you go

Omar: Wow. Wow. Wow. What I'm really inspired by is the way in which your travels, quite frankly, you know, around our nation engaging educators has really, I would say informed this perspective that I would say is a nod to really human-centered type of instructional approaches.

And if I'm honest, it kind of reminds me a little bit of that POGIL model, the Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning, especially in the age of AI. Like, how are we centering our instruction through the lens of inquiry, where we're constantly in pursuit of deeper learning? And I would say that's an opportunity where we can really look to AI as a, I'll use this term lightly, a partner, as we're looking to really ensure that our learners aren't just walking away with the concepts or the standards that we're hoping they engage with, but they really take a clear-eyed lens of its implications in their world.

I think you gave an example to that when you gave an opportunity for students to consider what are the, I would say, levers that are driving homelessness in a specific region. And it really speaks to that central part where we're beginning in that design thinking space around gathering empathy, not just empathy for empathy's sake, but empathy for understanding, and I think that's where this is an amazing opportunity. You know, we happen to serve in the largest county in the nation, San Bernardino County, and that's of course by geography, land mass, not by population. But it gives us a chance to be able to experience serving educators in urban centers where there are students that may be lower socioeconomic status or working in really rural areas and/or a desert mountain community, folks that are really in truly small school districts, and each of those different communities having very specific needs and ways that they ideate on how they can support their learners.

So because of your vast travels and your experience and your role there with Samsung and beyond as an experience designer, for a teacher here in San Bernardino County in one of their classrooms, what would you say is one small win they can implement tomorrow to start demarginalizing the design process for their students?

Dee: I would say learn what bothers students. I mean, that sounds like very simplistic, maybe overly simplistic but seriously, like what bothers them? What emotionally taxes them? And, really, you know, literally and figuratively pushing it beyond the borders of them personally to saying what affects their community that they care about.

And I think the opportunity to learn what those things are is absolutely amazing, and then secondly, I would say also, like learning what your students' talents are.

Omar: Wow.

Dee: Right? Because in sort of standardization of lesson planning and assessment, what we do is we miss out in learning, like we all know in our working environments that there are different people with different skill sets that are really, really good with certain things.

It's like I know who I need to have on my team with tackling this particular challenge. Why? Because I've got to know them, and I know what their skill sets are. And not aiming for all of those same people to be monolithic in their approach, but nonetheless, like being very diverse from a representation standpoint as well as from a background and experience and skill set, like how do we diversify.

So I, I think, all right, so some of that was splattering of practical and simplistic, but then I would say like, very directly, immediately start doing more small group work. And as you do small group work- evaluate how those groups work together. Because, again, when we talk about developing students for the real world, like that is the real world.

And so, or so plug for Solve in Time again, but if you were to utilize it there's only one card I think can be used every day or most every day in a classroom, and it's the SOS card, right? Which serves as a gamified replacement to the ask three m- before me rule. And it simply reminds students or adults that they can always refer to someone else, other sources, or search online.

But if they need help from the facilitator to raise the card, and that facilitator will come over and they will help them, but then they'll take their card, right? That's not to say, "Don't ask me any questions." That is to prevent what often happens in a lot of group work settings is small groups are working together and either they're supposed to be working together, but either there are folks aren't actually collaborating as a team and/or when there's a question from the team for the I often refer to it's the facilitator, it's the teacher in a classroom That group then stops until the teacher can come over and help them.

And so then what happens also, there's another group with their hand up, and their hand is up, and what does the teacher say to them? "I'll get to you in a second. I gotta help them first." So what does that other group do? They wait, and they do nothing until the teacher comes over. And so from a practical standpoint, how that's helpful for keeping those groups flowing, but also very helpful for the facilitator to now roam the room and to listen and learn.

Hear how those groups are working together. Hear where there might be some personality conflicts, and you might say to yourself, "Okay, that group, I see where I might make some changes in those dynamics." But also where you can see this group is working really, really fast, but they're not working very purposely, right?

Like they're trying to get it done as fast as possible without being very critical in their thinking. Then you have another one that they're being so exhaustive, and they're so talkative, and they got a bunch of me and Omars up in it. That were all chatting, and it's, I was like, "Hey, we, we only got 15 minutes left."

And they're like, "Oh." Right. So the facilitator or teacher having the ability to roam the room, listening and learning, push in when necessary, even when not prompted to by the group, and to nudge folks to keep working. And that creates this entire learning environment versus instructor at the front disseminating information.

As Paulo Freire talks about, the banking process. I'm making deposits now, and when the test comes, I'm gonna make a withdrawal, and it better be the exact amount of funds that I put in there. So you know how do we transform teaching and learning in that way? I think we can up the communication, we can up the collaboration, and then we can give opportunities for creative expression even if it involves writing or also involves some form of standardized multiple choice reflection as well.

