Bringing a Radical Shift in the EdTech Space

Dr. Ashley Ireland, Instructional Director, Simulated Learning at Loyola Marymount University

Dr. Ashley Ireland, Instructional Director, Simulated Learning at Loyola Marymount University

Dr. Ashley Ireland is an accomplished and dedicated professional with over 17 years of experience in educational leadership, curriculum development, and faculty training. She specializes in leading learning design projects focusing on the science of learning and technology-delivered simulated learning. Additionally, Ireland possesses ten years of direct leadership experience in simulation facilitation, training, and development. Moreover, she is a published author and experienced presenter at prestigious conferences. With a proven track record, she drives evidence-based initiatives and promotes innovative approaches to empower learners and enhance workplace success.

Please tell us your perspective on generative AI and how it impacts education tech.

As an overview, I am a member of the Innovation and Digital Education and Leadership Institute at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) IDEAL. Our institute assists K12 teachers in adopting innovative pedagogies and blended learning. We have been working on various projects related to software use, Edtech platform integration, and more.

With the advancement of AI, we are now focusing on automating the tedious and time-consuming tasks that teachers perform, thereby helping them transition from traditional to innovative teaching methods. One of the challenges we're tackling is teacher burnout, which has led to a high attrition rate and fewer people opting to join the profession. We aim to assist teachers by triaging difficult and tedious tasks and automating those using generative writing platforms like Gemini, Copilot, or ChatGPT.

Our first project involves creating a chatbot to automate lesson planning and scheduling. Teachers can input their requirements, classroom details, differentiation needs, accommodation needs, and standards, and ChatGPT will generate a lesson plan and schedule. We also utilize ChatGPT to compose emails for newsletters, subject updates, and parent communications. As a professor in the undergraduate education program, I'm also training teachers and tutors to use these generative AI platforms. We spend much time observing and evaluating modern lessons, which can be challenging to provide accurate feedback on. To address this, I take short notes on what I observe during the lesson and then use a rubric loaded into ChatGPT to generate input specific to that lesson. The platform generates accurate feedback, which I edit as needed to speak directly to the individual student. I then provided feedback to ChatGPT on how I edited the input, allowing it to improve its performance.

What strategies do you suggest to your peers to overcome barriers in adopting new technologies effectively?

There is substantial research regarding what teachers and mentors need to adopt new technologies. Most research suggests they require time and space to explore and experiment with these new technologies. When teachers are unfamiliar with technology, it's typically not because they fail to see its merit but because they lack the time and space to learn it. Therefore, it is essential to provide teachers with collaborative time to share and practice with new technologies, such as generative AI. This enables them to grasp what it can offer them and their students.

Regarding grading, I employ a rubric and incorporate notes to offer feedback to students. Occasionally, students employ filler words like 'like' or 'um' while speaking, and I aim to provide them with feedback on this matter. However, hastily taking notes can result in brief feedback. To streamline the feedback process, I utilize ChatGPT. It uses my notes and furnishes detailed feedback on filler words, how to avoid them, and why it's essential to sound professional. This approach allows me to provide more comprehensive feedback in an explanatory manner.

What changes do you expect with integrating generative AI into society, and what skills will become increasingly important?

I believe that generative AI will continue to be extensively utilized in the future. It is one of the technologies that will have an increasingly significant impact as we progress. I have harbored this belief since elementary school when I grappled with mathematics. I used to struggle with my times tables and other math concepts, which influenced my perception of math for a long time. My teacher insisted that I memorize everything because I would always never have a calculator with me. However, we all carry our phones, which feature basic calculators and scientific calculators with various functions. This realization made me recognize that my teacher was closed to future possibilities.

Similarly, generative AI will become so integrated into our society that it cannot be ignored or denied. We must learn to embrace it and focus on critical thinking, such as editing, fact-checking, and higher-order thinking. This is more important than the generative aspect we have been accustomed to for so long. It is crucial to concentrate on the ethical component, fact-checking, and ensuring the accuracy of content. We should not cease learning how to read, write, or do math independently but rather concentrate on the critical thinking skills necessary to utilize this technology effectively in the future.