AI in Education (Field Experience 2)

AI by Keley Barnhill

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the next big thing to hit the world of education. Not only can AI help develop curriculum and support teaching, but it can also be instrumental in creating personalized learning experiences for students. Jones and Kennedy (2023) state "Technology enables personalized pathways for student learning through active collaborative learning activities" (p.17). AI can help teachers achieve those personalized pathways as outlined in CoSN Standard 2F. 

    With new technology, comes new training. We don't want to use something so advanced in our schools without first training our district leaders, administrators, and teachers. Before we can potentially streamline AI with our students, we have to develop policies for it's usage. There are many trainings available online for teachers to participate in. This year, I participated in the ChatGPT Foundations for K-12 Educators training through Common Sense Media. AI in schools is a scary topic and looking to those who have already piloted the platforms can make it a little less overwhelming. Some schools have already piloted different AI platforms in the classroom, for example, a middle school in Newark Public Schools has used Khan Academy's AI Khanmigo.

    In my opinion, I think that when we learn how to use AI correctly in education, then it will be instrumental in our students' learning paths. AI can be use in many resourceful ways including administrative tasks, such as social media responses (Jones & Kennedy, 2023, p.36). AI-driven platforms automatically analyze individual learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses and tailor a learning path that fit for each individual student (Ejjami, 2024). Many educators do not realize that they are already indirectly using AI in the classroom. Diagnostics, like i-Ready, are creating personalized learning paths for each student after taking the assessment. This is one way that AI is shaping the future of education. Cardona, et al (2023) emphasize that AI can help teachers provide extra support to students when there isn't enough time in the day (p.2). 

    AI is something that is not going away and will continue to gain momentum. School districts need to begin planning for professional development within their schools to prepare their teachers. 

References

Cardona, M., Rodríguez, R. J., Ishmael, K., & U.S. Department of Education. (2023). Artificial intelligence and the future of teaching and learning. https://www2.ed.gov/documents/ai-report/ai-report.pdf

Ejjami, R. (2024). The Future of Learning: AI-Based Curriculum development. International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research (IJFMR), 6(4), 1–2. https://jngr5.com/public/blog/The%20Future%20of%20Learning.pdf

Jones, L., & Kennedy, E. (2023). Effective technology tools for school leadership: Understanding Digital and Data-Driven Strategies. Taylor & Francis.

    

Developing a Professional Learning Network (PLN) Field Experience 1

PLN by Keley Barnhill

     Teaching is one of the professions that are continuously learning. Every year, teachers participate in creating their own Personal Learning Plan (PLP) to help them grow as educators. Sometimes, its not easy to find professional development opportunities while teaching in the classroom. A great way to build learn from others in the profession is to create a Professional Learning Network, PLN for short. Jones and Kennedy (2023) state " Teachers should be provided opportunities to engage in life-learning opportunities that can be utilized in the classroom and shared with colleagues" (p.66). Many teachers feel like excluded due to being isolated to their classroom. Administrators can support their staff through building professional learning communities and encouraging their teachers to participate in professional learning networks (Jones & Kennedy, 2023, p.84).

    Throughout the course Instructional Leadership in Educational Context, EDL 677, I learned how to create a PLN and interact with various professionals through different platforms. I found creating the PLN met the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) standard 1K that "communicates the effectiveness of technology in professional activities" (CoSN - Consortium for School Networking, 2018, p.3). A PLN focuses on the different connections and tools that an individual utilizes for personal growth, learning, and sharing of knowledge.  

LinkedIn

    Pena, Curado, and Oliveria (2022) describe LinkedIn as "a Professional network which allows users to promote themselves professionally and expand their social networks". If you're anything like me, you have heard of LinkedIn but thought it was strictly a job seeking site. I was not aware that it was social networking for professionals. I have discovered many professionals that offer great ideas and resources to education. 

Pinterest

    Pinterest has been around for many years. I have always used it to save ideas for things that I wanted to use in the classroom but never considered it to be part of a Professional Learning Network.  Lundgren, Curcio, and Schroeder (2021) explain that "Teachers are no longer limited to participating in face-to-face professional development experiences or only resources over lunch or during passing periods. With educational resources easily accessible on social media like Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Tik-Tok, and Instagram, we must interrogate the ways teachers share the knowledge they gain online with their colleagues" (p.2). Pinterest is an easy and meaningful way to share your personal ideas and new discoveries with your learning community. 

Flipboard

    Flipboard is something that I had heard of in the past but never researched and used for professional growth. After delving deep into Flipboard, I discovered that it has many uses from saving your favorite resources and articles, to seeing what other educators and professionals around the world are finding as well. 

    Like CoSN Standard 1K, PLNs provide opportunities for educators to engage in ongoing learning through social media, webinars, and collaborative discussions. PLNs offer educators the space to collaborate with other professionals around the world to build on their knowledge. It seems like a daunting task and the acronym makes you think that it's just something else that educators have to do, but building your professional network is probably something that you unconciously have already done just by following professionals on social media. 

References:

Jones, L., & Kennedy, E. (2023). Effective technology tools for school leadership: Understanding Digital
and Data-Driven Strategies. Taylor & Francis.

Lundgren,L., Curcio, R., & Schroeder, S. E. (2021). Are you a team player or a personal pinner?situating pinterest as part of teachers' online and offline professional learning networks.  Innovation and Education, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42862-021-00013-z

Pena, L., Curado, C., & Oliveria, M. (2022). The contributions of LinkedIn use to career outcome
expectations. Journal of Business Research, 144. 788-796. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.047