The readings/podcasts definitely spiked my interest this week. Dr. Cathy O’Neil’s explanation of algorithms reminds me in a time when we are trying to recognize our flaws in the education system around systemic racism, how we find ways to do better by addressing the inequalities and make change for a more inclusive and diverse system. O’Neil brings up the inequalities that can loom within algorithms such as within a judicial system. I am not sure why I hadn’t considered the connections to algorithms within this conversation before but something very much to consider especially when we are making decisions about other humans.

Dr. Vallor has a great way of explaining AI and the possibilities for human growth and the good we have the potential of doing with this kind of technology. I appreciated the comparison of ‘the solution to all problems’ and ‘dooms day’ as I have heard this debate about many technologies even within the education system. I think the value Dr. Vallor adds to the discussion is about what we do with this technology to be better or to rise to the occasion. I have always been fascinated with AI and the capabilities and potential for authentic learning experiences to take place within a classroom using virtual means.

Task 11: I played around with the starter ‘Education is not about’…How curious the findings when you let go and use predictive text.

Let’s take a look at what I came up with:

Education is not about the best way of doing anything but it is a great idea to have a look at the things you do with your own ideas and maybe we can make some changes for the future.

• I think this speaks quite nicely to reflective practice and looking at what we are doing and how we can make changes to improve student learning.

Education is not about the school ???? and teachers ????????‍???? education is the only way that the students are able to get a chance to make a plan for the future.

• I played around with some emojis with this one when I didn’t like the word choice (those turned into question marks within this platform), which allowed for more words to come up to pick from. I think overall it rings quite true…education is bigger than the school or teachers, it is about giving students the tools to succeed in the future.

Education is not about a good day or two or three days. I think it is about the time that we are going to need to be there for tomorrow. I know that’s why I’m not trying to make it work for a little bit but I’m just going to make sure that I can get some stuff done for tomorrow.

• This one started off quite fun! If I dig deep here, I think it’s important to look at the long term goals in education.

I think the overall message for me this week is to be cautious but open to the technology, reflect on the goal and search for any inequalities looming within the choices we make around what we say, how we use technology and what we can to improve things.

 

References:

McRaney, D. (n.d.). Machine Bias (rebroadcast). In You Are Not so Smart. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/youarenotsosmart/140-machine-bias-rebroadcast

Santa Clara University. (2018). Lessons from the AI Mirror Shannon Vallor.