When talking about the promises and perils of technology, there is no discussion more timely than Generative AI and its impacts on education. Generative Artificial Intelligence harnesses the power of machine learning to generate text, sound and video in response to text prompts. In the past few years, the quality of what these technologies can produce, and the availability of these tools to the average user, has grown exponentially. There has been a growing discussion about the use of AI to generate content, particularly since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. So what can these tools do? And how can we make use of them ethically and effectively as learners and learning content creators?

Three things to know about AI tools and teaching. (5 min) – What are people doing in their classrooms to incorporate AI into their teaching and learning?

AI Generated Art Is A Copyright, Ethical And Working Dystopia (kotaku.com) (6 min) – A graphic artist’s take on the future of AI generated images and graphics.

Engage, Explain, Explore: Teaching with AI Apps (10 min) – From the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, an evidence-based approach to using AI in learning environments.

We have mentioned previously that educational technology may not necessarily be a good thing. We firmly believe that there are tremendous advantages to using technology in education, including increasing access through online tools, promoting personalization and agency through student ownership of blog sites, and promotion of student voice by providing options to share student work beyond a learning management system like BrightSpace or Moodle. On the other hand, there are certainly problems with some technologies being used to surveil students and teachers. The implication of these two ideas is that you cannot think well about educational technology without understanding both the promises and the perils of using digital technology in learning environments.

As you read the following articles, feel free to use hypothes.is to annotate and discuss with your colleagues.

These articles illustrate a typical cycle of start-ups in education technology. The first is from 2015, an article about a program called ‘Knewton’.

Meet The Mind-Reading Robo Tutor In The Sky

Our series is exploring innovation in education. Some version of this criticism has likely echoed since the rise of compulsory schooling during the Progressive era: Teachers tend to teach to the middle, leaving struggling students feeling lost and more advanced students bored. Everyone too often gets the same books, material, homework.

The second is from less than 5 years after the NPR article.

Knewton Is Gone. The Larger Threat Remains | Just Visiting

Knewton, once hailed as a “mind-reading robo tutor in the sky,” is no more, having been sold for parts to publisher John Wiley & Sons. As reported in the Chronicle, Wiley plans to use whatever scraps are left over as part of its low-cost digital courseware offerings.