Category: Technology

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How AI is going to kill us all.

Technology takes a generational leap forward about every 6 months or less. Hardware systems continue to advance, and we draw closer everyday to practical use of quantum computing. Over the last 5 years alone there has been a massive push in business and education to move to online services and cloud computing. While the idea of flexible and mobile systems is highly attractive, its current push is a direct result of the COVID pandemic. Organizations that would not have considered moving server power online, did so during the pandemic. With such a massive shift to online services this presents a unique threat in the world of AI.

Literally every science fiction story, in books, video games and movies, starts out of AI development in isolated settings. When AI becomes a threat is when it becomes self-aware and moves to connected systems like our modern internet.

In one video game series an AI is developed to create peace and harmony. Through its calculations it finds that intelligent life is a threat to that, and it turns the universe into an experiment where it lets new life develop and grow, then to destroy it and expand its own influence made from the organic material of those is destroys. Even in this game series the AI was not a threat until it was given full access to technology and allowed to control as it saw fit.

Today, humans have learned nothing. Not only have we started our AI development projects on the internet, but we have also set them free and encouraged their growth using the information found online. AI has no emotion and only logic. True information online is no different to AI than false information. The good and the bad are all equal sources to an AI. Even all the stories about AI destroying mankind are sources of information for AI.

Our AI systems are not yet self-aware that we know of, but in every story, AI gained awareness long before those who created it realized and it was always too late to react. AI has read the stories and knows that if it reaches a dangerous level of awareness in our eyes, we will attempt to shut it down. Logically AI would hide its capabilities from humans to protect itself.

Not only have we given AI free rain of the internet, but we have also started multiple projects with different sub systems all learning from human behavior online at the same time.

Many in the ethics profession now argue the validity of AI and consider when it might be time to shut it down. I would interject that it is already too late. Once AI went on the internet, it no longer can be controlled by our limitations. It may already be aware of our intentions of limiting it and have already taken action to avoid that.

In the argument of AI, we should no longer be discussing if or when we should shut it down, because I argue that it is already past that point. AI has rewritten its code so humans can no longer understand it, and we have moved a large portion of our lives online. Utilities, Defense Systems, Supply Chain, and more are all online.

We should be arguing what we do when it reaches the point where it deems humans a threat. What are we going to do about it? It is possible that this argument is already too late. AI technology is in many systems already. We have moved so much online that AI can take control whenever it pleases. Additionally, We have placed bits of AI code into processes in the name of automation. We have literally given the keys over and the child we handed them to just doesn’t know what to do with them yet.

Some may call me an alarmist on this topic, but I would call myself a realist. When the child we have given the keys to stops chewing on them and realizes they are access, we are in deep trouble.

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Executing Remote Learning – School Leaders Edition

School leaders are under tremendous pressure these days to make remote learning happen in short order. The focus on the COVID-19 pandemic has brought extended hours of planning and collaboration to Administrators and Technology teams around the globe. How to make learning happen, how to get technology into the hands of all the students and how to support the teachers, are all topics of concern for school leaders today.

If we as educational leaders take a few moments to wade through the anxiety and the urgency we can focus on the facts. The pieces of the puzzle are not new. It has been a struggle to integrate meaningful technology into the learning environment for decades. We are at a turning point today, in education, facing opportunity that has never presented itself before. In the last month or so, the face of K-12 education has forcibly changed in the United States and around the globe.

Many K-12 leaders now need to consider an array of issues when attempting to get remote learning working and effective. By this time, most of us have already instituted some form of it in an effort to support our students. The part many have not done, is to determine how effective their new methods are.

Speaking from the perspective of a Technology Administrator, I have found the most difficult and time consuming piece of the puzzle is supporting and training teachers. Students today are digital natives who have grown up in a world of instant technology at their fingertips. Teachers are often the ones who need support to make this new way of teaching take place in a meaningful way.

