Did AI Write This Post?

 No, AI (Artificial Intelligence) did not write this post. But perhaps it could have? My written work exists on this blog and could be pulled into the vast pool of data that a Large Language Model (LLM) AI program uses to generate content. When I was challenged to explore AI tools, my first petulant instinct was to ask a program to write this post for me. I even used belle of the ball ChatGPT for the first time (not my cup of tea). What could be a better "exploration" of AI tools? As this sophomoric protest desire might reveal, I am hardly a fan of the modern AI boom. Momentum has keep me a Chrome browser user for many years, but the inescapability of AI summaries in my Google searches might be what drives me away (I am hardly alone in my desire to live without this function).

Image Source: Blog Author

Logically and realistically I recognize that the latest AI trends are a natural evolution of the way that these technologies have already been integrated into my daily digital life. But the messaging that came with the public opening of ChatGPT and certain stable diffusion programs (as well as the push from companies that invested in this boom) has been fatiguing. Still, as public opinions ebbs and flows, data shows that these programs are making there way further into our lives. This piece from Wired looks at the friction between Americans being concerns about AI but also embraing the use of ChatGPT in their work life.

The Future has AI in it

Realistically, we don't know what forms AI programming will take in the future. But it's the safest bet that it is here to stay. Even experts are conflicted about what world this builds for us- check out the variation in this Pew Research Center survey.

As and educator and information sciences professional, it would be negligent to let my personal opinions keep my students from learning about AI tools. I currently work with first graders who get most of their tech education during their extensive Library/Information Sciences class, so current AI trends haven't directly made their way into my class. (I've felt my stomach drop as my students confidently report whatever their Alexa told them as the absolute truth, but I try to take this in stride and ask questions rather than shutting them down.) The higher grades seem to be feeling more of the pinch; maybe that is why high school teachers are more likely to see have a negative view of AI in education as reported in this survey.

Teaching With, Around, and Through AI

Despite educators' fears, teaching with AI is here. Our peers have much to say about the subject; thought pieces are popping up titled to alarm (Yes Teachers, You Should be Panicking About AI) or patronize (No Artificial Intelligence Won't Destroy High School English (or Any Other Subject)). These pieces tend to accept that students will use AI with or without our blessings, recognize that there are specific issues present in the current education system that AI use can smooth or magnify, and focus on students' innate interest in learning.

This last point is what I personally need to hold on to. I believe in instilling growth mindset in students and challenging them to do hard things because I trust that the human mind is inquisitive. I am happy to get to currently work at a school that holds off on assigning traditional grades to elementary students so they can focus on learning as the goal instead of "performing".

Still keeping my acceptance slightly salty, I look for more concrete advice about ways to to use AI and chatbots specifically to promote active learning. Ditch That Textbook has a gentle guide for educators that includes the note that it's okay to use traditional paper and pencil assignments during an adjustment period as well as providing suggestions about how to assess memory and understanding while taking advantage of collaboration opportunities. Marc Hayes has a this set of suggestions specifically for primary grades teachers- with acknowledgements of limitations.

One struggle I actively face with my first graders is that this is the year they really starting writing as an expression of thoughts and means to communicate, not just a physical action. Even in the very well staffed classroom I get to work in, it is difficult to spread around individual attention. This led me to actually be interested in Class Companion, a feedback generation program. I'm not sure I'd use it with my particular age group (they are way too likely to take every suggestion at exact face value and love to have something to copy), I would try it with slightly more established writers who could benefit from the coaching.

So it seems I'm not immune to the charms of AI programs. But any instruction about or using modern generative AI would not be complete without looking at the ethical pain points. Articles like this one  or plans like this one that look at how teaching the ethics of AI needs to be part of any growing AI users education were therefore on my radar.

Harm Reduction- AI and the Environment

Image Source: Blog Author, screen shot from BlueSky

One of my frustrations with automatically generated AI summaries or features that cannot be disabled is that they force my complicity into the enormous ecological impact of LLM AI programs. An individual's personal use of resources is rarely the most important drain when large systems exist (reports about carbon footprints have already illuminated this), but when it happens automatically for every Google Search? Any classroom using AI should be discussing this; luckily there are resources to help.

While actual measurements of AI's current water use are distressingly unavailable, the subject is drawing attention. Learn more from Forbes, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or Wired.

Teaching What You Abhor- AI Art Generation

Last year my school ran a program about using AI art to illustrate a book. I understand why they did this program. I know suddenly generating an image is enticing, especially to impatient youth who haven't had the time and practice to develop artistic skills and personal styles. But it also distressed me.

Science News Explores, writing here about the ethical debate around if AI Art is theft, concluded "It depends on who you ask". Other reporting looks at the tricky legal landscape that is currently being disputed. But something can be legal without being ethical, so I asked. I asked the many friends and associates I have who work in the physical arts. The overwhelming majority did not want their art to be used to train AI's stable diffusion technology but were at a loss of how to share their work. They agreed with artist Julie Curtis as quoted by curator Bianca Bosker in this podcast (ironically titled "Democratizing Art", a phrase AI art advocated use to describe a benefit of the technology) "An idea is not a painting. Painting is constant decision making."

