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Posts Tagged ‘Chat GPT’

The Tutoring Revolution We Did Not See Coming

Posted in Change, Technology, tagged , , , , on December 15, 2025| 2 Comments »

For years, there has been a quiet understanding in many high schools that success in certain courses, especially senior math and sciences, required something extra. Not more effort or better attendance, but a tutor. Parents would trade recommendations, students would quietly admit they needed one, and tutoring centres would advertise that “everyone needs help.” In some, especially affluent communities, paid tutors became part of the culture, almost an unspoken prerequisite to keeping up.

That world may be coming to an end.

AI has entered the tutoring business, and it does not take nights or weekends off. For the first time, students have access to personalized, immediate feedback and explanations any time they need it. They can ask follow up questions without embarrassment, get alternative explanations and have complex problems broken into smaller steps. All of this is available for free, or for the price of a phone app. The model that tutoring companies built around scarcity and exclusivity is being replaced by abundance and accessibility.

It is not only about convenience. Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Magic School AI can act as math coaches, writing mentors and language partners. They remember the work, adapt to a student’s level, and adjust explanations when the learner gets stuck. The value proposition that human tutors once held, personalization, is becoming a default feature of modern AI systems.

Just last week, one of our Grade 12 students shared how she had been struggling with integration by parts in calculus. Instead of waiting for a weekly tutoring session, she worked through problems with an AI tutor at 11 p.m., asking it to explain the same concept three different ways until it clicked. “It never got frustrated when I asked the same question again,” she said. “And I could be honest about what I did not understand.”

When I first started drafting this piece, I was ready to declare the end of the tutoring era. The evidence seemed clear. The assumption that you need a tutor to survive Pre Calculus is being upended. For many students, the AI sitting quietly on their laptop or phone now fills that role, often better and more patiently than the Saturday morning sessions they once dreaded.

Then I started reading the research. And my thinking got more complicated.

What the Research Actually Shows

The October 2025 edition of AASA’s School Administrator magazine dedicates significant space to the state of tutoring in American schools. AASA is an American based organization, but the questions it raises cross borders easily. The tension between equitable access and quality instruction, the challenge of sustaining initiatives beyond initial funding, the promise and limits of technology in supporting learners: these are Canadian conversations too. The research may come from Texas and Massachusetts, but it speaks directly to what we are wrestling with in British Columbia and across the country.

Liz Cohen, in her article drawing from her book The Future of Tutoring: Lessons from 10,000 School District Tutoring Initiatives, documents an unprecedented expansion. Within a year of the pandemic’s onset, 10,000 U.S. school districts were offering some form of tutoring after years of almost none. By May 2024, 46 percent of public schools reported providing high dosage tutoring, and just 13 percent said they offered no tutoring at all.

Research from the Johns Hopkins Center for Research and Reform in Education, featured in this issue, offers evidence that virtual tutoring with human tutors can produce meaningful results. Grade one students assigned to Air Reading, a structured virtual tutoring program, four times a week for a semester gained nearly 1.6 additional months of learning. Those who attended at least 40 sessions saw even greater progress.

But here is the tension that caught my attention: the research consistently shows that the most effective tutoring models still rely on human tutors. Studies on AI tutoring directly with students remain in early stages, and even the most promising work positions AI as supporting human tutors rather than replacing them

I had to sit with that for a while.

The Hybrid That Works

One case study which helped my framing was learning about the work happening in Ector County ISD in Texas. In partnership with Stanford University, they developed something called Tutor CoPilot. It uses AI not to tutor students directly, but to coach human tutors in real time, suggesting questions to ask, concepts to revisit, hints to offer.

The results are striking: students whose tutors used the AI prompts scored 14 percentage points higher than those whose tutors did not. The AI shifted tutors toward stronger pedagogy, guiding student thinking rather than simply giving away answers. And here is the part that matters most for equity: the greatest benefits went to less experienced tutors. The tool essentially democratized tutoring quality, helping novice tutors perform nearly as well as veterans.

This is not AI replacing humans. This is AI and humans amplifying each other.

