What do those 4 words have to do with each other? I have said it multiple times on the podcast, I say it all the time in class when I teach, it’s my mantra when I am delivering PD or coaching someone on how to integrate technology. You have to have a purpose. AI is no different. We cannot integrate AI in the classroom without being intentional. There has to be a purpose behind everything that we do when we are teaching. That intentionality has to go back to our purpose. As educators, we have to be clear on our purpose (or philosophy). No, I am not talking about different philosophies of education, although those can be used to help you find your purpose. I’m talking about what we believe about our students and ourselves and why we are doing this crazy job. Without a purpose, we can’t have a vision. What about the path? I recently posted about purpose on X and got several responses. One of those responses was a quote that I have now turned into something pretty (because we all need a pretty quote in our lives, right).
I think this quote applies to how we are going to utilize AI in our classrooms, as well as so many other things in life. In the podcast this week, we talked about AI’s superpowers in the classroom. The focus was really looking at how AI could help us meet students where they are, gamify to capture interest, and tackle some of the administrative tasks to save us some time. Those are three very different purposes for the use of AI in the classroom, but they all go back to the same vision of enhancing student learning.
That takes me back to the original question of how do these 4 words go together. My answer to that is that in order for us to integrate AI in the classroom, we have to know our purpose, have a vision, and then be heading down a path. The path may change. In all honesty, it will probably change as AI develops more and more ways that it can be integrated and we start to see more ways that it can help us be better teachers.
Regardless of what changes with AI and the path we are taking, our purpose should stay pretty much the same. The vision of how it will look in the classroom may morph as we get new data and new ways in which to integrate AI, but the purpose should be pretty solid. In other words, we are writing it in pen.
Perfect Chaos 