Explore how technology can augment teaching efficiency while considering its impact on student engagement and learning outcomes.
Turning to Alternatives
Reading headlines about AI in education can feel existential, reminiscent of Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” The integration of generative AI into education is complex, akin to the Wild West. As an edtech assistant professor, I ponder AI’s impact on teaching and learning, experimenting with various methods alongside pre-service educators.
I’m excited about AI’s potential, but the concept of time gives me pause. Movies like “Benjamin Button,” “About Time,” and “Back to the Future” explore what it means to live a good life with the time we have. A recent book by researchers Punya Mishra and Marie K. Heath posed a thought-provoking question: “What does it mean for learners to trade off the zone of proximal development for ease of access to the creation of knowledge?” They don’t have the answer, but it’s crucial for educators and scholars to consider.
This question makes me wonder if, in our pursuit of efficiency, we’ve overlooked the value of the experiences gained through time-consuming tasks. My curiosity about AI extends beyond work into home life. Recently, while clearing our garden with my husband, I found satisfaction in the physical labor, despite the aches and fluctuating feelings about gardening.
Reflecting on the value of time spent on such tasks, I realized these experiences offer a deeper satisfaction than the instant gratification of time-lapse videos on social media. Time shapes us, often unnoticed, much like the fish in David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech who didn’t recognize water.
Though machines could handle my garden, completing the hard work myself left me feeling more alive and connected to my garden. This embodies the Greek term “meraki,” which means putting soul, creativity, or love into what you’re doing. My mom’s homemade quilt differs from a store-bought one because it carries a piece of her.
Professional basketball player Caitlin Clark attributes her confidence to the hours spent honing her skills. If she magically gained her abilities without effort, would the experience be as valuable? The patina of experience enriches her performance.
I’m not against AI; it has enormous potential to enhance human creativity and support teaching and learning. However, discussions about AI in education often focus on cheating, missing more interesting questions: How can these tools make us more creative? Can they make us more human? It depends on our intention and usage.
Learning to do citations by hand in high school, though tedious, gave me a deep understanding of the process. As educators, we must consider what we gain and lose with intentional AI use. What does it mean for work to be done quickly, and what is the cost?
Neil Postman, in “Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change,” wrote that every technology has a prejudice, valuing certain perspectives and accomplishments. A writing culture values logical organization, a telegraphic culture values speed, and a computer culture values information over wisdom.
As AI becomes mainstream, I ponder what values we might lose. On a practical level, many things I’ve learned that matter most were hard and time-consuming, making them rewarding. I don’t want to forget the satisfaction of hard work, and I hope our schools remember this too. As Tom Hanks says in “A League of Their Own,” “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.”