🤖 Should K-6 students be using AI?

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Let's be honest. Artificial intelligence (AI) has already impacted classrooms and schools.

Teachers. Students. Parents. School boards. Everyone's talking about it.

Teachers need support. They're asking for guidance and solutions.

More than half of teachers cited "lack of training/support" as the biggest AI-related challenge in a recent Carnegie Learning survey.

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It's taught by Holly Clark, Ken Shelton, and Matt Miller — published authors of books on AI in education and respected voices in the edtech professional development space.

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📚 New AI resources this week

1️⃣ The Four Stages of AI Integration in Education (via U.S. Department of Education) — A new DOE blog presents a framework for understanding educators’ evolving emotional and practical responses to AI, from fear to acceptance.

2️⃣ Putting AI into practice in schools (via EdTech Magazine recap) — Although not brand new, a recent discussion on the ongoing implementation of AI policies and frameworks offers practical insights into how districts are operationalizing guidance on AI use.

3️⃣ 25 predictions about AI and edtech (via eSchoolNews) — A forward-looking piece outlining how generative AI tools are expected to transform teaching, learning, assessment, and instructional design in K-12 by the end of the decade.

📢 Your voice: The place of edtech in classrooms

Our last poll (from December): What are your thoughts on the place of edtech in classrooms?

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Devices and screens should be banned from class. (1)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ They do more harm than good. (3)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 It totally depends on how you use them. (120)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ They do more good than harm. (13)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Other ... (1)

It totally depends on how you use them: “Covid brought my district 1:1 with devices K-12. However, there was not a well executed approach once returning to the classroom to ensure devices were being utilized in a way that would enhance or redefine learning. There are pockets of staff in each of the buildings I work in who are doing just that - amazing things with students using technology to enhance or redefine their learning. However, that is not the case for many others. So I can see both sides of this argument because no matter how much support I offer or am willing to give, some teachers will never be on board with using technology to enhance or redefine student learning. It's "too much work" or "another thing on my already full plate." To me, these are excuses because they, themselves, lack the appropriate foundational skills for technology use. And that, yes, would require new learning and time.” — Crystal Blais, Technology Integrator, Maine

They do more harm than good: “I know that the purpose of edtech is to do more good than harm, but REALISTICALLY edtech is currently doing more harm than good. As an Instructional Technology Facilitator in a 1:1 District, I am finding that a lot of teachers are no longer teaching basic digital literacy skills, including setting basic device expectations. In a world of digital curriculum and low copy budgets, why is not a priority at the beginning of a new school year to spend time setting, modeling, and practicing how to use a device for learning? P.S Screen time at school would DRASTICALLY drop if teachers simply had students put the device away when there is not an intentional use for it. #BringBackSAMR” — LMM, North Carolina

It totally depends on how you use them: “As a tech integrator, our tech team is the first to tell you that you don't need to have tech days. But our job is also to make sure that every student has the same learning opportunities across the district. Teachers who empower their students to utilize different tech tools (and teach them the ethical way to use them!) give more to their students than teachers who just give a screen and hope it babysits them. It absolutely depends on how edtech is used.” — Sam S.

It totally depends on how you use them: “Like any technology that has evolved, the effectiveness of the technology depends on HOW the teacher uses it. Students do use this technology every day in their lives and will do so in the future. As educators, we have a responsibility to prepare students for this world and not try to drive a wedge between school and real life. Students today find school irrelevant - is it not our job to reverse this perception?” — Matt F, Western Australia

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🗳 Poll: AI in K-6 classrooms?

I’m VERY interested in your thoughts!

Remember … multiple-choice polls like this are kind of clunky and don’t invite the nuance and dialogue. That’s why your COMMENTS are the best part of these polls!

So I’d love it if you participate in the poll — and tell us what you think!

Instructions:

1. Please vote on this week’s poll. It just takes a click!

2. Optional: Explain your vote / provide context / add details in a comment afterward.

3. Optional: Include your name in your comment so I can credit you if I use your response. (I’ll try to pull names from email addresses. If you don’t want me to do that, please say so.)

🍎 Should K-6 students be using AI?

Should elementary students (K-6) be using AI?

My friend, the astute (and CEO-to-be one day) Janelle Zonts from SchoolAI asked this question in a LinkedIn post the other day.

I started to type a comment to respond — and realized that I had more to say than I had space in the character limit in the comment!

Below is the full post (which you can read and respond to on LinkedIn if you’d like). I’ll also include some of the comments I received about it.

…

Should elementary students (K-6) be using AI?

Quick knee jerk answers in either direction are usually shallow and unhelpful.

So, should they?

To me, it all depends on two things ...

1. How it helps students achieve their goals

2. The circumstances around its use

Achieving goals -- Is it creating an opportunity that students couldn't get without it -- that's developmentally appropriate? If the teacher designs the learning and thinks that it levels up the experience, then ok.

Circumstances -- are the students old enough to understand what's going on? That AI isn't human? That it makes mistakes? Can the student adequately interact with it on their developmental level -- without a keyboard being a hindrance? (I think for the youngest students -- K-1 at least -- the answer to that last one is likely no.) And are the students using AI directly via a chatbot? Or is the teacher using AI as an instructional tool in whole group instruction?

I know this doesn't easily answer the question, but I'd love to defer to the experienced, qualified teacher's judgment to make moment-by-moment decisions about what's best for their students.

I would generally put a high standard on it -- if using AI vs not using AI aren't all that different, don't use it. Especially with that age group. Not using it just mitigates so many of the inherent risks that AI carries with it.

This also speaks to other arguments happening here and other places about tech in education. We paint in much too broad of strokes about whether an app or platform is beneficial or not.

Bottom line for me: empower teachers to make solid pedagogical decisions in their day-to-day lesson plans.

Then trust them to do what's best for those students that they know so well.

…

Here were some of the responses:

• I don't think AI is always the best route with this age group; I'd even say it often isn't. I think hands on is so engaging for them (and probably every other age group, too). Spending the last 18 months with elementary STEM saw me use fewer online edtech tools than I ever have before, but there were phenomenal experiences with legos, beebots, spheros, and other hands on applications of technology. It was really incredible for both them AND me. — Christie Cloud, instructional technology facilitator

• I think “empower teachers to do their best work” is 100% right. That said, my hunch is 9 of 10 teachers would prefer about 50 things ahead of “AI tools” or “Student facing AI” to help them do their best work, if given the choice. From the banal (a working printer in their classroom), to the existential (better pay) and everything in between. — Vlad Gutkovich, founder of Diffit

• I’ve had to argue this question so many times and I think you hit the nuance here. I think any tool can be used with any age level, but there are important foundations and understandings to be met first. We can no longer use the excuse “these kids aren’t ready for that.” … Also focusing on teaching discernment to them. When it is good vs not. Allowing them to see and understand that AI isn’t great at everything and sometimes it doesn’t help in certain situations. — Matthew Karabinos, AI strategist

What do you think?

If you haven’t already, I’d love to read your thoughts. Tell us in the poll above — or just hit reply and message me personally.