What AI Cannot Yet Do

Cohen’s research surfaces something that pure AI cannot yet replicate. The success of tutoring, she argues, is deeply rooted in human relationships. It helps young people feel they matter. It builds motivation through productive struggle in a high support, high standards environment Cohen (This podcast is also a good background on Cohen’s work).

There will still be families who seek human tutors, especially for accountability or emotional connection. Some students need the structure of showing up, the social pressure of not wanting to disappoint someone, or simply the reassurance of a person saying “you’ve got this.” AI has not yet mastered the art of knowing when a student needs a break, a pep talk, or someone to believe in them.

The question is whether it will, and how soon.

The New Digital Divide

For schools, this raises urgent questions. Do we teach students how to use AI tutors effectively? How do we ensure that all students, not only the digitally confident, benefit from these new tools?

The digital divide is no longer just about device access. It is also about knowing how to prompt effectively, when to question an AI response, and how to use these tools for learning rather than answer getting. A student with strong digital literacy might turn ChatGPT into a Socratic tutor. Another might never get past using it as a homework completion machine. If we are not careful, digital confidence becomes the new proxy for privilege, only with different packaging.

There is another issue to face. If every student has a tutor at all hours, what does authentic assessment look like? How do we measure understanding when the line between getting help and getting answers is blurred? This is not a reason to resist change. It is a reason to rethink what we are measuring and why.

What I Got Wrong, and What I Got Right

The shift is cultural as much as it is technological. For years, tutoring companies helped reinforce the idea that school alone was not enough. Now, AI is challenging that notion and putting powerful learning tools directly in the hands of students. I was right about that.

But the real revolution may not be the end of tutoring. It may be its transformation.

This changes the teacher’s role as well. When information delivery and step by step support are available on demand, teachers become something more valuable. They become learning architects who design rich tasks. They become coaches who know when to push and when to support. They become mentors who help students navigate not only content, but the process of learning itself. The human element does not disappear. It becomes more essential, only with a different focus.

We may soon look back on the tutoring era the way we look at encyclopedias and phone books. Useful for their time, but unnecessary once the world changed. Or we may find that the future looks more like Ector County: AI and humans working together, each amplifying what the other does best.

Maybe what we should have wanted all along was not a system where extra help was a luxury, but one where every student has access to the support they need, when they need it, in the form that works best for them. Whether that form is human, AI, or some combination we have not yet imagined.

The question is not whether this change is coming. The question is whether we will shape it with intention, or let it happen to us.

Thanks to Liz Hill and Andrew Holland with whom I had recent conversations that helped inspire this post.

 

The image at the top of this post was generated through AI.  Various AI tools were used as feedback helpers (for our students this post would be a Yellow assignment – see link to explanation chart) as I edited and refined my thinking

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I Read a Book

Posted in Book Club, Personalized Learning, tagged , , , on July 23, 2025| 4 Comments »

This summer, I read a book.

Not a blog post. Not a podcast transcript. Not a long-form article on Substack. A real book. A paper one. With pages. About a hundred of them.

It’s the first book I’ve finished in longer than I care to admit. Somewhere along the way, my attention span got swept up in an endless stream of digital content—quick hits, hot takes, clever clips, and smart commentary that rarely lasts more than a few minutes. And I’ve told myself it’s the same. That reading a dozen thought-provoking pieces online is just as good as reading one book cover to cover.

But this was different. And, honestly, it was hard.

I had to put my phone in another room. I had to sit in silence. I had to fight the urge to check notifications or Chat GPT a passing reference. It felt almost foreign. But also… refreshing. Grounding. Satisfying.

The book was about education and artificial intelligence, written by a colleague whose thinking I admire. I have been meaning to read it for a while. I picked it up partly out of curiosity, partly out of professional obligation. But as I worked to stay focused on pages discussing how AI is reshaping schools, student agency and even our attention spans, the irony wasn’t lost on me. Here I was, struggling to sustain focus, something the book suggests may be eroding in the digital age.

