Learning the Hard Way

As parents, we're all grappling with tech. And we're watching our kids do the same, finding and exploiting seemingly every loophole in the limits we attempt to set.

Now imagine teachers trying to do this with a class of 28 kids armed with Chromebooks.

Then enter AI, which can instantly solve equations that our generation had to painstakingly type into big-ass graphing calculators (after, of course, we walked two miles each way to school, uphill both directions).

You've got a recipe for a mess. And recently, that's what my son's class found themselves in.

Meet ALEKS.

An acronym for Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces, ALEKS is an "artificially intelligent learning and assessment system" produced by McGraw Hill that's used in my son's math class. It can be a boon to teachers for differentiating instruction, as it adapts lessons to students' existing skills and knowledge levels.

Unless, that is, students respond to ALEKS' algorithm with their own AI-generated answers. This is what appeared to happen in my child's class, as outlined in a recent email from the teacher. In pursuit of extra credit, some students completed ALEKS lessons that were grade levels ahead of what they'd learned in class.

The math, in this case, did not add up.

According to ALEKS' website, teachers are supposed to be alerted via email about "students who are learning unrealistically fast." While it's not clear what went wrong here, you could likely sub in the name of practically any other online learning tool and teachers would have a similar story.

There is something almost existentially absurd about AI programs generating questions for students to answer using a different AI. But it's also holding up a mirror to the rest of us. The New York Times just published the stat that 76% of adults used AI in their work last year, up from 30% in 2023. If we're using it for things ranging from mundane (filling out forms) to higher level (drafting documents), to emotional (describing our own children?!?) we've got to assume our kids are thinking, "Why can't I?"

And that's the question that educators need to be ready to answer. How do we motivate kids to engage in the hard work of learning, while still equipping them with the skills to thoughtfully use technology?

Schools, who haven't even been able to update their calendar from the one that they implemented in the late 1800s, are perhaps uniquely ill-equipped to adapt to rapidly evolving tech. Compounding the problem is that while students are all digital natives excellent at finding flaws in firewalls, many staff members and leaders are not.

With no real model in place for regulating AI - there are exactly zero federal laws here - teachers, students, administrators and families are left to navigate a sea of information with little guidance around the boundaries.

So, what should the rules around digital technology in schools be, and who should write them? The Thomas B. Fordham Institute is facilitating that conversation now in its annual Wonkathon. At EdInk, we'll be keeping an eye on what educators have to say on the subject.

In the meantime, you won't hear from us again before Election Day. So here's your reminder to vote. The non-partisan Ohio School Boards Association gathered statements on education for the state's gubernatorial candidates.

Now go do your thing.