Your point about renewals is important. There is plenty of attention paid to OpenAI's "partnerships" as they roll out ChatGPT Edu, the LA Unified School District's announcement in March about its new chatbot, and every single demo of a new generative AI feature. What doesn't get covered? When the contracts don't get renewed because the product isn't so great or doesn't meet any real need. When the contracts don't get signed in the first place because diligent testing reveals the demo does not reflect how the product actually works.
We'll see this year how much the hype leads to actual sales. The year after we'll begin to find out how many sustainable businesses will be created out of generative AI. I think (or maybe I just hope) universities and school districts have become more savvy about evaluating educational technology. And as Marc Watkins recently pointed out, there are regulations governing edtech that many entrepreneurs don't seem to know much about.
Generating clicks and views about our exciting AI future is the perfect use case for LLMs. We have yet to see how profitable they will be for those selling educational products and services based on it.
A few weeks ago, I talked with Jeff Young about the LAUSD's chatbot. Jeff is the reporter who did the recent podcast that did the go-between with Dan and Sal Kahn. It sounded like he was working on a story so hope we get more details on what went down.
I hope the LA TImes and Education Week give this disaster as much attention as they did the splashy photo-op announcing Ed the chatbot back in March. I'd also like to see the blogger who hailed Ed as "laying the foundation for distributed and comprehensive education that can be tailored to individual students, as well as an opportunity for students to develop skills interacting with bots" reflect on what this development means.
I'm interested in employment at the Pundit Accountability Tribunal. I have extensive experience with making bad predictions. Does your cafeteria offer gluten free meals, and what is your WFH policy?
Love the sentiment you captured from Glenda Morgan. The student thinking is not only the important bit, it is where I as a teacher get my biggest growth. My (former) Intedpendent school adopted IXL for summer "upkeep." Not sure how I feel about it. Saw a lot of my students using photomath and other apps to help with DeltaMath. Very interesting what happens when the Covid $$ runs out.
The math kids most want to learn is the math they can succeed in learning! I’m not sure if you’ve seen this recent TED Talk but I think it makes that point nicely: https://youtu.be/RF0-8p55q1o
I like how Function Carnival (and the other Desmond activities I’ve seen) give every student a chance to feel successful.
I've watched the entire video, and I have a sincere question. How is what this guy is doing different than just assigning Khan Academy to all your students?
Update: I ended up having a long exchange with someone at Modern Classrooms and I asked how this was different from using existing videos. Here is what they said:
"Ultimately, the purposes of the videos are to (1) free up teacher time in class to work closely with students, (2) make instruction accessible to all learners, and (3) facilitate a self-paced classroom in which every learner has the time they need to reach mastery. So while many of our teachers like recording their own videos - it makes them the experts and lets them tailor their instruction to the students they know best - others prefer to use pre-made videos. From our perspective, either approach works. The key is creating the conditions for human interaction and students reaching mastery."
I appreciate your extra effort. I think, while their answer is sensible, I wonder (like Dan) if the extra work justifies the small distinction in product.
I agree about the extra work, although it seems to me that students probably do prefer their teachers to Khan, and maybe teachers prefer doing their own too? I'm not sure. And I suppose if the teacher is going to explain it anyways many times per day, it might be time-saving in the long haul to record a video once.
And as I understood the talk, it's not really the video itself that matters, but it's more about what having videos makes possible in class? I tried a flipped classroom several years ago, with some of my own videos and some from other sources, but it didn't seem to make much difference because my students all still had to move at the same pace. Like the speaker says some were ahead, behind, absent, etc. So what struck me about this talk wasn't really the video piece, which I've done before (and bet many others have too) but rather the idea that students could actually learn at their own speeds and have to show understanding before advancing. That seemed logical to me.
Anyways I hadn't heard of Modern Classrooms Project until a friend forwarded me this video so I have reached out to them for more information. I will let you know if I hear anything of interest back.
Hi Bion - I don't know how Substack comment notifications work but I added an update from Modern Classrooms in my reply comment below, if you are curious.
I’m an Algebra teacher hoping to integrate more Desmos curriculum next year. I will be in Oakland the next few weeks and would love to come visit, observe, and/or volunteer if you are open to the idea. 👍
Thanks for the shoutout Dan! Wasn’t expecting that at all. I agree, the pragmatic approach is what I see from a lot of my colleagues as well. I like your comparison to Apple. Maybe it’ll make our lives a little easier in some ways, but it won’t completely revolutionize the industry.
