Leaving Las Vegas thinking about Computer Science Education

The SITE conference was in Las Vegas this year. It was great to connect with old friends and find new ones. While on the plane home, I want to reflect on what I learned before the hubbub of teaching and my next conference arrives. 

What did I see? I chose to focus on the work being done in Computer Science. The panel put together by Chrystalla Mouza was especially excellent. The panel had a great discussion of strategies and challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers for CS. The metaphor I settled on was the blanket that is too small. If a specific district is able to "recruit" from another school system, the problem does not get solved. It just changes location. The same can be said if we transition Math or science teachers. The three strategies that emerged were:

1. Recruit internally from areas that have a enough teachers (e.g. art, Media, English or Social Studies). For this to be successful the professional learning has to be different and address ways of thinking and projects of interest that would fit different thinkers within their domain expertise.

2. Make it part of a general campaign to go into teaching. 

3. Focus on second career/ career changers. Here there is a need for short programs and funding during the process of changing career.

The second strand was TPACK which after over 15 years of research is still one of the most often used frameworks. Punya Mishra led a series of presentations sharing the work done on the third handbook of TPACK research soon to come out. The work was varied and interesting and the variety of approaches, measurements and direction was extensive. 

Finally, and unsurprisingly there was discussion and grappling with AI everywhere I went. AI is changing everything including education in ways that we do not fully understand, but researchers from around the world are trying to apply what we learned from previous critical moments (advent of personal computing, internet, social media). 

What am I using AI for now as a Teacher Educator and Professional

 Since Generative AI came out, I have been using it extensively. As an exercise, I am logging all the direct Generative AI I use, knowing that there is much AI in the background of which I am less aware.

Generic letters: Looking at my log, I have used generative AI to create four official letters that required carefully worded messages that were sensitive yet firm. In each case, I used Chat GPT to create an initial wording, then edited the text to bring back my writing style and some of my personality when appropriate, and finally, I ran it through Grammarly to make sure that I had no embarrassing grammar and spelling errors. The use of generative AI for composing official letters creates great efficiencies for me and reduces the response times. Interestingly, one person asked me for a letter of support that they generated with the help of GenAI as well as a starting point.

In teaching: I have used ChatGPT to create a description of the social networks between students in a classroom for an activity on creating groups in an elementary classroom. Once again, I needed to refine the prompt a few times and finally edit the document, but the result was quite good, and I created an assignment that I will keep using in the future.

I tried to see what Gen AI would produce for an in-class presentation about reading instruction. The result was VERY generic, and I ended up discarding the suggested slides, retaining the I Dall-E to create unique artwork for the slides I designed for teaching writing. While Generative AI use was limited in creating content, I continue enjoying the use of the Designer feature in PowerPoint as a way to quickly spiff up my slide decks. Since we came back from Spring break, I created a set of questions for a welcome-back exercise that went very well.

Finally, I engaged my students in using GenAI to create groupings in their classroom (mock data) to see what the benefits and challenges are. The discussion that ensued included comments ranging from amazingly fast and accurate to a student questioning whether it is worth the time after a lot of editing.

Review of academic paper: Once I read the paper I was reviewing and had the main points that I wanted to stress to the authors so they could improve their research paper, I used Cen AI to expand and explain my bulleted points. The amount of editing this exercise created for me was a very limited return on investment, and I doubt I will use it in this way again.

Podcasting: I used GenAI to create episode summaries of the Not That Kind of Doctor podcast using the transcripts as the raw material. One episode summary was well done while ina. second GenAI completely missed the point. Both needed editing but were still a major time-saving application.

Across multiple uses, I usually prompt GenAI there times before I get everything that I want (or give up). More detailed prompts yield much more accurate results and less follow-up. Grammarly let me know that it made over 6000 suggested edits. Gen AI has changed how I work; it has made some things much easier and saves me time every day. However, I am still concerned with accuracy and specificity that can be achieved only through my deep seated professional knowledge.

AI Creativity and the near future of education

AI and Creativity created by ChatGPT-4

This week, I spent two days at the Nebraska Educational Technology Association meeting in Omaha. It was great to meet with friends, colleagues, and new acquaintances. Everyone talked about AI as a catapult to changing, rethinking, worrying, and joy. Evi and I spent some time talking about how we humans are still better/ different than the machines. Much like humans have for centuries argued that humans were not like other animals, our current existential obsessive discussion (and fear) is about what happens when Artificial General Intelligence shows up. For me, the question is what we can do in the short run. The answer may very well be a focus on inquiry, creativity, and self-guided learning.

