AI Ain't The Enemy

When most teachers I talk to about AI speak of it only as something to block or disallow to keep students from cheating, I understand this knee-jerk reaction. Every new technology is met with resistance...before it weaves its way into main stream use. Cars over buggies, planes over cars, search engines over encyclopedias and now AI over life as we've known it. Thinking of using a machine to handle simpler tasks in education is a huge paradigm shift. However, it's a shift that has already been made. The question is, are we preparing our students for a future with AI tools, or are we preparing them for jobs that AI may replace by the time they hit the job market? Do you want to be the teacher that keeps your students from mastering tools that competing college and job applicants will be using? Or do you want to be the one who ensures that your students have every tool possible at their disposal? Assuming the latter, this is your "start here": Matt Miller's resources on AI My Edutopia article on AI and similar tools. Open a free Chat GPT account AI is not the enemy. It is simply a tool that we can learn to use efficiently like any other tool. Yes, you can smash your thumb with a hammer or lose a finger with a table saw. But we don't avoid using them, we simply learn to use them with care. Happy AIing and SmallBites will see you in the new year!