Is that a bad thing? I’m still not sure. Maybe our brains are adapting to new ways of thinking. But there was something undeniably satisfying about the deep, slow engagement that a book demands. A different kind of thinking. A different kind of learning.

And, perhaps most importantly, a different kind of accomplishment.

I know some may say I’m showing my age still believing books matter. But if that’s the case, I’ll own it. Because this experience reminded me there’s still something powerful in sitting still, slowing down and immersing yourself in one sustained idea.

And here’s the twist: I think I might read another.

The joys of summer.

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GenAI and the High School Sports Coach

Posted in Change, tagged , , , , , on September 24, 2024| 9 Comments »

Anyone coaching high school sports this year should be considering how they could use generative AI to support their work.

Of course, I am a bit biased as this combines my love of technology in an education setting with school sports – two of my favourite things!

In British Columbia, like many jurisdictions across North America, there are a range of skills when it comes to those who are coaching school sports from well meaning parents or community members without a lot of history with the particular sport to former players to highly experienced teachers and community members who have coached at the national or international level.

What is true about all of them, is there is an entry point to improve their coaching this year using generative AI.  Just as we are finding ways to improve experiences in our classrooms in school using AI, the same should be true for our extra curricular sports whether on the court, field, track or pool.

So, just where should you get started?

The most common tool many are using is Chat GPT.

Some things you can use it for include:

Customized Training Plans and Practice Plans – Whether not knowing where to start or being too busy oftentimes coaches do not have clear practice plans.  AI can take a series of skills you want to cover and turn them into a practice plan.  It can also help design individual plans for athletes – whether it is individual work outside team practices or for more individualized sports.  

Game Strategy Simulation – Ask AI to develop 5, 10 or 20 scenarios that you can play out at practice. I used a simple prompt: Give me 20 different last minute basketball scenarios I could use with my team at practice during a scrimmage. You could give additional details and create more complex situations including giving details or tactics for different opponents.

Injury Prevention – Most newer coaches know little about injury prevention. Here is a simple prompt I recently used:  I want to spend the first 10 minutes of my high school cross country practice focused on activities that help with injury prevention what could I do?

Performance Feedback – Many coaches collect data from games or practices – whether it is fitness data, scoring data or any sport specific data depending on the activity.  This can be uploaded into Chat GPT and you can ask it to find trends, or suggest teaching points to focus on.

Skill Development Resources – Athletes are often asking how they can get better at A, B or C.  AI can provide access to drills, exercises and skill development linked to individual sports and specific skills within a sport.  

And Much More – Coaches can use AI to generate motivational messages or help craft pre-game talks, as a source of professional development, as a place to get advice around handling team dynamics or creating social media content to promote the team.  It also can be a source for mental health resources to support athletes and help with organizing team schedules and calendars – and I am sure much more!

Coaching is often a lonely job in high school, but generative AI (I used Chat GPT as an example here but there are definitely other alternatives) can be an assistant coach freeing up time to spend directly connecting with your athletes.

And what about going beyond Chat GPT?

There are a number of apps using AI to do higher level work (most of these have fees attached to them).

Some I have dabbled in a bit include:

Coach Logic – Provides video analysis and performance review, enabling coaches to visualize different tactics.

DribbleUp – An AI-driven tool for soccer and basketball that offers personalized drills and feedback (we have this one at home but never caught on much with our kids).

Fitbod – An app that uses AI to create personalized workout routines based on user input and progress.

Hudi – A video analysis and coaching platform that allows coaches to review game footage and simulate different game strategies.  Hudi has bought up numerous other companies in this space in recent years and often a huge range of tools.

It is a good reminder that the quality of AI to improve sports coaching will never be as bad as it is today.  The tools will only get better.  I am excited to see greater abilities with video to be analyzed and suggest drills. The future will see real-time game analysis, AI-driven recruitment tools, and the opportunity for virtual reality training sessions.

Like with all uses of AI, it is important to acknowledge concerns that some have that AI will replace human judgment, the learning curve associated with new tools may be too great, and data privacy issues must be at the forefront – especially when working with young people.  AI is meant to augment, not replace, the human element of coaching, hopefully shifting how coaches spend their time.

