The First Four Steps to AI Readiness

12 Mar

A furrowed brow and a shrug…

This was the response I got from a school leader when I asked about his school’s response to AI.

To be honest, I don’t blame him. I’ve watched many school leaders up close over the past decade and they seem to be some of the hardest working people on the planet. Trying to navigate tectonic shifts in the technological landscape isn’t easy when you’re already flat chat running a school.

He asked me how he should get the ball rolling. I gave him the following four steps to get started:

1) Establish a working group

Select a group of people to start thinking about AI in your school community. If it’s everyone’s job, it’s no one’s job. Get a cross-section of the school:

Library
Leaders
Students
Wellbeing staff
Primary Teachers
Secondary Teachers

2) Give the working group release time

School staff are chronically busy. Don’t expect them to make wise decisions about the biggest technological revolution we’ve ever seen if it’s just another one of the five projects they’re running off the side of their desk.

3) Prioritise a framework for AI use in assessment and in-class tasks

The truth is that students are already using AI for their assessments. After all, if your students have a laptop and an internet connection, you need to assume they’re using AI. Measuring learning and completing in-class tasks are core business for schools. Some unified framework for how work is completed in the AI age should be a high priority.

Note – I’ve included some links on AI and assessment below.

4) Hire a consultant

For the average educator, AI is full of unknown unknowns. Which policies should we read? What are the frameworks we need to consider? Are there guidelines we need to comply with? When I consult with schools, I bring policy proformas, a set agenda, and a knowledge of the right questions to ask.

For what it’s worth, I have everyone in the working group read:

Australian Framework for Generative AI in Schools
eSafety Commissioner report on generative AI
VINE Artificial Intelligence Guidelines

AI is the biggest change the world has ever seen.

If you’re a teacher or school leader, you have a lot on your plate. I imagine it would be easy to put AI in the too-hard basket simply.

The truth is that we can’t put the AI toothpaste back in the tube. It’s not going away. We need to respond, and if you follow these first four steps, you’ll be well on your way.