As highlighted by our work in Art TEAMS, integrating new tools and emphasizing creativity and divergent thinking in education presents a forward-thinking model that could significantly influence schools in the coming years. This approach, which blurs the traditional boundaries between art, sense-making, and metacognition, opens up several intriguing possibilities and challenges for education.

For example, schools might increasingly incorporate digital tools and platforms that foster creativity, such as digital art, coding for creative purposes, and virtual reality for immersive learning experiences. These tools can help students explore complex concepts in a hands-on manner, enhancing their understanding and using AI tools to amplify creativity and self-expression. 

By leveraging AI and other technologies, educators can create personalized learning paths for students. This customization allows students to explore subjects at their own pace and according to their interests, which can boost engagement and motivation. This can happen while we encourage metacognitive skills, thinking about one's own thinking, that can help students understand and regulate their learning processes, strengths, and areas for improvement. This self-awareness is crucial for lifelong learning and adaptability, especially in a rapidly changing world. 

This approach allows for breaking down the silos between subjects, especially art, humanities, and sciences, and encourages students to make connections across disciplines. This holistic method fosters critical thinking, creativity, and the ability to see problems from multiple perspectives. 

To reach this goal, we need to focus on teacher education and mindset shift. Teachers will need training and support to adapt to these new tools and pedagogies. Shifting from traditional teaching methods to a more student-centered, creative, and interdisciplinary approach requires time, resources, and a change in mindset. This can happen during pre-service and in-service teacher education and requires attention to equity and access. Our educational system has a robust tendency to focus on basic skills for those with perceived deficiencies who never get to interact with more complex educational experiences.

 As AI and other technologies become more integrated into education, maintaining a balance between technological efficiency and the human elements of learning—such as empathy, ethics, and emotional intelligence—will be vital. The potential for human flourishing through this educational paradigm is significant. By fostering an environment where creativity, critical thinking, and personal reflection are paramount, students can develop not only the skills needed for future careers but also the capacity for resilience, empathy, and ethical decision-making. This approach not only prepares students to thrive in a world where AI plays a significant role but also ensures they contribute positively to their family, community, and society.

Is the iPad still a thing for teaching and learning?

 

Produced by Chatgpt

The iPad was set to reshape the landscape of personal computing when it was first introduced by Apple on January 27, 2010, and its market release in April of the same year. Conceived by Steve Jobs and his team as a middle ground between the iPhone and Macbook, the iPad aimed to fill the gap for a portable computing device that was more capable than a smartphone but more accessible and user-friendly than a laptop. I remember the day it was introduced and the subsequent juvenile jokes about its name, "pad". Like many other Apple products, the initial release failed to realize its full potential. I was all in on the iPad during the day of its release and got one that August. 

Since then, I have been a faithful user of iPads and a frequent podcaster about using iPads in the classroom. However, my personal use of the iPad has transformed over time. My personal use is about 75% entertainment. Looking at the Graph below I can show that most of the use is over the weekend and for entertainment. I use the iPad for work-related social media (in fact, almost all of my social media is work-related). I use the iPad as an extra screen in places I do not have availability or if I need a third screen, and occasionally, I use my iPad to grade student assignments. However, the device that used to be my favorite is now my fourth most used Apple device after the phone, laptop, and watch. In some ways, Apple missed the potential in the educational market, which they finally ceded to Google and Chromebooks. 

Despite these considerations, I remain a strong proponent of using iPads in early childhood education, extending through to third grade. The iPad stands out as the most user-friendly and accessible device for young learners, thanks to its intuitive design and interface that graciously accommodates developing fine motor skills. Additionally, the iPad distinguishes itself in the realm of the arts. Its capabilities for music composition and creation, alongside digital visual arts, are truly remarkable, making it an invaluable tool for fostering creativity and artistic expression in students.