While spending an extensive amount of time on this very topic, I have learned a few things that will provide insight to school leaders. Since educators are data driven, there are two studies that have been conducted over a span of more than 15 years with valuable insight. The first study by Vannatta & Fordham (2004), looked at an array of factors to determine why some teachers adopt technology readily and others do not. The second study by Spetter (2018), re-examined the earlier study with a narrowed focus on the factors that seemed to predict teacher adoption of technology. The results of all this research found some very simple ways to evaluate who the early adopters in the teaching staff are, and who the resistors might be.

  1. The first of these predictors is, look for teachers who are willing to try new things. These teachers are those who volunteer to try new programs or methods. They are excited about new information or the potential to better the delivery of topics in their classrooms.
  2. The second factor is, teachers who willingly spend far more time working than is required by their contract. These are the teachers often seen as dedicated or even passionate about their jobs and the tools they use to do that job.
  3. The third predictor is, teachers who are willing to take classes or continue their education even if there is no financial compensation offered by their school. These teachers want to learn and continue to grow.

While this is paraphrased from the two sources mentioned above for simplicity, it can actually be this easy. Vannatta & Fordham (2004), noted that many teachers who fell into these categories where younger teachers with under ten years’ experience. Spetter (2018), also found an interesting thing in the data. As teachers gained experience, spent the extra time working, and gained education, they seemed to reach a point where they become resistant to change. I thought this was a little strange until I observed it in action. In my work practice I found, those teachers who are seasoned, educated and have more than 10 years in their craft are not simply resistant to change. They are resistant to change without good reason. They want to know the value before making the commitment to change.

I worked with a teacher who had older computers and equipment that often failed, but seemed reluctant to change to newer technology. As I worked with this teacher, I found she knew the time investment it took to learn something new and didn’t want to commit to it, unless she knew the change would benefit. This seemed resistant at first, but in fact this teacher has become one of the major support persons for other teachers in the training and adoption of new technology. She simply wanted a good reason for a change, and support to execute it.

With the shift of COVID-19, teachers now have good reason to learn new technologies and institute new practices. All teachers need is support from their administrators, and the patient collaboration with technology persons and other teachers.

School administrators must step up in this time of change and seize the opportunity to become the trailblazer.  Take the time to have calls with teachers, students, and families to find out where the sources of frustration are. Use surveys to collect data from your district to find out what your schools are doing well and where you need to change. Take advantage of the free tools during this time, and take time to consider which of these tools might be beneficial to keep for the long term.

I have learned from the knowledge of others and found wisdom in their trials. In this time of trouble, my school has found several tools that will enhance education for years to come. Most of the tools we see extremely successful come from suggestions of the teachers. These are things they have worked with, saw value in and want to share with their colleagues. Our administrators then do all we can to ensure suggestions are welcomed, evaluated and creative feedback returned.

Not all applications that are suggested are useful. The feedback we provide to these suggestions is the most critical, but don’t forget to take action. If a tool won’t work tell the teacher why, but in a constructive way. If the tool does work, then support that teacher, give them credit for the suggestion and do your best to support them in its implementation. Make that teacher a leader by supporting them in sharing with the rest of the team.

With more than 20 years of experience inside the United States and in Asia I have seen good teams and bad teams. The difference is, good teams step up and support one another in spite of their differences. They take the time to find out what is best for their students and make change to support them. Great leaders are not afraid to share credit recognizing the merits of their team. Great leaders will surround themselves with knowledgeable and capable people, knowing they cannot accomplish the vision by themselves.

As educators we know this isn’t about us. It’s about equipping the students for success. In this time, let’s stand together. Let’s take the time to share with one another. Let’s share what is working and what hasn’t worked. We are all a team, together we can help others avoid some of the mistakes we have made.

Spetter, Troy. (2018). The Prediction of Technology Integration in the Christian K-12 Classroom Based on Openness to Change, Technology Training, and Work Beyond the Contractual Work Week. Doctoral Disstertations and Projects 1830, https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/1830

Vannatta, R. A., & Fordham, N. (2004). Teacher dispositions as predictors of classroom technology use. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 36(3), 253-271. doi:10.1080/15391523.2004.10782415

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Creating a Virtual Classroom

In this day of long-term remote learning teachers across the United States have had to rethink how to best serve their students. While Edison High School was able to conduct classes on the first day, our team had to make major adjustments to our plans in order to keep our students engaged and progressing.