Also, super interesting article from that tech school. My school is moving forward with a similar cell phone policy across the board alongside a common protocol for discipline in this area. I hope it has the positive effects as advertised!
Thanks much for this, Dan. The five percent problem is the tip of an iceberg as you discuss it. My hope and prayer is that teachers like you break through whatever it is that blocks so many students from studying more advanced math. There is no doubt something is out of whack. The Khan solution seems to be a move to feed one man’s ego when the problem he seeks to solve requires more than the five percent solution. Great work. Thanks 🙏
In my opinion, the approach to mathematics is a topic that deserves more and more exploration in view of the developments of AI and GenAI. I really appreciated this issue with a direct experience also told, thanks for sharing it. There is a piece that particularly struck me, which says that 'students are interested above all in what concerns themselves'. In my opinion, despite its apparent simplicity, this insight is very important for the approach to how to teach certain topics - as well as in general. Building on what students know, on what moves them, on what excites or strikes them is in my opinion an important key as a best practice, especially for topics that are difficult at first glance such as mathematics. It is no coincidence that in countries like mine, Italy, some high school mathematics or physics communicators have become very well known. Because by focusing on a different approach they have built on a way of approaching and explaining things close to the students, also starting from concrete examples and from their daily lives and their way of seeing things. In this case, AI should lend a great hand, amplifying and at the same time accelerating this process, actively involving students.
Thanks for the recommendation. I like his gestures, the way he talks with enthusiasm, his ways of explaining using an iPad or tangible props like a ball or board.
Your point about renewals is important. There is plenty of attention paid to OpenAI's "partnerships" as they roll out ChatGPT Edu, the LA Unified School District's announcement in March about its new chatbot, and every single demo of a new generative AI feature. What doesn't get covered? When the contracts don't get renewed because the product isn't so great or doesn't meet any real need. When the contracts don't get signed in the first place because diligent testing reveals the demo does not reflect how the product actually works.
We'll see this year how much the hype leads to actual sales. The year after we'll begin to find out how many sustainable businesses will be created out of generative AI. I think (or maybe I just hope) universities and school districts have become more savvy about evaluating educational technology. And as Marc Watkins recently pointed out, there are regulations governing edtech that many entrepreneurs don't seem to know much about.
Generating clicks and views about our exciting AI future is the perfect use case for LLMs. We have yet to see how profitable they will be for those selling educational products and services based on it.
This aged really well after the news came out today of them dropping allhere
I hadn't seen the news so glad you mentioned it, Jacob. Hope Dan Meyer doesn't mind some links in his comments section.
Here is the article from The74 on the news about the AllHere Education's financial problems: https://www.the74million.org/article/turmoil-surrounds-las-new-ai-student-chatbot-as-tech-firm-furloughs-staff-just-3-months-after-launch/
Here is a link to my original post in AI Log about how Ed looked like a disaster from the get go: https://ailogblog.substack.com/p/meet-ed-is-our-happy-chatbot-future
A few weeks ago, I talked with Jeff Young about the LAUSD's chatbot. Jeff is the reporter who did the recent podcast that did the go-between with Dan and Sal Kahn. It sounded like he was working on a story so hope we get more details on what went down.
I hope the LA TImes and Education Week give this disaster as much attention as they did the splashy photo-op announcing Ed the chatbot back in March. I'd also like to see the blogger who hailed Ed as "laying the foundation for distributed and comprehensive education that can be tailored to individual students, as well as an opportunity for students to develop skills interacting with bots" reflect on what this development means.
I'm interested in employment at the Pundit Accountability Tribunal. I have extensive experience with making bad predictions. Does your cafeteria offer gluten free meals, and what is your WFH policy?
Love the sentiment you captured from Glenda Morgan. The student thinking is not only the important bit, it is where I as a teacher get my biggest growth. My (former) Intedpendent school adopted IXL for summer "upkeep." Not sure how I feel about it. Saw a lot of my students using photomath and other apps to help with DeltaMath. Very interesting what happens when the Covid $$ runs out.
The math kids most want to learn is the math they can succeed in learning! I’m not sure if you’ve seen this recent TED Talk but I think it makes that point nicely: https://youtu.be/RF0-8p55q1o
I like how Function Carnival (and the other Desmond activities I’ve seen) give every student a chance to feel successful.
