AI has Arrived: Unveiling North Carolina’s Statewide AI Education Strategy
What does it take to create comprehensive statewide AI guidance for schools in a world where technology is rapidly evolving and stakeholders have different perspectives on what artificial intelligence is and how it should be used?
I talk with Vera Cubero, a lifelong educator and technology expert, who led the charge for artificial intelligence guidance in North Carolina schools. North Carolina is one of only a handful of states that have released guidance for schools on AI usage.
Vera walks us through what it really takes to develop comprehensive guidance for radically different school communities, AI as an arrival technology, AI detectors, authentic student work, and much more.
Here’s my top takeaways from our conversation, though the full episode is definitely worth a listen as Vera is dropping gems throughout:
Schools are grappling with authentic student work in a world of AI
As more educators in North Carolina become AI proficient, a critical topic of dialogue has been what authentic student work looks like given the capabilities of AI. What topics, knowledge, and skills are critical and how can they invite students to create something authentically?
The pace of change with artificial intelligence is much faster because it is an arrival technology
Vera describes how the rate of change from artificial intelligence chatbots she explored in 2018 compared to now is almost incomprehensible. This may be due to the fact that AI is an arrival technology — meaning it did not require adoption from school communities to already have an impact, which is different from ‘adoption’ technologies like the internet and smartphones.
AI chatbots are not google search
Vera describes how one gap she’s found in educating folks on AI tools is their perception that an AI tool like ChatGPT or Claude should be leveraged as google search, which can leave folks feeling unimpressed. After she’s able to show the strengths of an AI chatbot and debunk the ‘search’ myth, educators gain clarity on how these tools can help them.
In developing statewide guidance on AI in education, focus on principles and frameworks, not rules
Vera describes how she and the team focused on developing guidance on AI in North Carolina schools emphasized principles and frameworks vs ‘thou shalt and thou shalt nots’. I love this approach given the constant developments we are seeing in AI technology and frameworks give practical tools to schools to leverage and implement.
Massive thank you to Vera Cubero for sharing her expertise. You can find North Carolina’s full guidance here.
Check out our full conversation here. Join the conversation at TheAIEducationConversation.com
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