Educators as AI Guides: Crafting Resources for Families and Communities

Edtech ThrowdownEpisode 198: Educators as AI Guides: Crafting Resources for Families and CommunitiesWelcome to the EdTech Throwdown.&nbsp; This is Episode 198 called Educators as AI Guides: Crafting Resources for Families and Communities.&nbsp; In this episode, we will walk through a step by step process that educators can follow for creating AI resources that are not just for staff and students, but the community as a whole.&nbsp; This is another episode you don’t want to miss, check it out.Segment 1:&nbsp;We are concluding a 3 year journey that has attempted to establish AI policy, share the ai policy with staff and students, teach staff about ai, teach students about ai, and the final phase … teaching the community.One thing that still surprises me is the number of people (usually adults) who don’t use AI.&nbsp; Maybe they disagree with it, maybe they don’t know where to go or what to do, or maybe they just don’t care.&nbsp; But everyone has a stake in at least knowing what these tools are capable of.A local library reached out to the school district and asked if we would collaborate on creating, sharing and presenting resources from the school so that the community could learn from them AND be aware of what schools are doing with AI.This is our journey, laid out in a step-by-step manner so that it might help others trying to accomplish the same thing.Segment 2:Establish policy at the highest levels possible (board, superintendent, etc).Must start here so you have a legally backed document to fall back onThis can be slow and painfulStart identifying the stakeholder’s opinionsTeachers,StudentsAdministratorsParentsHave a focus group to help with wordsmithingIdentify proper use/misuseEstablish an “AI director” for the districtNot a new position, someone who already has a tech roleThis person is responsible for maintaining and updating the resources and plan that followsThis person may also want to recruit a small team to help them build out and present the materials (tech coaches, media specialists, etc)Create a public space to clearly communicate that policyWebsite is probably the best option, social posts are too fleetingCould also be a document that gets linked somewhere, like a school websiteCreate easily digestible versions of that policy“Infographic” that policy!&nbsp; No one likes to read policy, so make it digestible in the form of an infographicShoe-horn it as an FAQ pageBeautified PDF or Canva docCanva slide deck - make it presentable and informative since this is what people will likely go to for policy informationCreate a public hub that collects AI resources for everyoneTo me, website is the only option hereNeeds to be linked to the school districts websiteMust have …The actual board policy languageSections for staff, students, and communityQuick links for commonly accessed informationShare with staffSurveys and focus groups in the early stages - make them feel heard, this is a hot topicMulti-pronged approachIn-person PD on in-service daysReady-made classroom materials like postersDifferentiate the options they have for accessing info and sharing with students: video AND slides AND docs AND …Examples of how this policy affects real things like a syllabus, assignment directions, second chance learning, use of computers, etc.Specific information about what they can do to help stop AI use and what to do when students are misusing itRegular remindersShare with studentsCreate common language used between all stakeholdersAppropriate usagesInappropriate usagesAI policy at the district level, school level, classroom levelDifferent modes of communicationSyllabusAI policy websiteStudent handbookClassroom posterShare with communityFirst, share your resource hub on social mediaSecond, create a schedule for social media posts that contain information from the policy.&nbsp; Keep it positive!&nbsp; For example, a post that shows how a well known teacher is using AI to help support student learning.Third, create resources that teach people about AI, what it is, how it is used in schools, how they can use it in their everyday livesFinal stage: collab with local groups like libraries, AI night for parents to joinContinuing updates and educationShowcase new tools, policies, and guidelinesSocial mediaSuperintendent NewsletterWebsite updateVideosBack to School nightTeacher communication emails/newsletters<strong...