My students love their art class. They experience the deep joy of creation. When arguing against fearing AI, John Spencer (post linked again) talks about how the joy of creation will drive people to keep making content even if AI is available. What he doesn't acknowledge is that this may be true, but the economic impact of AI art is way more of a present concern than the existential questions of why make art. As someone on record as being concerned about the way technology will be wielded to disenfranchise people, this is my main concern about the full throated embrace of AI generated art, even if we can clear up the theft concerns.

I'm not always one to agree with the International Monetary Fund, but they hit the nail on the head here. 

Going From Here

It's useful to get uncomfortable sometimes and working with explicit AI tools certainly makes me uncomfortable. I will have to learn to work with this; data shows students certainly are.
But my hope would be that there can be serious and hard discussions and improvements made to how AI is used, discussed, and regulated so I can do so with only my personal discomfort holding me back.

Image Source: Free Malaysia Today

Breaking the Ice with Active Learning

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Learning is not a spectator sport. 

"Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write reflectively about it, relate to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves."

Arthur W. Chickering and Stephen C. Erhmann were not the first researchers to advocate for active learning, but the words from their 1996 AAHE (American Association for Higher Education) Bulletin article "Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as a Lever" (available here) have loomed large in discussions of the strategy. Breaking down this statement can help us analyze what active learning is, why it is useful, and look into how it can be applied in today's classrooms.

Students do not learn much just sitting in classes listening to teachers.

Learning about active learning necessitates understanding how it contrasts to the idea of passive learning. The lecture model, where a teacher verbally conveys knowledge to a listening audience, has a significant history linked here in the development of modern education. Some of this comes from this theory that human minds are blank slates; sometimes this is also described in educational terms as students being vessels into which knowledge needs to be poured. This knowledge might come from an instructor or a text, but it must be directly given to pupils for learning to occur.

They must talk about what they are learning, write reflectively about it, relate to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives.

Active learning rejects the idea that simply having access to information creates ideal learning circumstances; instead students must be actively engaged with lessons in one or more ways for true learning to be achieved. Engagement might come in the form of discussion of materials, creating and consuming visual models, participating in hands-on demonstrations of concepts. In addition to doing things, in active learning it is key that students are thinking about what they are doing.
Active learnings is distinguished by being less about facts and more about concepts, teaching students how to learn rather than simply what to learn. Active learning also dovetails with multimodal learning (using different methods and delivery systems to introduce content) and collaborative learning (students working together on learning and sharing their insights with each other).

If you'd like to work on expanding your understanding of active learning the Illinois Open Publishing Network has you covered here. 
More of an audio/visual fan? This video from the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences is a great overview.

Image Source: DEANLONG.io

They must make what they learn part of themselves.

If a key part of active learning is being able to think about how to apply your acquired knowledge to real life circumstance, we must look at applying active learning strategies in the classroom. Earlier active learning research like Chickering and Erhmann's looked at applying active learning strategies at the university level, but the beauty of active learning is that there are myriad ways it can be incorporated for all ages. This extensive list features over 250 suggestions of active learning techniques for in-person and distance learning environments. We are going to take a look at just one of these suggestions and the many ways it can be implemented now.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

So... An Ice Breaker?

Many active learning strategies in the classroom are going to require collaboration and connection between classmates. That is why quality, active learning-based ice breakers are a great way to warm up a class. Research like this study demonstrates the positive effects of wisely selected ice breaker activities, promoting student engagement and motivation.

Ice breakers are games, conversations, or activities designed to introduce people to each other. The varieties we are going to look at today are the Human Scavenger Hunt and Human Bingo. Human Bingo is featured in the large list above, but also has a place on the more easily digestible list found here. For a specific experience with the activity check out this link.

I'm pairing these activities together because they both operate on the same principle: students tasked with finding classmates who fit into certain categories, for examples "someone who has a pet" or "someone who shares your favorite color". In the scavenger hunt variety of this activity, students are trying to find different peers for each of their categories. In the Bingo variety, students are specifically trying to complete categories that will get them a certain number of answers in a straight line, earning them a "Bingo!" 

Already we have two very different pacing examples of the same base game- one is more thorough and leisurely and another adds a layer of gamification. After the search concludes, some classes might revisit especially challenging or exciting categories or choose to have the Bingo winners present their winning line by introducing the people who helped them complete it. Additionally the categories can shift the tone of this exercise- light, breezy questions make for a great casual ice breaker but the activity could just as easily ask students to find different reactions to classroom material, exploring the diversity of opinion in an environment. But all forms of this activity get students talking to (or reading about) each other and making connections.

