By Nilushi Karunaratne, Tom Morgan and Ari Seligmann
Posted Thur 14 March, 2024

When did you first switch to a smartphone? And what strategies do you currently use to find and evaluate the plethora of evolving apps available for your smartphone as you integrate new tools into your life?

If you have some experience reviewing and trialling apps, and also with sharing experiences with apps then you probably have a basis to engage with the related world of expanding options for AI tools available for various educational applications. New AI tools emerge daily, and available tools continue to improve. Figuring out where to start can be challenging and keeping up a little daunting. Yet, as the prominent designer Bruce Mau, echoing artist/musician John Cage, advised in his Incomplete Manifesto for Growth (1998) “Begin anywhere!” If you want some help with where to begin, then here is some guidance recently compiled by members of the Monash AI in Education Learning Circle.

This is a pivotal moment where the ‘newness’ of these tools casts into stark relief both their immediate efficacy, but also our own desires, and our approaches to complex tools and systems in teaching and learning.

If you want some assistance thinking through key considerations, you’re encouraged to read Considerations for the responsible use of AI tools in teaching. Co-author and contributor Tom Morgan suggests there are many aspects to consider when thinking about and using new tools. We have to be aware of both the capacities and limitations of the tool, as well as their broader setting and impact for students and the wider communities. This is a pivotal moment where the ‘newness’ of these tools casts into stark relief both their immediate efficacy, but also our own desires, and our approaches to complex tools and systems in teaching and learning. We need to consider both the practical and everyday affordances of tools alongside larger political, ethical, or existential questions. 

By starting with small, controlled AI experiments, educators can incrementally assess the value and impact of these technologies in their teaching environments, avoiding the pitfalls of rapid, uncoordinated integration.

Beyond thinking about the key issues related to new tools, if you want some suggestions for various tools that can do particular types of jobs then consider making your way through Exploring, Evaluating and Using AI Tools. Which word processor? Search engine? Text or video summariser? Text to image generator? Presentation producer? Lesson planning assistant? Ultimately, you have to try and see what suits you and your intended purposes. However, co-author and contributor Nilushi Karunaratne argues that we require a thoughtful and pragmatic approach to embedding AI technologies in educational settings with a need for educators to engage in research to understand AI’s capabilities, limitations and ethical considerations, ensuring that these tools align with and support the educational objectives at hand. By starting with small, controlled AI experiments, educators can incrementally assess the value and impact of these technologies in their teaching environments, avoiding the pitfalls of rapid, uncoordinated integration. Emphasis also needs to be placed on student training, advocating for an approach that allows students not just to use AI tools but to understand and explore their potentials. This strategy will ensure that the integration of AI in education is not just technologically innovative but pedagogically sound and student-centred.

There is also some further advice available in the teaching about and teaching with AI section of TeachHQ. In addition, if you are a member of staff at Monash and want to see what other Monash colleagues have tried and their experiences and appraisals of recent AI tools, then also check out the Test Driving GenAI for Teaching, Learning and Assessment MEA module created to support educators in exploring, evaluating and incorporating AI tools. The Assessment 1 section has a growing forum of AI tool reviews for you to review. 

Co-author Ari Seligmann suggests that there are probably two key approaches to incorporating tools in teaching: 1) choose a use case and search for tools to do the job(s); 2) experiment with interesting looking AI tools and then consider how they might be used for education. Furthermore, tools and technologies are rapidly evolving so if you find something promising but not fully operating to your satisfaction yet then keep its development on your radar. Moreover, testing tools can also be integrated into the learning process so consider working with students as partners to explore the potentials of AI tools in your area.

There are many ways to conceptualise the integration of AI into education, and Ethan and Lilach Mollick (2023) suggest “AI as tool” is but one of seven key contemporary approaches. As a tool, AI can assist with accomplishing tasks such as helping us think, do, make or design. AI tools may enable us to do things faster, but we also need to guard against overreliance. 

Tools provide potentially useful technologies and techniques. Following the TPACK model, our educational practices are guided by combinations of technological (T), pedagogical (P) and content (C) knowledge (K). This blog post creates a space for discussions to help collectively increase our technological awareness of AI tools to use in conjunction with our evolving pedagogical and content knowledge to expand teaching and learning. 

Please share your discoveries and experiences with colleagues so we can help each other navigate emerging technologies and educational opportunities. Comment to let others know about AI tools and issues you have engaged with.

References

Mollick, E., & Mollick, L. (2023). Assigning AI: Seven Approaches for Students, with Prompts. Cornell University Library, arXiv.org. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2306.10052