To rework the well worn phrase, AI will not take your job, but somebody using AI will take your job;  high school sports coaches will not be replaced by AI, but those who use it will be on the front edge of finding new ways to work with student athletes.  

High school coaches out there – how are you using AI?  What tools are you using?

At the end of each blog post I indicate how generative AI supported my writing:  The image at the top of this post was created in Chat GPT4 after a series of prompts and by uploading the post and asking for suggested images to accompany it.  After writing the post – I asked Chat GPT to find flaws in my logic, identify topics I had not covered and list topics I should have included but didn’t – I used some of this feedback to revise my post.

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Expanding the Role of Generative AI in Supporting Governance

Posted in Change, tagged , , , , on September 17, 2024| 5 Comments »

While the applications of generative AI in operational tasks are quickly becoming well-recognized, its potential to transform governance within school districts is equally significant. I am doing a couple workshops on this later this fall, and thinking about the governance work of Boards and how they might consider using AI to help with these important tasks.

Some specific examples include:

Supporting Communication

Whether it is email responses or graduation speeches, AI can be a support.  You may have given a version of the same speech at grad for the last 10 years; you can upload these speeches and ask for a revised modern version and suggest some new content to keep some of your key themes but make it newly relevant again.  It can also serve in the assistance of email responses with structure and build drafts that can be a starting point of revision before they are sent.

Professional Development and Knowledge Enhancement

AI can be used to summarize and recommend resources such as articles, reports, and research relevant to govenance roles, helping you stay informed on educational trends and best practices.  There might be a new provincial health report and a local one for your region. You could upload both documents and ask to have a list of similarities and differences identified between the reports and have suggested actions suggested.

Drafting and Refining Board Policies

Generative AI can assist in drafting board policy proposals or reports by producing initial drafts, summarizing legal or regulatory documents, and refining language based on specific goals or criteria. Similar policies from multiple districts can also be uploaded to identify areas that other districts have included in their policies that you may want to include in your policies.

Strategic Planning Support

AI can help during the strategic planning process by generating drafts, helping with specific wording of goals and objectives, and providing suggestions for long-term goals based on data trends. The ability of generative AI to look at large data sets and identify key aspects can be very helpful to help move away from “gut-feel” that can often take over strategic planning conversations.

Scenario Analysis

AI can simulate potential impacts of proposed policy changes (e.g., school closures or grade reconfigurations) by evaluating historical data and predicting outcomes. This can be another point of reference to the processes that lead to recommendations.

Be Good Models

Perhaps most importantly, those involved in governance can embrace a learning mindset when it comes to using generative AI, setting an example for the system by modeling the adoption of new technologies.  Political and administrative leaders in districts can also be open to how they can create policies and set directions along with staff that take important safeguards and privacy precautions but also are open to how these tools can support the work of everyone in the system.

We are at just the infancy of seeing the impact of these emerging tools.  It is crucial everyone in the system has awareness over how they will impact the system going forward.  By remaining adaptable to the evolving capabilities of AI, school districts can ensure these tools enhance our collective governance, support decision making and ultimately the overall mission of educational excellence.

At the end of my posts I explain how I used generative AI in their creation.  After drafting this post  I posted it to Chat GPT and I also posted the West Vancouver Schools Policy Book with the following prompt: Based on the policies and bylaws of West Vancouver Schools in the attached link, what are additional ways school districts could use generative AI to support their governance work beyond those I have already listed.  This prompt helped me revise and improve my post.

The image at the top of the post was generated in Chat GPT from a series of prompts related to this blog post.

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Still Writing

Posted in Change, SD45, Technology, tagged , , , on February 29, 2024| 3 Comments »

I have been thinking about writing this week. The generative AI discussion is really making people think about what writing might look like in the future. It was less this though, and actually a quote from one of my favourite local writers in the media, that struck a chord with me. Howard Tsumura, who I have written about here before, and I have known and read for more than 30 years had this interesting quote when writing about the challenge of finding new writers to fill his shoes, “there is no issue finding young people who can take photos, shoot video or help broadcast . . .but finding writers even close to the standard of deadline writing with flair is nearly impossible.”

