In mid December, Google Labs revealed some really cool experiments with generative AI and other types of machine learning. What really grabbed my attention is how geared toward education many of these new tools are. What’s equally fascinating is how Google is using games to foster creative exploration with this new technology and how easy it is for K12 or higher education folks to adapt and pair such activities with critical reflection to help students not only understand how parts of the underlying tech functions, but also help them build their knowledge about music, language, and the arts.
These are all interesting. The proliferation of AI applications, however, are making it really difficult for anyone to feel like they have a handle on what are the most useful. Further, due to issues with how our school allows permissions for various sites and tools, we do not have access to Google Labs on our school account - to take advantage of even playing around with them requires going through your personal account. While none of this is especially difficult, it does raise the bar for rolling them out to students and teachers during professional development. The lack of coordination and speed with which new AI platforms are being released is a little overwhelming. I am curious to see how things play out over the course of the year and whether any major player becomes the dominant tool in the edtech market. Simplicity and ease of use will have to be at the top of the list if schools are ever to truly embrace using AI in classrooms. At the moment, it feels like everything is piecemeal and it's hard to get a sense of what is worth spending the time learning how to use.
These are all interesting. The proliferation of AI applications, however, are making it really difficult for anyone to feel like they have a handle on what are the most useful. Further, due to issues with how our school allows permissions for various sites and tools, we do not have access to Google Labs on our school account - to take advantage of even playing around with them requires going through your personal account. While none of this is especially difficult, it does raise the bar for rolling them out to students and teachers during professional development. The lack of coordination and speed with which new AI platforms are being released is a little overwhelming. I am curious to see how things play out over the course of the year and whether any major player becomes the dominant tool in the edtech market. Simplicity and ease of use will have to be at the top of the list if schools are ever to truly embrace using AI in classrooms. At the moment, it feels like everything is piecemeal and it's hard to get a sense of what is worth spending the time learning how to use.