Like how do we also build in other opportunities that it could be as simple as giving students choice between adding something graphically or adding something vocally to what they're having to produce so that you can listen for the thinking. I mean, I think that, that's something I think most of us have experienced and I think most teachers value is being able to hear the thinking of a student so that if there are corrections that need to be made, that they can understand where their thinking is off.

But we don't give a lot of opportunity for that, so we gotta build it in.

Tonya: So Dee, I will say one thing I enjoy most about your presentations is the way you infuse your personal interests and you tie certain concepts to content that makes it understandable for everyone in the room. More specifically, I appreciate how you infused J. Cole and Kendrick and made that tie-in.

I don't know if everyone got it in the room, but I personally, it was well-received by me. But what gives you the confidence to say, "Hey, you know, I wanna put myself in this presentation and use my personal interest to tie some of these concepts together"?

Dee: Yeah. I don't know. I would just say, you know, doing a lot of it, right? Like, after a while you get more comfortable and say, "You know what? This is how I think about this." Um, and, and trying to battle against utilizing examples that can be Ostracizing, right? In my work of, of aiming to make sure that education is being culturally relevant I think sometimes in certain settings, utilizing examples that are most relevant to the Black and brown educators in the room helps some of the other educators say, "Wait a minute, I didn't get that. I need to go ask somebody what's being talked about there." And then say, without it being a shame game, but seriously to be like, "Yeah, see, this is what we gotta do on a regular." We-- Like when the examples are regularly outside of our cultural experience or preferences, then that's the added stress we are always having to deal with.

And so again, it's, it's not done as a way to try and say, "I'm gonna make you feel how, you know, how bad I felt in the classroom," or how bad I would be feeling in, in certain, uh, professional development, but instead to say, "You know what? For this, I'm not code switching." I'm sorry. And at the same time, I'm gonna try and give you enough understanding of what I'm talking about so that you're curious enough, and hopefully maybe even, um, deeply curious enough to ask others, "Okay, I think I understood that example, but help me understand it a little bit more."

Like, that's where relationship building comes in. Like, we have opportunities to do that, um, but again, that's... It's hard to do. Um, and I think my confidence, 'cause you asked a question about confidence, I gave a similar keynote to a group of educators in Indiana, Indiana, and I thought, "Ooh, the last time I did this was in Cali. Now I'm doing this in Indiana. Let's see what happens." And they loved it. And I was like, okay. All right. There's enough that can be brought in about, like, pop culture, and there's relevance in pop culture. It's like, okay what does it mean for people to become more than just consumers of culture, but those who are deeply interested in understanding what other cultures have on a deeper level?

And so that's just what I started experimenting more with. Um, and it's not about expertise as much as it's exploration into how do people respond? Sometimes an audience receives something even better because it's like, "Oh yeah, yeah. He's speaking to us. He's talking our language."

But at the end of the day, sometimes you just gotta take certain risk and then learn from how people respond to that risk that was taken.

Omar: Wow. Wow. I definitely appreciate the unapologetic authenticity, and I do think I totally resonate with that idea of making that decision to not code switch in that moment, to really be able to surface what you're thinking and how it's, I would say, inspiring you and hopefully inspiring others to be able to do the same.

And one of the things I'm definitely curious about, especially now that AI has brought itself into our space, is ways that it can perhaps support this idea of multiple perspectives or learning about others. I know recently Tonya was working on curating a gym that was specifically around helping you to understand nomenclature, slang, colloquialisms, to be able to understand how our students are speaking, things that we say, how they differ, but also how they're the same.

So from your perspective, as AI has became more integrated, how can we use these principles to ensure these new tools don't inadvertently reinforce existing biases or margins?

Dee: Ooh, big question right there. That's a big one. Um, well, so spoiler 'cause y'all were there, right? The first thing I often do is say, "Okay, um, people will, will throw out platitudes of we need to evaluate the bias and the results from AI output."

And I'm like, "Are you willing to evaluate the bias that you have in general? That you have in general?" Because how can you evaluate something externally if you do not know how or are willing to evaluate the same thing internally, right? The first step is just doing the exercise of recognizing the biases that you may already have.

Um, and so that's, that's first step, and I think that's one of those things that in all these anti-DEI initiatives that's being lost is that perspective of, wait, let me pause and think about what are the biases that I have. What lens am I bringing to this that's based on my own cultural experience and not aiming to understand and appreciate other cultural experiences?

Okay, so that's first and foremost. But then I think what we have is the opportunity to, it sounds like, do some of what Tonya does, which is w- in our prompting, being very, very intentional to aim to Guide AI to different outputs. Something that I recently came upon and I normally give a very structured approach to some basic prompting skills, but, uh, uh, just a perspective someone gave me very recently was, like, you need to think about AI and different large language models as, like, expert method actors.

