Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has been a popular topic and some might even say an education buzzword, but many educators still don’t see the need for AI in their specific classrooms. We’re debunking common myths or roadblocks and giving every K-12 teacher, regardless of subject area or grade level, the top five reasons as to why AI should be on your radar!
Myth 01
It’s true, some components of AI do include robots, but it’s not always what people traditionally envision when they think of robots taking over the world in science fiction movies. And in fact, robotics are just one facet of AI, and likely not the one that you encounter regularly. AI is around us in all we do, and its footprint is growing. If you use a digital assistant like Alexa or Siri, you are encountering AI. If you rely on product recommendations from your favorite shopping sites or engage with people on social media, you’re encountering AI. AI supports so many
of the things we do on a regular basis and helps experts in many fields do their jobs better and more efficiently often with more accuracy.
Myth 02
AI is largely developed by tech companies, but it’s role in other industries evolves on a daily basis. Marketing professionals use AI and automation to send the right messaging to the right audiences. Finance workers use AI to analyze risk and improve decision making. Meteorologists use AI tools to make better weather predictions, which can lead to life-saving information for communities in terms of weather disasters. Experts believe that 100% of jobs will be impacted by AI in the next decade, and by making sure our students are taught foundational skills and content around AI, we are preparing them for a bright future.
Myth 03
While the technical content of AI is complicated, all teachers are finding ways to incorporate AI content into their teaching and lesson planning. Whether they use AI tools to show students the power of machine learning, discuss ethics and bias in AI as a way to ignite conversation around the role of tech companies in an inclusive society, or use AI-focused articles and stories to support reading comprehension, all teachers can incorporate AI into their instructional goals.
Myth 04
While AI technology evolves every day, AI is currently around us in all we do. Consider this—what would life be like if you would have ignored the internet 25 years ago or completely avoided other tech trends such as social media, smart phones, Chromebooks, iPads, etc.? AI is not just the future, it’s our here and now and students engage with AI every day.
Myth 05
As teachers, there are so many responsibilities and requirements, and the list never seems to dissipate. Between rigorous standards, distance learning, diversity and inclusion, growth mindset, social emotional learning, PLCs, and the numerous other goals you or your school have outlined, adding one more thing is never easy. But what if embracing AI wasn’t just “one more thing” to do? What if AI can help support the other initiatives you need to focus on by enhancing your instruction and opening your students up to new ideas and opportunities at the same time?
At mindSark Learning, we’ve partnered with IBM to offer IBM AI Education, a series of nine webinars around AI for all K-12 teachers. The free webinars will guide educators through AI’s foundational concepts and K-12 classroom connections, with topics including introduction to AI, natural language processing, ethics, diversity, robotics, and more. Learn more and sign up for a live or on-demand webinar today.
Interested in learning more about how to integrate AI into your K-12 Classroom?
Click the button below to check out IBM AI Education, our immersive, online professional learning suite of FREE live and on-demand webinars taken to the next level.
Click the button below to check out IBM AI Education, our immersive, online professional learning suite of FREE live and on-demand webinars taken to the next level.