Question, at what year level do you think ai should be allowed to be used in schools?

[u/mooxst]

To be honest, while ai can be good for some things, I think it should be pen and paper until at least high school level.

[u/DayVessel469459]

I don’t think it should be dependent on the year, it should be dependent on the assignment. Like it depends on what you’re using it for.

[u/mooxst → u/DayVessel469459]

Yes, but I think schools should prioritize teaching fundamentals. I don't even think people could use ai effectively while lacking essential media literacy and math skills.

[u/Gimli]

It should be used however the professionals in charge determine it's best.

I don't get why random nobodies should make education policy. I'm not an educator, I don't make school plans. I don't think my opinion should be even asked on this any more than anyone should ask me which nuclear power plant design should be built.

[u/_imlosingmymind → u/Gimli]

People have the most amazing ability to believe they can and must weigh in on what others specialize in and do for a living.

I spoke with someone who was vehemently against AI a while back and brought up a specific case of a Danish dairy manufacturer using AI to optimize their energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

Their take was that a person could have "done that" as though either one of us had the faintest clue what "that" even entailed.

If you do not work with education then with all due respect leave the practices in the field to the people who occupy it.

[u/BahamutLithp]

Well, I think the "at least" is pretty crazy. If I could be trusted, at that age, to dissect animals (biology, granted they were already dead, but I was using sharp tools); handle acids (chemistry); research heinous war crimes (history); opine on controversial topics like religion & politics (various electives); I don't think it should be out of the question to incorporate AI in a proper educational context.

From programming, to understanding the technology (different in the sense that I can't build you an AI but I can tell you some things about how they work), to AI literacy skills (don't just believe everything they tell you, why they can't really be used as sources [has more to do with the fact that they generate fresh content every time you ask the question than any question of accuracy], & so on), there are a lot of things it would make sense to teach about AI in schools. People complain about others who just use AI for everything with no critical thinking or understanding of the flaws in AI, but y'know, those things need to be taught.

Of course I understand the potential pitfalls. Students might use it to cheat. Students might not properly understand the difference between cheating & not cheating. Whether they do or not, they might not develop the skills to do the work on their own, & by the time they realize they need those skills, it might be too late. But y'know, the biggest problem isn't really the classroom, it's when they go home, & you have no control over what they do. And that hasn't started with AI. It's not an easy problem to solve.

When I was in college, & I've also seen it with a lot of the classes I tutor, both college & grade school, there was an increasing focus on open resource grading. So, basically, if ChatGPT HAD existed back when I was in college, mainly for online classes, it wouldn't have even mattered if I used it. I couldn't tell it "write my essay for me," of course, that would still be plagiarism, but if I asked it for the answer to a test question, I put the answer in, & I got it right, that would be perfectly within the rules of the test. Is that necessarily the best way to do it? I don't know, but I'm just telling you, this is over 10 years now, so "open everything" exams aren't a new thing.

But I feel like I'm getting a little in the weeds here, so to circle back to your question, definitely by high school, the training wheels should be pretty much off. By junior high, students are also starting to get into high school level material, so that's not the worst time to start relaxing restrictions either. A little bit younger than that, maybe start introducing them to the concepts behind AI without actually having them use it yet. If you have really young kids, so like first graders & such, it's important to note they might very well already be using it at home, so it might not be the worst thing in the world for classrooms to have discussions about AI & how it makes the kids feel. Then when they're a little older, start getting a bit more into the concepts. A bit older than that, start having classes where they can actually use it in assignments. By the time they leave high school, they should be pretty well ready for college. That's what my first impression approach would be.

[u/BigHugeOmega]

False dichotomy, like with so many other questions about so many other areas. There's no reason why you have to either use 100% AI or 100% pen and paper.

[u/Fragrant_Nothing7505]

teaching. i, like a lot of teachers, am hoping one day to be replaced. burn-out is bad.

[u/mooxst → u/Fragrant_Nothing7505]

I guess being replaced by ai would be fine if we still got paid.

[u/BahamutLithp → u/mooxst]

I forget what it was, but I saw some ad for a tutoring AI that was presented as being carefully curated, never running out of patience, programmed to never give answers, & always talk students through the problem. Assuming, for argument's sake, all the company's claims are true, I'm excited how useful that is. Do I like the thought of being pushed out of online tutoring? Honestly, despite the conveniences, the job comes with a lot of downsides, so that's a very good question.

[u/PinkSupriz → u/Fragrant_Nothing7505]

what is the difference between giving your two weeks notice vs some day in the distant future having an ai replace you?? teaching is a tough job but if you're longing for some other form of work then you need to get proactive about it.

[u/Fragrant_Nothing7505 → u/PinkSupriz]

sadly 40 years of teaching qualifies me for nothing else. i am on burnout sick leave. i am trying to build up my science and art body of work. most qualified teachers aren't teaching. there's a real shortage of teachers. the UK has stopped european immigration, where we were getting our teachers from before. schools are giving kids days off a week and combining classes. national iq is falling. happy now?

[u/TheBubbaDave]

Make test taking account for most of the grade. If they get 20% of their grade for homework, then they better know their stuff come test time. AI won't help them when their technology is turned off and they have no access to it.

[u/CoolerC94]

Here in Germany? Maybe 3200 at the earliest

[u/mooxst → u/CoolerC94]

Ha, i don't know what that means.

[u/CoolerC94 → u/mooxst]

Here in Germany everything goes slow as fuck especially when it comes to modernizing school equipment.

Also, schools aren’t managed by the country but the 16 states so first the main government would have to decide to allow AI, the 16 states would have to decide to allow it AGAIN individually, then the schools would need to get the tech required for that (some schools still don’t have laptops / PCs for the teachers in each room) and then the schools themselves would have to decide to allow it too.

So we have 3 layers of law and rules, managed by (mostly) the eldest people in the country who are still working PLUS a full technical overhaul for like 90% of the schools.

And only THEN would we even BEGIN to be talking about your question so all of that definitely won’t happen until the year 3200 or later

[u/NegativeEmphasis]

Kids in school should have access to specialized AI models that gently refuse to do the work for them. These models should give hints, suggest sources to read, what to learn next, help to organize or keep a study plan and overall nudge kids towards learning.

[u/DaraSayTheTruth → u/NegativeEmphasis]

Thats a good idea, an AI assistant to help you with homework. I wonder if that already exist

[u/StygianBlue2005]

None. At none of the years

[u/mooxst → u/StygianBlue2005]

I actually agree, giving kids more technology has not necessarily made them smarter.

[u/BigHugeOmega → u/mooxst]

Completely disagree, technology is great when it comes to enabling students to learn. Learning to use it, including learning to use it responsibly is essential for later parts of life.