Motivation for Tech Careers a Reflection

I have loved science fiction for as long as I can remember. I have a vague memory of going to the neighborhood bookstore Doron and purchasing my first book, Asimov's Foundation. Science fiction primed me to be incredibly curious about computers. Four years later, my father went on sabbatical to Boston and we all came with. In the summer of 1982 we landed in Newton Massachusetts. For the first two months, we lived in the house of the Alroys, who were spending the summer in Switzerland. This part is unclear to me but their neighbour and friend a mathematician asked for help watering the plants and in return he let me use the Atari 400 (in today's dollars a $2000 investment). I remember my utter delight in programming simple Basic programs I learned to create. It started a life-long obsession with technology and that first encounter with a well designed technology and the delight in what it could never really went away.

Reading Kara Swisher's memoir/ history/ critique of Silicone Valley and the big tech companies it feels like I was not the only one. A whole generation of us on the dividing line between the baby boom and Generation X grew up and matured with the tech industry and loved it deeply. I am wondering if the generation emerging now has that sense about any technology? As we work hard to get students excited about technology I am finding that the sense of wonder and excitement is rarely there. Have we become less optimistic? Do they need to feel that they are rising up with new ideas (say AI, for example)? To better recruit teachers and students and increase diversity in tech, we must understand what motivates them and what they most like to be part of. At the same time, we must think about ways to get them excited and feel that they are at the beginning of something great.
 

Art TEAMS Learning Compost(ing)* Activity

 Today, as part of Art TEAMS, we looked through our journals and tried to reflect on our journey with text and an art piece.  My simple work in progress focuses on a wave as a key metaphor emerging from this process.

1. I decide too early on a direction and detail in a way that limits my creativity. I have learned that I need to slow down and let ideas percolate. My metaphor of a wave reminds me that I need to let creativity explode but then iterate.

2. I am creative (self talk here) and should let my juices lead me where I need. 

3. Art is an emotional connection; creating with and next to others creates community and emotion.

4. Movement is magic, and I am grateful to Maggie Bertche for opening this idea in wonderful ways.

5. In this work, I positioned myself as a full participant, and as a learner, I am all in creating, making, and reflecting all the time.

From Chat GPT:

Wave on sandpaper created with Adobe Firefly

Expanding on your reflections and ideas from the Art TEAMS session, here are some deeper insights and extensions to each point:

1. Embracing the Fluidity of Creativity: Your metaphor of a wave is powerful. It suggests the ebb and flow of ideas, much like the ocean's waves. Consider exploring art that is more fluid and less structured, perhaps abstract forms that evolve as you work on them. Think of each stroke or element as a part of a larger, ever-changing seascape, where the final form is not predetermined but is a result of continuous interaction and adjustment.

2. 
   

3. Following Creative Instincts: Trusting your creative instincts is vital. You might explore spontaneous art forms like improvisational

4. 
   

1. 

   Three-dimensional wave created with Adobe Firefly

   sketching, where each line or color choice is led by intuition rather than a fixed plan. This approach can lead to unexpected and often more emotionally resonant artworks, as they directly reflect your inner state and creativity at that moment.

2. Art as a Medium of Emotional Connectivity and Community: Reflect on how your art can be a means of connecting with others. This could be through collaborative projects, where multiple artists contribute to a single piece, or through art that invites viewer interaction and interpretation. The emotional resonance of a piece can be enhanced when it becomes a shared experience, creating a sense of community and collective emotional expression.

3. Exploring Movement in Art: Inspired by Maggie Bertche's influence on the concept of movement, you could experiment with art that literally or metaphorically incorporates motion. This could be kinetic art that physically moves or static art that captures the illusion of movement through clever use of lines, shapes, and colors. The idea is to make the viewer feel the dynamism as if the artwork itself is alive and in motion.

4. 
   

5. Fully Immersed Learning and Creating: Positioning yourself as both a participant and a learner in art-making is a profound approach. It suggests a perpetual cycle of creation, reflection, and growth. To embody this, you might consider projects that document your journey - art that evolves over time, where you add elements or transform it as you gain new insights, skills, and inspirations. This ongoing project could become a visual diary of your artistic journey, showcasing your creativity and your evolution as an artist and a learner.

These ideas can form the basis of a varied and deeply personal artistic exploration, reflecting your skills and your journey, emotions, and connections with the world around you.

* The term composting comes from Gretchen Larsen, who shared with me:

Dufva, T. (2018). Art education in the post-digital era-Experiential construction of knowledge through creative coding. Aalto University.

Haraway, D. J. (2016). Staying with the trouble: Making kin in the Chthulucene. Duke University Press.