I've watched the entire video, and I have a sincere question. How is what this guy is doing different than just assigning Khan Academy to all your students?
I think they argue that the teacher personalizes it beyond what they'd get from Khan. It seems like an incredible amount of extra work to me, though.
Update: I ended up having a long exchange with someone at Modern Classrooms and I asked how this was different from using existing videos. Here is what they said:
"Ultimately, the purposes of the videos are to (1) free up teacher time in class to work closely with students, (2) make instruction accessible to all learners, and (3) facilitate a self-paced classroom in which every learner has the time they need to reach mastery. So while many of our teachers like recording their own videos - it makes them the experts and lets them tailor their instruction to the students they know best - others prefer to use pre-made videos. From our perspective, either approach works. The key is creating the conditions for human interaction and students reaching mastery."
I hope that helps.
I appreciate your extra effort. I think, while their answer is sensible, I wonder (like Dan) if the extra work justifies the small distinction in product.
I agree about the extra work, although it seems to me that students probably do prefer their teachers to Khan, and maybe teachers prefer doing their own too? I'm not sure. And I suppose if the teacher is going to explain it anyways many times per day, it might be time-saving in the long haul to record a video once.
And as I understood the talk, it's not really the video itself that matters, but it's more about what having videos makes possible in class? I tried a flipped classroom several years ago, with some of my own videos and some from other sources, but it didn't seem to make much difference because my students all still had to move at the same pace. Like the speaker says some were ahead, behind, absent, etc. So what struck me about this talk wasn't really the video piece, which I've done before (and bet many others have too) but rather the idea that students could actually learn at their own speeds and have to show understanding before advancing. That seemed logical to me.
Anyways I hadn't heard of Modern Classrooms Project until a friend forwarded me this video so I have reached out to them for more information. I will let you know if I hear anything of interest back.
Hi Bion - I don't know how Substack comment notifications work but I added an update from Modern Classrooms in my reply comment below, if you are curious.
Bravo!
I’m an Algebra teacher hoping to integrate more Desmos curriculum next year. I will be in Oakland the next few weeks and would love to come visit, observe, and/or volunteer if you are open to the idea. 👍
Good on you for not shying away from hard work, instead seeking it out to inform your curriculum development.
Great article, Dan. Wish I was a young teacher again to learn with you!
Thanks for the shoutout Dan! Wasn’t expecting that at all. I agree, the pragmatic approach is what I see from a lot of my colleagues as well. I like your comparison to Apple. Maybe it’ll make our lives a little easier in some ways, but it won’t completely revolutionize the industry.
Also, super interesting article from that tech school. My school is moving forward with a similar cell phone policy across the board alongside a common protocol for discipline in this area. I hope it has the positive effects as advertised!
Thanks much for this, Dan. The five percent problem is the tip of an iceberg as you discuss it. My hope and prayer is that teachers like you break through whatever it is that blocks so many students from studying more advanced math. There is no doubt something is out of whack. The Khan solution seems to be a move to feed one man’s ego when the problem he seeks to solve requires more than the five percent solution. Great work. Thanks 🙏
In my opinion, the approach to mathematics is a topic that deserves more and more exploration in view of the developments of AI and GenAI. I really appreciated this issue with a direct experience also told, thanks for sharing it. There is a piece that particularly struck me, which says that 'students are interested above all in what concerns themselves'. In my opinion, despite its apparent simplicity, this insight is very important for the approach to how to teach certain topics - as well as in general. Building on what students know, on what moves them, on what excites or strikes them is in my opinion an important key as a best practice, especially for topics that are difficult at first glance such as mathematics. It is no coincidence that in countries like mine, Italy, some high school mathematics or physics communicators have become very well known. Because by focusing on a different approach they have built on a way of approaching and explaining things close to the students, also starting from concrete examples and from their daily lives and their way of seeing things. In this case, AI should lend a great hand, amplifying and at the same time accelerating this process, actively involving students.
Who are some of the high school math and physics communicators in Italy who have become well known? Do they post anything to YouTube?
Vincenzo Schettini is certainly the most famous for physics. He also created content as “La fisica che ci piace” (The Physics We Like)
Thanks for the recommendation. I like his gestures, the way he talks with enthusiasm, his ways of explaining using an iPad or tangible props like a ball or board.
Thanks! I will look him up.