While parents have been worrying about what their child’s teacher is teaching in the classroom, there may be another classroom presence they should be more concerned about.
That presence is a new generation of artificial intelligence products being used in the classroom to complete tasks such as diagnostic testing, content drills, data collection on students, etc. They are also being used to teach.
One product, i-Ready by Curriculum Associates, is a program being used throughout the United States and most important, in Maryland.
The program is promoted as an easy way to assess students, identify student weaknesses and progress, and instruct students. All without a teacher involved. The company adds, “And it’s fun!”
There are some glaring problems with AI (artificial intelligence) programs in school.
Alex Molnar, a director of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at Colorado University Boulder, recently wrote an article suggesting an “indefinite pause” in implementing these programs in our nation’s classrooms. Co-authors included Ben Williamson of the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom and Faith Boninger, assistant research professor of education at CU Boulder.
First, Molnar notes that these programs use opaque and usually proprietary algorithms—making their inner workings mysterious to educators, parents and students alike. The companies claim to be protecting their investment but may also be protecting harmful changes in how these programs work on the minds of our children.
It might not be a bad thing if some of the teachers had artificial intelligence……………at least they would have some intelligence.