And I will put my biases out there, as someone who still subscribes to several hard copy newspapers, and finds joy in this act of blogging, I am on “team writing.”

In our digital age, where visual content reigns supreme, it’s no surprise that we find an abundance of talented young individuals adept at photography, videography, and broadcasting.  I am so impressed by them in our schools. Their ability to freeze time in a photo or bring an event to life on screen is nothing short of remarkable. These skills are invaluable, and the ease with which students pick up cameras or manage live streams is a testament to their adaptability and tech-savviness.  I have great admiration for them.  I wish I could do more of what they do.  I wish that the posts you read here had more photos and videos to help tell stories and bring my words to life.

However, there’s a different kind of magic in written words – a magic that seems to be fading in the backdrop of high-definition images and live-action videos. The art of writing, especially under the pressure of deadlines and with a flair that captures the reader’s imagination, is a rare find among young individuals today.  This is not to say we don’t have good writers, but sometimes I feel like we have fewer writing storytellers with our young people.  And yes, I know this is all in a world of murkiness now with the ever growing power of generative AI.  Can’t Chat GPT just do this, why do we need to do it?

Writing is not just about stringing words together; it’s about storytelling. It’s about painting a picture so vivid that readers can feel the adrenaline of the moment and it is about conveying the emotions, the passion, and the spirit of the situation in a way that resonates with those who were there and informs those who weren’t.  It is something I have tried to get better at – and I have found that my most read posts here have not been my technical pieces of writing or my opinion pieces, but those times I have been able to tell a story and make you feel like you were actually in our schools or with me on a particular journey.

The challenge lies not in the lack of talent but in nurturing the interest and honing the skills required for this kind of writing. Just as we encourage young photographers to look beyond the lens and videographers to see the story in every frame, we need to inspire young writers to find their voice and use it powerfully.  We can’t say we are producing good writers if we are just producing good technical writers.

In our schools  we must continue to create spaces where writing is celebrated and where young writers feel empowered to explore their creativity. And even at a time when we see traditional print media being some of the worst job security out there, we need to be encouraging students to contribute to school newspapers, blogs, or social media channels.  These can give them a platform to showcase their work and build their confidence.  And while there may not be as many jobs in the future for using words to tell stories as there have been in the past, I am not ready to abandon its importance.

The quest for young writers who can craft stories with style and meet deadlines is not an impossible one. It’s a journey that requires patience, encouragement, and a collective effort to ignite a passion for writing in young people – in schools and our community. As we continue to marvel at the stunning photos and videos that capture the essence of our school events, let’s also strive to find and nurture the writers who can bring those moments to life in words. 

Thanks Howard for the prompt this week.

On the topic of generative AI – I am going to start playing around with using AI generated imaged to accompany my posts.  In the past I have largely used stock photos with some personal photos.  The photo at the top of today’s post was generated by me pasting this blog post into Chat GPT 4.0 and asking it to generate some options of images that could accompany the post.  

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Better Prompting and Other AI Stuff I Have Learned

Posted in Change, Technology, tagged , , on September 18, 2023| 1 Comment »

I first wrote about Chat GPT in January.  I asked the question, Could AI Replace School Superintendents?  At the time, I was just beginning to use Chat GPT, and treated it like I would Google. I would make a query and get a response.  So, what is something I have gotten better at over the last 8 months?  Prompting. 

As I started playing in Chat GPT at the end of last year, I would ask it a question and get an answer.  I am used to 20 years of internet searches where each question gets an answer and there is no follow-up.  So, I would ask Chat GPT questions like, “Why is it important for elementary students to know how to read,” or “What are the best ideas for an office staff party” or “Can you share a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe.”  All were fine, but these responses were just stuff I could easily get on Google. Even my blog post on AI replacing superintendents was really just a modified Google search.