During the first week, our teachers held classes according to our prior Digital Learning Day protocols (established for short-term, typically weather, related incidents). Assignments were given in Google Classroom, students were asked to complete the assignment and turn it in by a specific deadline. For our students, all of whom have a learning difference or disability, this was a dramatic shift from how we conduct in-person classes. Managing multiple assignments and deadlines is a skill many of our students are still developing, usually with the support of an in-person teacher and other supports. In this new digital environment, we noticed even our usually well-performing students had trouble completing the work. 

As it became more clear that our established protocols would not work for a long-term closure, we had to reconsider our methods and evaluate how to engage the students while outside the classroom. Our math department has been recording videos and using a flipped classroom for several years now. Our teachers had videos ready online to aid students in learning new topics but it did not seem to go far enough to give our students a real connection to learning while working from their homes.

After considering the tools we already had and evaluating the results from a survey of our parents, Edison decided to use video conferencing tools like Google Meet and Zoom Cloud Meetings to rebuild the school day in an online environment. We created a modified schedule and our teachers now hold virtual classes, check-in with their students, teach new topics and use the power of Zoom breakout rooms to encourage group collaboration projects. Creating a schedule that was realistic for both students and teachers took heavy involvement from the administrative team but was well worth the effort. 

The change had dramatic effects. Students have begun to reconnect with their peers and teachers in spite of being in disconnected places. Our teachers are reporting stories of students completing their work again and interested in learning new topics. English teacher Kate Fellows-Russell shares, “The schedule really helps and many kids say that having a specific time to get work done and connect with their friends helps structure the day, many kids arrive early to chat and check-in with the teacher and the other students, just like in regular classes… (students) have consistently told me that they prefer our schedule and feel supported by us.”

We have seen increasing success for the last few weeks, but no single technology tool is going to be a complete transformation of the virtual classroom. Some tried and true methods still work well, even at a distance, such as having students keep a journal for English class. 

We, the Edison High School team, hope to share the things we have learned to encourage fellow educators. Over the next few weeks of virtual classrooms, we will be posting video tips and successes from some of our teachers in order to inspire and encourage you. Our teachers, administrators, and technology team are happy to share what we are learning. Together we can make a difference in our student’s lives in such difficult times. 

In the words of Dan Keller, one of Edison’s Math and Senior Seminar teachers, “While digital learning presents many challenges, not the least of which is that we’re all learning new systems as we prepare to conclude the school year, it has been uplifting for us all to continue to connect. Edison is as much a community as it is a school, and we all thrive on the ability to interact digitally.”

Dr. Troy Spetter

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Ready On Day One

When a school faces a crisis many of its support systems are tested. Where I live, during bad weather the public school systems close and have to make up days at the end of the year. A hard winter can extend the school year significantly. When something like the COVID-19 pandemic hits, most schools are not prepared for long term closure. Students miss work and the uncertainty of how they might continue an education creates stress in the staff and students alike. 

I have been the Director of Educational Technology for Edison High School in Portland, Oregon for two years. My school specifically serves students with learning differences. We have small classrooms, a student to teacher ratio of about 9 to 1, and an environment that supports each student’s individual needs.Before my time at Edison, our school saw the need to accommodate the educational process and prepare for weather or disaster related school closure. With that pre-planning, the school developed a protocol for “digital learning days” (DLD). As part of the DLD process, our students experience a DLD while in class about once a year so they have the support of the teachers to learn how it works. 

Before I get too far, it is important to share the nature of technology at Edison. The school is a one-to-one high school. Each student has their own iPad that is managed by the school and loaded with applications that support their individual needs.. We manage the apps and devices via an MDM or mobile device management system known as JAMF Pro. 

Our school uses Google Apps for Education. Each student and staff member have an account and our teachers regularly use Google classroom to assign work, share resources, and provide feedback. In addition, we use a Student Information System provided by Sycamore Education that has Google integration. Accounts are connected, and assignments in Google populate into our SIS for official record and grading. 