Riding the Tiger- AI and Teaching in Higher Education

 Recently, I was part of a panel on AI in academia. This is just part of the way I re-orient myself in my work. AI is demanding that we pay attention, or we become obsolete. My metaphor is riding the tiger, and with the help of two AI generators (Dall-E and Firefly), I created two images imagining it.

The metaphor is connected to a few crucial concepts. First, we are not being asked whether the tiger (AI) should be introduced into our lives. It has already been released, and it has now become our problem. We cannot ignore it because the tiger can and will harm us. What is left for us is to try to ride it. I am not certain that we will survive, but I am positive that I will enjoy the process. That I will enjoy the process.hat I will enjoy the process.hat I will enjoy the process.

Second, I believe that we should take an AI pause, not from development but instead from teaching. Pause and dedicate time to think through what AI means for our teaching domain. To guide such work, we should have "worked examples" (Gee, 2010) produced by instructors that are being thoughtful and comprehensive in their incorporation of AI.

 

Generative AI and the Science of Reading

Learning to read requires excellent texts that are carefully constructed to combine a few elements, interest, introduction of new vocabulary, and control over the level of difficulty, including the use of specific phonological and orthographic patterns for early readers. This has always been a source of difficulty, book publishers have done a reasonable job, but the costs for schools and classrooms have been prohibitive, especially when considering the need to send students home with texts to practice reading.

TextProject from Elfrieda Hiebert has been producing such balanced texts and making them available for free.

Generative AI presents the opportunity to create such texts readily.

for example I asked chatGPT to create a first grade level text about dogs:

All About Dogs

Dogs are fun friends to have. Some are big and some are small. Some dogs have long hair and others have short hair.

Dogs love to play. They like to run, jump, and fetch balls. Some dogs like to swim in water, while others prefer to stay dry.

They have wet noses and wagging tails. When a dog wags its tail, it is often happy. If a dog shows its teeth, it might be scared or upset.

Dogs can hear very well. They also have a good sense of smell. This is why some dogs are used by police to find things.

It's important to be gentle with dogs. We should give them food, water, and a cozy place to sleep. In return, dogs give us lots of love and joy.

Dogs are not just pets; they are part of the family!

I followed up with a request to make it rhyme.

**Doggie Delight** Dogs are friends, both big and small, With furry coats, short and tall. They love to jump, run and play, Fetching balls and barking away. Some love the splash, some stay neat, With wagging tails and tiny feet. When tails wag, they're feeling glad, But bared teeth mean they're somewhat mad. With ears so sharp, they hear a pin, And noses that sense where they've been. Police dogs with a sense they hone, Find things hidden, all on their own. Treat them right, with food and rest, For as our pals, they are the best. Not just a pet, but family too, Dogs bring joy in all they do!

You will notice that the vocabulary is no longer as simple as in the original text. 

Finally I asked for a rewrite using short vowels:

Pups at Play

Dogs are pals, big and small, With fur that's short, or long and tall.

They jump and run, and play all day, With a ball to toss and fetch their way.

Some dogs swim, some sit and nap, With a wagging tail and a little yap.

With ears to hear and a nose to sniff, They find a scent, then off they zip!

Feed them well and give them a bed, Pet their head, and they're so well-fed.

Dogs are fun, they make us glad, Best little pals we've ever had!

In carefully examining the results, it is clear that ChatGPT can do some of the work for us, BUT we need to make sure that the text is consistently doing what we actually need. Right now, even with prompting, the results need "massaging" depending on what we are teaching. S teachers use but beware!

AI and Academic Publishing

 Like many others, I have been playing with generative AI for the past few months. I am an author of scientific papers and, even more so a frequent reviewer. I have been elated by the potential of generative AI to bridge the gap between English knowledge and conducting high-quality research, especially for international scholars whose first language is not English. This is an opportunity to level the playing field and allow equal access to academic publishing, which is predominantly conducted in English. Many times I have reviewed articles with good ideas but really hard-to-understand language that required many rounds of review and editing before it was publishable.

On the other hand, generative AI is quite as capable of generating data that isn't there (often referred to as hallucinating). For example, after being asked about my publications Chat GPT 3.5 spit out this list: None of the publications are real! This will require our publication engines to allow us to track every in-text reference with quick access so reviewers can check the veracity of such claims that may be "halucinated".