My Experience with Human Scavenger Hunts and Bingo

In proper active learning style, this activity is something I have directly connected to my life. I have actually been on both sides of a human scavenger hunt, as a student and as a teacher preparing one for my students.

My original secondary education was in person and the switch to online learning for graduate coursework sometimes make it difficult to feel connected, even though my courses really require me to be motivated and engaged. Perhaps my professor read this article about the importance of ice breaker in online courses before assigning us a human scavenger hunt. The first week of class often sees students being asked to post a short bio introducing themselves to their classmates. Without connecting names to faces, it can be difficult to retain anything from a quick read of these posts, but having to fill out the scavenger hunt helped build my understanding of the diversity of my classmates as well as seeing some things we had it common. It's not a panacea for the disconnect learners may feel online, but it is one way of making students actively learn about who they will be studying with over the internet.

I have also prepared a human scavenger hunt for the past two years for my first grade class. Instead of using it as an initial icebreaker, my co-teacher and I hand it out after our winter break to reacclimate our students to the classroom and each other. It is themed after finding classmates who did different activities over the break and helps us structure back-to-school conversations, which can be especially helpful in a school where a chunk of students take long, expensive vacations over any break and another segment markedly do not. It always gets the students up and moving, greeting every member of the class community and reestablishing the environment we try to promote in our space. After learning about the Bingo variety, I am also going to look for a way to integrate it into our plans some time this year. This site is what I'm going to use for that. Let me know if you'd give it a try!

Image Source: Tenor

 

My Machine & Me

Sometimes when I start to feel awash in the sea of new technology, I need to ground myself by remembering that I’ve enjoyed technology my whole life. Sometimes we find ourselves already on the other side of the biggest discoveries and living instead through the refinements and tweaks that came about. No one reading this was around pre-printing press or even before the typewriter revolutionized the printed word. My lifetime has seen great leaps in digital printing, but I still grew up with the printed word everywhere. (For a diversion from the main point, you can check out the history of printers at this link or this one).

Some History- Of Sewing Machines  and the Author

But I live in one of the growing numbers of American households without a printer of my own (like some of the folks in this article). What I do have is a sewing machine.

Sewing machines were a cornerstone of the industrial revolution which you can read more about here. Connecting that history to the modern sewing machine is something you can read about here. My grandmothers both owned sewing machines and my mother used hers to make my siblings and me every year’s Halloween costumes. As a preteen I learned to operate one myself and worked together with my mother to make my senior prom outfit. I also learned hand sewing and embroidery and those were the skills I brought to college when I left home and my mother’s classic Singer machine behind.

Cut to Christmas morning a few years later and I’m unwrapping my Brother CS600i.

Image property of author

While still a beginner and budget friendly tool, this beauty was my first taste of a computerized sewing machine, with 60 programmable stitches. This has routinely proved beneficial as I tend to sew in bursts and then need to shelve the machine for a few months, so having clearly labeled, automatically set up options lets me dive back into more complicated projects right away.  There are many places you could go to get fantastic analyses of the quality of different machines like this article from Real Simple, this article from The Spruce, or this roundup from TechGearLab. But having the best machine has not been as important to me as simply having one.

Why This Tech Matters to Me

As I said above, I tend to sew in fits and starts, specifically because I’ve often used sewing to make personalized gifts for those I love. I started sewing regularly when my niblings were born and I created gifts for them to work through my guilt over being far away from them as they grew up. I also frequently craft costumes which started in my days in theater and have expanded out into making things for my partner and I as we celebrate our annual Halloween traditions, which have become a cornerstone of our memories together. It’s important for me to connect these feelings to my machine and recognize it as modern technology that makes those tasks easier and more enjoyable, giving me leeway to make mistakes and take greater chances. And sometimes I still forget about how far along my machine is in terms of modern tech incorporation just because it doesn’t have a touch screen. I used a borrowed 1960s machine about a year ago while my machine was being tuned and the differences were stark; I am so glad the project I was working on didn’t need a button hole or my timeline would have doubled. On my machine I plug in the number, put on the foot and attachments indicated and the machine guides me through the process.

Here are some of my sewing creations

All images in this slideshow are property of the author

Sewing the Future

Looking ahead, while I'm still very happy with my machine, it’s actually a device that I would consider upgrading before I’m forced to due to circumstance. This is usually not my style; I lived with my last phone having a broken camera lens for 14 months and taking photos is one of my favorite uses of my phone! But the gradual pacing of advancements with sewing machine technology makes it both exciting and comfortable to picture what I could do with a step up. I was recently able to play with a bernadette 38 whose info is here and I was absolutely thrilled by the options.  It’s a common crafter phenomenon to buy more tools than you have time for, so I’m not putting anything in my cart yet, but if the pattern scraps in my living room have anything to say about it, I’ll have my foot on a new pedal soon…

The bernadette 38
Image source: BerninaUSA