AI and Education: Bridging the Gap Between Skepticism and Innovation-My Personal Journey with AI over the Past Year

​​My Journey with AI over the Past Year

By: Dr. Korrie White

February 19, 2024

If you are a lifelong educator like me, when you first heard about Artificial Intelligence (AI), you may have been completely turned off by the thought of a computer/technology being used to create things/documents that a human did not. I immediately dismissed the idea of using this technology, thinking it wouldn't be right for me. I had concerns about integrity, especially as a college adjunct professor who often deals with plagiarism issues. In my mind, AI seemed like it would lead to me compromising my principles. However, my perspective began to change when my teenager started showing me some of the capabilities of AI, and my tech-savvy husband shared examples of how the business world had been using it for years.

It dawned on me that tools like Alexa, Siri, and Google Home are all forms of AI that I've been using for many years. The turning point came when one of the colleges I worked for held a professional development session on the use of AI in the classroom. Despite my initial skepticism, I attended the session with an open mind, curious to hear what academia had to say about this tool. After sitting through the session, I became a believer.

The focus of the session was on how teachers and professors could use AI as a tool to be more efficient and potentially regain some of their time. I learned how to input my grading rubric or a topic into AI (ChatGPT), and it could generate a nicely formatted rubric within a minute, a task that would usually take me hours. I realized that AI's output is only as good as the input. I have always been a decent writer, but my writing (emails, papers, etc.) tends to be too lengthy. With AI, I could ask it to shorten my writing, condensing four paragraphs into two, for example, which significantly improved efficiency.

Shifting gears, I attended another professional development session led by an Iowa high school English teacher who shared how she had been leveraging AI with her students. She explained that she had several students for whom English was a second language, and using AI helped them with translation issues and organizing their thoughts for writing assignments. This revelation showed me how AI could level the playing field and provide valuable support to students who needed it.

Reflecting on these experiences, I realized that using AI wasn't "wrong," as I had initially believed. Providing tools like AI to students, teachers, administrators, and others can help them work more efficiently. As my uncle always taught me, "Work smarter, not harder." Just as we embraced email and text messaging for their efficiency, why not embrace AI to help educators reclaim some of their time?

In addition to platforms like Grammarly.com, which have been using AI for some time, I discovered that PowerPoint has an extension suggesting slides, further streamlining tasks. I've personally used AI to shorten letters to stakeholders, create rubrics, provide feedback to students, and even assist school administrators in crafting more effective communication.

Moving forward, I'm excited to explore more ways to implement AI in education. If you're interested in learning the basics of how AI can help you work more efficiently on a daily basis, reach out to me at info@korriewhite.com or join one of my upcoming live classes. I do not have all the answers, but I enjoy learning more about AI and sharing what I know and learn with others.

Ways I have used and will share:

1. Typing letters to stakeholders and shortening them with AI while ensuring major points are kept intact.

2. Creating rubrics for assignments by asking AI to assist with making a scaled rubric.

3. Generating feedback for students by inputting their assignments and grading rubrics into AI.

4. Assisting school administrators in crafting more effective communication by using AI to adjust the tone of letters.

5. Using AI to refine the tone of short email responses.

6. Creating flyers and exploring endless possibilities for AI implementation in various tasks.

Brainstorming with teachers during a recent session, we discussed how AI could help write letters of recommendation for college-bound students, significantly reducing the time spent on such tasks. Again, let me know if you would like to join one of my Friday night live classes or Saturday classes on how you could implement AI.

Follow me on Social Media Platforms: @drkorriewhite.com

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization with which the author may be affiliated.