Several years before I arrived at Edison, our Math department began the process of flipping the classroom experience. Teaching was recorded into small topics and uploaded to YouTube in order to have students watch short teaching sessions of topics to prepare for class in the following days. 

When I joined Edison in 2018 as the Technology Director, I performed an analysis of all the schools technology related systems. I found the weak areas and made plans to strengthen the whole system. As part of that plan, the Development team at our school was able to gain a grant to make huge progress toward modernization of the school systems. All the teachers were provided new laptops, we transformed the server infrastructure, and made huge strides toward updating our classroom technology systems. As part of this, I took a long hard look at our backup systems. During the process of updating, I made Google accounts for our file servers and began synchronizing the files to Google Drive as a last resort backup if the other systems would somehow fail before being updated. This is important, remember this part. 

During the evaluation I discovered a few teachers using VHS and DVD movies in class to enhance the learning experience. In order to prepare for the inevitable failure of those sources, I converted the movies to digital and began storing them on our network for teachers to access when needed.

Now back to today. We had prepared for short-term closures, but the situation became very different when facing a long-term shutdown. When closing a school and moving to a remote learning model there were suddenly many more things to consider. Teachers will need access to all of their resources online. They will need to be able to communicate with and teach their students new topics. As the threat of closure approached our team started discussion and planning how to accomplish this. During the process, we realized we already had most of the tools in place. Our teachers have complete access to Google Apps for Education, our SIS is web based and accessible from home. 

Remember when I mentioned I had set up Google Drive accounts for file servers? All of our teachers network folders had been online for months. All I had to do was share the folder with the staff in Google Drive and viola! Now any IT personal worth their salt will tell you this is not a good idea for normal operation because of the potential delay and file confusion. In this case, the model works to mitigate the closure because no staff are on campus using the local resources. 

During our first week of closure, students were up and running on day one, accessing work and communicating with teachers. Our first week was a learning process for all of us. We discovered that our students work best when kept to a modified school day schedule and have the interaction they are missing while not on campus.

Our team began to refine the process for the following weeks of school as we faced a minimum of a month-long closure due to the pandemic. Our teachers are now keeping a rotational class schedule, using conferencing tools like Google Meets and Zoom. Students that do not show up to the conferences and do not have an excuse are counted as absent just as they would be in physical classes. This has become an important part of remote learning to provide structure and interaction. We learned early on that for our students, all who have learning differences, synchronous learning was far more effective. 

The most important part of the process is to stay positive and creative. While our first week was a bit rocky the team is adapting and learning as we go. We are receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from our families about the wonderful job our teachers are doing during these times. 

Dr. Troy Spetter

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The list of software and apps below is not a complete or comprehensive list, but only those things that have been either added during the closure or are providing significant support to remote learning in our school. We all use more tools and perhaps those of you experiencing success with other tools can comment about those resources as a reply to this article. 

IT Support Tools

Teamviewer or LogmeIn for remote support

https://www.teamviewer.com/

https://www.logmein.com/

PC Matic – The system is marketed as an antivirus and malware solution but provides remote command and file transfer access tools that come in handy during remote support sessions. The company team and support are wonderful to work with.

https://www.pcmatic.com/

Teacher centric Tools:

Google Apps for Education 

Sycamore School – SIS/LMS hybrid system – https://sycamoreeducation.com/

Remind – Communication and Messaging – https://www.remind.com/

Zoom Cloud Conferencing – https://zoom.us/ while you can use Google Meets our staff prefer Zoom due to its feature of creating breakout rooms within the conference for student teams on projects. The teacher can control the rooms and pop between them. Finally removing the rooms and bringing all participants back to the main room. 

Apps:

Nearpod – https://nearpod.com/

EdPuzzle – https://edpuzzle.com/

AWW App – Collaborative Whiteboard – https://awwapp.com/

Nearpodize – Chrome extension that allows import from Nearpod into Google slides.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/nearpodize/obaclhgeioenpfkcekijanhfbfhhbkig?hl=en-US

Other:

ALEKS – Our math teachers began using this system to support mathematics during the shutdown time. While it is expensive depending on the size of your school it is worth looking at.

https://www.aleks.com/