So what you are asking them to do every time you prompt is to be, like... to be the best actor in a play or a movie playing a specific role. So you need Denzel to be Denzel right? In playing this kind of role, and watch what they can do once they put on that mindset, right? So some of it is in your prompting and saying you can add in certain words and certain language.

And what I like to do regularly is so for instance, if I'm trying to evaluate a lesson that I'm teaching for culture, and I want to ensure that it's culturally responsive, I might say something like "Act as a," whatever the, uh, role is. "Act as a fifth grade, ELA instructor with purposeful mindfulness around, uh, culturally responsive teaching practices, utilizing, the thinking of Zaretta Hammond as well as Dr. Geneva Gay.

Evaluate this reading prompt and give me things to notice and questions I should be asking concerning it, right? That might be something, and that's just right off the dome, right? But that might be something that I attempt just to see what output does it give me, and then it gives me time to pause, think and reflect.

I think that's the other step. And the thing is that if you're gonna utilize AI for building more equitable outcomes, it's going to not necessarily save you time. It's going to cost more time or it's going to require more investment of time to learn and to reflect. And at the same time, I think utilizing different structures, so whether it's, you know, using a design thinking process or, or using a AI model, the goal hopefully is to build you to be better, to not necessarily be dependent upon those tools, but to then start utilizing the skills that those tools have taught you.

So what does it look like for AI to be a help and support for you to have you start thinking different than you had in the past? Because now what you have is a whole library as well as a lexicon of tools, resources, and vocabulary that you may not have been exposed to in the past. And now you say, 'Hey, this is what I'm trying to do. Give me feedback-

Omar: Well

Dee: ... On what I'm attempting to do based on this definition of cultural responsive teaching as an example with the aim of mitigating racial and cultural bias that exists in US society.'

Omar: Yeah. Yeah.

Dee: That give me feedback-

Omar: Yeah

Dee: ... that's where the learning happens.

Omar: And, and, and that, that's really rich, and I think that's very poignant when we think about this idea of AI, not just as this thing to magically produce a quick output and be done, but rather how it might support you in going deeper, how it might support you in really zeroing in on kind of your learning intentions.

I love the nod to Zaretta Hammond and Dr. Gay, and an opportunity for us to really be purposeful in how we're looking at these tools, not just to be a whiz and get things done, but to really elevate our purposeful intentionality. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You know, for those of you-

Dee: And I got, I gotta give a shout to Dr. Beverly Tatum as well.

Omar: Oh, wow. Okay.

Dee: I had to have another sip of coffee to remember-

Omar: Yeah. Yeah

Dee: ... forgetting a major pillar.

Omar: Yeah. Yeah. Um, so Solve In Time. Is there a website for that?

Dee: Yes, solveintime.com.

Omar: There we go.

Dee: Uh, it'll redirect you to my linear learning page and, um, that is dedicated specifically for Solve in Time. Right. Yeah, if you go to solveintime.com, there are a litany of resources that are free for you, including free to download print to play cards.

Omar: Wow.

Dee: There's the AI tool that we spoke about earlier that-

Omar: Yeah

Dee: has that very customized experience. Uh, there are also digital, so if you're like, "But I don't understand how this actually works," there are digital cards that you can flip and turn and kind of see. Right. This is what one group would have if they had a set of cards, but reminder, they are randomized for each group.

There are also musical timers, so if you just wanted to use those as standalone and there are also presentation materials if you wanted to customize your own presentation utilizing Solve in Time, have at it.

Omar: Wow. Well, thank you, thank you for sharing those resources, these amazing ideas. What a great, great opportunity to learn from you, Dee, and to also have an opportunity to have a deep dive on these ideas.

I wanna thank my colleague Tonya for co-facilitating this with me right now, and also Dee for joining us. You know, uh, Dee's actually on the other side of the nation. We're here in California, and you're in...?

Dee: I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Omar: Wow. Wow.

Dee: But- I got nothing but Cali love, though, 'cause that's my roots.

Omar: That's right. That's right.

Dee: I gotta give that statement anywhere I go.

Omar: That's right, that's right.

Dee: If I sound Cali, that's why.

Omar: I would definitely say, on behalf of our digital learning services team, under the leadership of Dr. Sonal Patel, a mission we have here, driven by our superintendent Ted Alejandre, where our focus is transforming lives through education.

We really wanna thank you for joining us today, and we definitely invite you all to check out the resources. Please do share the podcast with others, as it's only together that we can really be better. Thanks so much, Dee.

Dee: My absolute pleasure. Thank y'all.

Sonal: Join us next time for more bits and bytes of digital learning and computer science.

And remember, if you're hungry for more, you can simply text DLS News to 22828, or find us on Twitter at SBCSS_EdTech.

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