Last week, I was glad to present at and attend my first ISTE-ASCD Conference. The four-day conference in Orlando was bigger than any I had experienced and a great opportunity to learn and grow. For those interested in the intersection between technology, pedagogy, and leadership – it is a great place to refill your cup and learn. Taking the online world of development and making it in the physical makes it deeper, if more draining; active, if more tiring.
I presented “Inviting AI to Your PLCs” first thing on Monday morning, 9am in a rather large conference room. Unfortunately, it wasn’t large enough as the doors closed five minutes early and we had to turn several attendees away. The session was one hour, during which I sought to faciliate a conversation on what PLCs were and then provided five areas (with sample prompts and discussion) that AI can provide a value add.
During the presentation, I also sought to make two important points that might be themes of the conference and anchor my root beliefs around education. First, inviting AI into our schools requires knowledge and conversation around student privacy and information. I was glad to see several speakers and presentations on this topic. If you aren’t paying for it, you’re the product (well your data). We cannot allow the data of our schools to be used, analyzed, mined, etc. by technology companies, racing ahead
Secondly, I tried to emphasize that inviting AI in should be focused on in such a way as to add value and not add work. Seasoning is fantastic for food; but if it doesn’t improve the taste, it shouldn’t be used. Technology can help educators and students; but if it doesn’t help learning and growth, it shouldn’t be used. In the context of PLCs, adding AI for data analysis might help with blind spots. Adding AI to create an agenda or help with norm development, might not be helpful and instead deprive the group of the important conversations around what needs to be handled or how a meeting should flow. Too many of the vendors seemed to be selling something (AI Snake Oil?) that promised much but had yet to bear fruit.
Outside of the presentation, I had a great three days meeting many new people, hearing about leadership development, and seeing many of the newer edtech promises. The swag was over the top in some cases, offering Pokémon Cards, customized trucker hats, robot-drawn caricatures, and more. The networking opportunities were great and I enjoyed the chance to see the differing views on education and technology across the country. My sessions on Alabama’s principal growth program, Todd Whittaker’s advice for leaders, and the Danielson framework’s changes were extremely helpful and I look forward to reviewing my notes.
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