Some simple advice that I found helpful are the 6 tips that Anna Bernstein shared in her YouTube video:

  1. Take advantage of synonyms
  2. Be consistent with labeling
  3. Link everything together
  4. No negativity allowed
  5. Use powerful verbs
  6. Context is your best friend

I have come to understand that my frustrations with the poor outputs wasn’t as simple as “AI just isn’t that good” but it is often that I simply need to do a better job of asking, re-asking and clarifying what it is I am looking for.  Just as we got better at searching the internet, there are definitely ways to improve getting better at using AI.  Now, my Chat GPT interactions are more conversational as I’m working on an idea or problem.  I often read that Chat GPT is like teaching something to a child  and that is a useful mindset and good reminder that AI does not come with human wisdom.

The other shift in how I have used Chat GPT over the last eight months is using it for idea generation.  Almost daily, I am asking it to give answer prompts like, “As a school superintendent what are five things I could observe when visiting a grade 3 class for 10 minutes that would be helpful to my work.”  And then, I often take one of those ideas and explore it further to help me pinpoint my purpose.   I am saving time and gaining clarity in my work.  

And back to Anna Bernstein.  It is commonly heard that new technologies, while make some jobs obsolete, they will also create new jobs that we had never heard of before.  One of those is prompt engineer.  And Bernstein is one of the trailblazers – a good reminder that we need to look beyond what is lost in these changes, to see what is also gained.

When I spoke with all our staff a couple weeks ago I used some basic prompts to expose people to Chat GPT.  When we surveyed the group, about 60% had used the tool in their personal / professional life including about 10% who had used it with students.  This digital disruption feels different that other technological tools of the last decade.

What are you doing with students and AI?  How are you using it in your professional lives?  Has your thinking changed on it over the last few months?

I will regularly check back in and share what is shifting for me – I am definitely in the joy of learning stage as I try to figure out how tools like Chat GPT will help me while also trying to be sure it is not the case of the technology being the driver of thinking and the work.

 

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Can We Please Not Jump to Banning Stuff!

Posted in Change, Technology, tagged , , , , , on January 17, 2023| 8 Comments »

I think I am sounding like the old guy telling you I have seen this all before.

Last week, I wrote about Chat GPT, which is getting a lot of interest in education.  I ended that post saying, “What a great opportunity to not make the mistakes of the past and see technology as a threat, but rather an opportunity for us to rethink how it could add value to our work.”

To go back a few years, I was there for the great calculator debates.  I had classes that banned the use of calculators, or restricted the use of calculators, or allowed calculators for certain parts of classes or exams but not others.  

And with the growth of technologies this century the immediate impulse to ban technologies has been a common one from school jurisdictions.  Hardware like laptops and cell phones have been banned in some areas.  And while there are examples of a small number of schools banning wi-fi or the internet completely, there are a number of examples  of websites like YouTube being blocked in schools.  As new technologies are introduced, for many, the impulse is to do whatever possible to preserve the status quo.  As if, we only have to wait out this “iPad trend” and they will disappear, and we will not have to rethink how we engage with the new technologies in a thoughtful way.

This isn’t to say there should never be any limitations on technology in the classroom.  There are great reasons why you might want to not have any technology in a particular class or on a particular day, but it is the immediate reaction to ban a tool instead of understanding it, that is troubling.  For a profession built on growth and creating new understandings, as the world changes around us, we should always be seeing how these changes could be leveraged in our schools to ensure our classrooms are relevant, connected, and engaging.

So, here we are with ChatGPT.  

Quickly, for some the discussions shifted from the emerging power of AI to the need to ban it in schools.  One of the first places that came out loudly was New York Public Schools.  As Maya Yang writes in the Guardian: 

According to the city’s education department, the tool will be forbidden across all devices and networks in New York’s public schools. Jenna Lyle, a department spokesperson, said the decision stems from “concerns about negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of contents”.

Now, not to sound cynical, but if we started banning everything where there was a concern over the “accuracy of contents” that might be a bit of an overwhelming proposition.  