Even more challenging is generative AI's ability to "hallucinate" research studies. In a manner of a few minutes, I was able to have Chat GPT generate two potential studies about reading instruction (synthetic phonics and reading recovery) with ANOVA designs, including result tables. I even got Chat GPT to design and execute a study about the impact of a Wind Surfing intervention on Math achievement of second graders. For example, examine this paragraph generated after I requested a qualitative study instead:

"As this study focuses on qualitative exploration, the quantitative results will not be the primary focus. However, to provide a broader context for the qualitative findings, basic descriptive statistics of math achievement scores may be reported for both the windsurfing instruction group and the control group. These scores will be collected through pre- and post-intervention math assessments administered to all participants. The quantitative results will be used to complement and contextualize the qualitative findings, providing a broader perspective on students' math achievement in relation to their windsurfing experiences."

I am sure that generative AI will create an increase of papers submitted for publication. To prevent science from being overwhelmed and suspicious we may need to write new rules and accelerate existing trends.

1. Demand researchers pre-register their research.

2. Ask that each paper submitted will include a statement about the use of generative AI and will include the transcripts of their use.

3. Create ethical standards for AI use in scientific publishing AND teach about it in graduate schools.

4. Create reviewing mechanisms that allow easy tracking of citations to the source.

Tech EDGE Art TEAMS - Exhibitions of Learning

Here is our latest [podcats from Art TEAMS

Let's Chat about GPT event at UNL

 

Tech EDGE, Teaching World Language with Technology - Introduction

It has been a delight to start a new series on using technology in the World Language Classroom. I believe that podcasting is one of the best ways to disseminate knowledge.

Exhibitions and Celebrations of Learning

One of the elements of the Art TEAMS approach is for each learning cycle to end in an exhibition (or celebration) of learning. The exhibition of learning is an opportunity for the learning community to celebrate achievement get positive feedback, and encourage students to start thinking about their development in thinking and making. I recently visited one of our schools, exploring how exhibitions of learning worked in an elementary classroom. 

The teacher organized the tables in a circle (in a tight space, I might add). Each student organized the products they wanted to display across their desk. Some chose EVERYTHING and had very little space, others chose their favorite exemplars, and finally, one innovative student had many learning artifacts but chose to include an arrow pointing to her favorite artifact saying: "You have to read THIS!" 

All students had a stack of feedback notes and went around the room examining other students learning artifacts and leaving positive feedback based on sentence frames projected on the board. 

A debrief after such an event can help students process a portfolio approach and consider what is the most effective approach, not just as the creator but also as the consumer. 

The exhibition of learning gives the students sense of accomplishment and motivation. It can be a great source of metacognition as well. The same can be said for the teacher, a look at the variety and creativity gives the teacher a sense of accomplishment but also a tool to reflect on what could be better next time and what missed opportunities can be seized on in the next inquiry cycle or in subsequent years. 

As an observer in the classroom, the excitement and pride of the students were palpable. Students were smiling, engaged, and proud. I highly recommend creating these moments for students and bringing in administrators and, when possible, parents and guardians to celebrate reaching complex learning goals.

Art TEAMs is made possible a grant from the US Department of Education and by the emergent, collaborative interactions between many individuals. A deep gratitude is extended to all who participated in the experience of teaching (and learning) with emerging media and arts, including teachers (Sarah Holz, Kate Gracie, Maggie Elsner, Matt Auch Moedy, Sarah Gabelhouse, Amy Spilker, Megan Pitrat, Andrew (Mark) James, Jessi Wiltshire, Jessica Davis, Ryan Margheim, Sarah Kroenke, Katie Samson, Melissa Sellers, Casey Sorenson) for embracing ambiguity and vulnerability and expanding into new ways of seeing; administrators (Dr. Lynn Fuller) for holding space and having conversations about new ideas; museum educators (Laura Huntimer) for offering valuable educational resources; teaching artists (Cayleen Green, Fernando Montejano, Angel Geller, and Isabella Meier) for sharing their creative processes; the advisory board (Megan Elliott, Dr. Jorge Lucero, and Dr. Diana Cornejo-Sanchez) for shepherding the design and development of the program; and the research team (HyeonJin Yoon, Carrie Bohmer, Maggie Bertsche, Lorinda Rice, Mackayla Kelsey, Dr. Guy Trainin, Gretchen Larsen, Joelle Tangen, and Kimberley D’Adamo) for weaving together the many pedagogic and curricular threads of a complex tapestry.