With all the hype surrounding artificial intelligence and the promises that it will eliminate unnecessary work, many professionals, including educators, have approached the technology with caution.
The current reality suggests it’s time to give AI another look. AI can’t replace a teacher guiding students through a classroom, but it can support a student with limited design skills as they try to use and express their voice. That’s one of the biggest takeaways from our latest conversation on "The Lecture is Dead Podcast."
Our hosts, Joe and Ryan caught up with Alana Winick and Marina Pisto, two award-winning educators from Pocantico Hills Central School District, where they showed us how exactly they incorporate AI with multimedia tools in their education practices. The conversation didn’t end with AI, as they also highlighted how to create lessons and assignments grounded in pedagogical principles, rather than just novelty.
Listen to the full episode now:
What Minecraft and student-centered learning have in common
Marina shared how she used AI and Minecraft to “debug creativity” in her elementary classroom, teaching students to use the open-world creativity platform as a means of self-expression.
The inception and results of AI experimentation
After the release of tools like ChatGPT and Dall-E, Marina was curious about how to dip her toes into using these tools and apply them in a classroom setting. She took it as an opportunity to create an ELA project, where students built out prompts and iterated on getting the right language to achieve the desired output.
“We were getting kids to naturally want to go back and revise and be reflective of their writing… which is one of the most challenging things to teach writers of all ages,” reflected Marina.
And with regards to the revision process, AI also allowed students to unlock insights about their writing patterns.
Said Marina, “The goal is not just to correct their work… AI is running off of patterns, so why not use this to find your patterns?”
Not only was this successful at teaching students valuable writing skills, but it also gave them the ability to put their tech literacy to good use and learn some additional technological terminology.
It seems like the real win here is that working with AI prompts student inquiry when applied in the right way. Students have the ability to research and delve deeper into topics that they may know nothing about, and continue to improve the project. As one of Marina’s students reflected (retold by Alana), “when we had free time in class, we actually all went back and worked on that even more.”
How technology shapes culture in the district and beyond
Alana highlighted how their district cultivates student leadership through clubs, pop-up learning events, and student-led professional development, empowering learners to advocate for change in their schools.
“When you coach [students] the right way, there’s no way someone cannot listen,” said Alana.
But, perhaps most importantly, the examples she gave really underscored the importance of giving student accessibility tools that empower their learning styles, no matter how they differ.
Scale innovation in your classroom
Improving student voice, equity, accessibility, and authentic engagement is all possible with the tools at our disposal, if we use them intentionally.
Our conversation with Marina and Alana truly highlights the importance of making students creators, leaders, and active participants in their own learning. Stay tuned for more conversations like this one by subscribing to "The Lecture is Dead Podcast" — episodes released bi-weekly! (Subscribe on Apple | Subscribe on Spotify)
Plus, check out related resources for all things active learning and join our Active Learning Community for infinite ideas and support on effective teaching strategies that you (and your students) have been craving. See you inside!