This fall we at Code School Finland have hosted AI webinars for secondary school teachers in Asia and Europe.
AI is currently the hot topic also in the field of education. Our goal was to give a beginner’s guide for teachers with a lot of practical hands-on instructions for using AI tools for their work. All webinars have been full of excited, sometimes a little anxious participants.
AI literacy relieves worries and adds human engagement
Teachers around the world are struggling with the same issues regarding AI. Teachers see the potential AI has for boosting learning but they also see some risks involved. We are currently living in a transitional period where our understanding of AI technology is continually transforming as new innovations come with a fast pace. It is hard to keep up with the developments and easy to start worrying about the unknown.
The best thing to do during uncertain times is to educate both teachers and students about AI. We all need to become AI literate. To become AI literate means that not only we know about AI but we also to use AI tools to our benefit.
An AI literate teacher will know enough about how AI works to know why, when, and how to use AI tools to best serve themselves and their students. The goal is that AI literate teacher’s students will have less screen time, but more screen quality – using AI tools helps to save time for the most important aspect in teacher’s work: human interaction and emotional support.
It is somewhat surprising that, the better a teacher knows how to use AI tools, the more they will spend their time on human engagements with students. This is one more reminder that AI is here to serve us, not the other way around.
Building technology education for the AI generation
Code School Finland is engaged in a research program Generation AI (GenAI) – a multi-year project aiming to build a research foundation for education of the “AI generation” of students. The research consortium – led by University of Eastern Finland and involving also University of Oulu and University of Helsinki – develops educational approaches for K-9 while taking into account the principles of artificial intelligence, the opportunities it offers and the dynamic effects – without forgetting its shortcomings and risks. Our pedagogical specialists Sirkku Tahvanainen and Jussi Koivisto are piloting AI teaching materials in Finnish classrooms.
Making teachers AI literate
Our focus is on ensuring that all teachers become AI literate.
Code School Finland provides a range of teacher upskilling services and teaching materials for K-12. Contact Richard Brand for details.
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