Rather than trying make technology a forbidden fruit in our schools, we should teach about it.  If young people don’t learn about technology at school – where will they learn?  Some will learn at home.  Most will learn from their friends or explore on their own.  Schools have and should continue to step into this space of guiding students with technology use that is age and developmentally appropriate.  Just this week, former BC School Superintendent, Geoff Johnson, made an excellent argument (HERE) for increasing media literacy in schools.

I get the natural reaction to ban things we don’t completely understand.  We should be careful and thoughtful with technology.  And if you think ChatGPT is the last time we are going to have this conversation you are very naïve.  There will be another gizmo next year, and one the year after that.  

Let’s continue to model for our students the excellent conversations we can have about technology and look for ways that the exciting shifts around us can improve the quality of the experience for everyone in our schools.

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Could AI Replace School Superintendents?

Posted in Change, tagged , on January 9, 2023| 16 Comments »

I will need you to read through to the end today . . .

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform a wide range of industries and professions, but could it replace school superintendents? While it is possible that AI could be used to assist school superintendents in their work, it is unlikely that AI could fully replace a human school superintendent.

School superintendents are responsible for overseeing the educational operations of a school district, which involves many tasks that require human judgment, decision-making, and interpersonal skills. Superintendents must be able to lead and motivate teams of educators, work with community stakeholders, and make difficult decisions that impact the success of students. These tasks require qualities that are unique to humans, such as empathy, emotional intelligence, and the ability to navigate complex social situations. AI systems do not currently possess these qualities, and it is unlikely that they will be able to replicate them in the near future.

However, that doesn’t mean that AI has no role to play in the work of school superintendents. AI could potentially be used to help superintendents with certain tasks that are time-consuming or routine, such as analyzing data and generating reports. For example, an AI system could be trained to analyze our student achievement data and identify trends or areas of improvement. This could allow superintendents to focus on more high-level tasks, such as developing strategies to improve student achievement or building relationships with community partners.

AI could also be used to improve communication between superintendents and other members of the school district. For example, an AI-powered chatbot could be used to answer frequently asked questions from parents or teachers, freeing up the superintendent’s time to focus on more pressing issues.

So, while AI is not likely to fully replace school superintendents,  it could be a valuable tool to assist superintendents in their work. By automating certain tasks and improving communication, AI could help superintendents to be more effective and efficient in their roles. However, it is important to remember that AI is not a substitute for human judgment and leadership, and it will be up to superintendents to determine how best to use these tools in their work.

So, I didn’t really write this.

Well, maybe I did sort of. 

It is getting murky. 

After working through a series of questions and answers with ChatGPT, this is the response I got to my ask, “Write a blog post of 350 words on whether AI could replace school superintendents and how AI could help school superintendents.”  I then made some edits to make it sound more in my voice.  Oh, it is original.  Put it through any plagiarism checker – it will pass.  And I did a few different versions with asking for a different tone if this is too formal for you.  So, let’s back up.

This is a quickly moving landscape -and I am very much a novice.  Let me do a quick summary.  ChatGPT is all the buzz right now.  As Bernard Marr in Forbes describes it: “ChatGPT enables users to ask questions or tell a story, and the bot will respond with relevant, natural-sounding answers and topics. The interface is designed to simulate a human conversation, creating natural engagement with the bot.”  

I remember when I first used a search engine – it was not Google, probably AOL or AltaVista, or something of that era.  It was clear things were about to really change.  This AI gives that same vibe.  My example is really basic that I shared today.  But what happens when AI reads all my blogs and then I ask it to write one on a topic in my style – that will be coming soon.  And of course the implications for education, like so many professions are huge.  We have seen good articles already on how this could be used for lesson plans and in other ways in education.  And there are debates on whether it is killing or not killing the English essay.  But this is really just the infancy of what will be possible.

I have lamented that in recent years that technology shifts have not given me the same excitement as those earlier this century in the web 2.0 era.  Well, this feels different.

What do you think?  Have you tried it?  What might be possible for its use in education?

As I wrote in a post last year, we might think with kids with laptops and mastering Zoom we are now fully digital – but Technology is Not Done!

What a great opportunity to not make the mistakes of the past and see technology as a threat, but rather an opportunity for us to rethink how it could add value to our work.

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