Harnessing AI in Education - A Conversation with Chris Kennedy and Eric Xie

Chris Kennedy is the Superintendent of Schools/CEO at West Vancouver Schools. He has taught secondary English and Social Studies, and been both an elementary and secondary school principal. One of the most progressive voices in BC education, Chris has been featured by Macleans Magazine as one of the 100 Young Canadians to Watch and his work has been featured in various local and national publications. He was recently named one of the Top 10 Canadian Newsmakers in Educational Technology. He is joined by Eric Xie, a 12th grade student in the West Vancouver School district. Eric is incredibly passionate about AI,  acting as both a consumer and creator. He also participates in robotics competitions as part of the school's "TenTon Robotics" team. Highlights from the episode include: why it is important for schools, especially teachers and students,  to lead the conversation on AI - not technology companies; the challenge of building a balance between exploration/experimentation and safety guardrails; positive and negative use cases for generative AI technologies in the classroom; the value of developing the "right" prompts when interacting with AI tools; a debate over whether these new technologies will really transform education; and a lightning round that features an unpopular opinion directly from ChatGPT!Check out Chris' Blog: The Culture of YesQuestions? Thoughts? Feedback? Email us at  [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219