Jeremy Siegel: You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition. Conversations about artificial intelligence are dominating culture. They have been for the past few months. With the rapid advancement of technology like ChatGPT come big questions about what it means, including in the world of television and film, even in the medical industry. But one area that is a growing topic of discussion and for some concern is education and how I can be used in the classroom. Joining us to talk more about this is Erika Sandstrom, a middle school teacher and digital learning coach in Peabody Public Schools. Good morning, Erika. Thanks so much for joining us.
Erika Sandstrom: Good morning, Jeremy. Thank you for having me.
Siegel: How are teachers already using A.I. tools in their classrooms?
Sandstrom: Oh, my goodness. How much time do we have?
Siegel: You got 30 seconds for this one.
Sandstrom: Thirty seconds. Oh, goodness. Well, the thing is, it's come on like this huge wave. So a lot of teachers are still in the fear mode. But the ones that are jumping on board, I mean, I use it from everything from writing my smart goals — which is really fun, that makes my life easier — lesson plans that are very diverse and captivating for the kids too. And what else do I do? I jazz up my lesson plans that I already have. I'll throw things in there that I've used for years, and I want to add the latest technology. It just makes it so much easier. Canva is one of my favorites because Canva has so much built in A.I. my students use it for things like magic presentation or magic write. And the reason that I find these so powerful is that staring at a blank screen can be very intimidating. And your self-esteem goes in the toilet. Even adults. And having these assistants, it's like having a buddy you can riff with, you know, you can go back and forth. And so a lot of times I'll have an example on the board of a video we're going to make, and a lot of the kids will just make it just like mine. So having these tools to give them some pride where they can go into magic presentation or something and just put in what they need and have, instead of a blank screen, have something to start with, and they each have an individual idea. I could go on and on and on. That's just a few ways I use it.
Siegel: Let's talk a little bit more about that use, because it sounds like you're a big fan of using this at times, but I imagine there's someone listening who might be shocked, you know, thinking that artificial intelligence is being used to help kids get over the intimidation of a blank page, who might be asking like, well, shouldn't the teacher be the person who's helping them work past the blank page? Or shouldn't they maybe have a conversation with one of their classmates? Or maybe even finds it sad, like thinking about a kid going back and forth with a computer rather than with a human when they're there learning. So do you ever feel those concerns? And what do you say to someone who is genuinely disappointed or scared by the idea of a kid interacting with a computer rather than a person?
Sandstrom: Well, that's a great point. That's a wonderful point. It's not always about a blank page. There's so much prep work before that, you know, you don't just sit down and say, we're going to make a video and here's your topic and then talk to the computer. There's a lot more prep before that. Just the normal things we've always done. It's more for taking it to a different level. You know, teachers, yeah, teachers are scared. And so what I like to do, I was actually a co-host for something called Week of AI by teacher goals, and it's all free. And it's a bunch of educators from around the world showing teachers how to get past that fear and how they can use it as an aid. I feel like once they have a win, then they start to understand the power of it, especially when I show them Easy Grader, which can help them grade a hundred essays and to look for grammar. And they even has an AI detector in it and things like that. But AI for me is more about making my life easier so I can spend more time with my students.
Siegel: Hmm. I was speaking a little bit at the top about how conversations about AI in every field just seem to be happening more and more. And I think there is a growing consensus that it's something that people are going to have to learn how to use and make a part of their lives, whether they like it or not. How much is it the responsibility of teachers in classrooms to prepare kids for a world that will use AI more and more in the years ahead?
Sandstrom: It's not going anywhere. It's here to stay. It's been here for a long time. And it's hard because it's such a blanket statement. There's so much positive for AI being used. So I do think it's the responsibility of the teachers, but the teachers also need to be trained properly. We can't just throw them into this like we did with remote teaching and expect them to just embrace it. It has to be important for PD, professional development, things like that. But one — a lot of positive ways I use it is social-emotional learning. It's amazing because there's a lot of times I can't get to a kid and there's certain ways they can use it. I've even had kids use AI to help them figure out a way to make up with their friend after a fight. Beyond that, there's one called Scribble Diffusion. Even in art class or things like that, I have kids draw out a scene for their video or for something they want that they have in their head and it creates it for them. So there's so many cool ways. But my favorite is I have something called my breathing bubbles. And what I do is: Breathing bubbles are a breathing technique where you inhale for three, hold, and exhale. I like to explain that to people that don't know. And I used to use the one on the Calm app. But now what we do is we personalize them using AI — using AI, and also other things too. For example, their breathing bubble, in the center of it, they'll have a picture of their dog or a video of something else. But the best part is I have them think of a memory of their childhood that isn't on film that they don't have a picture of, especially adults. And I always think of this place my sisters and I went, it was this — we had this beautiful field with this giant boulder that we made a fort. And with AI, I recreated that moment. So when I open up my breathing bubble to do this exercise, I am immediately calm and I have positive memories rushing back to me as I use it for self-regulation.
Siegel: I wanted to mention that you've been recognized as a K-through-12 IT influencer by EdTech magazine for your work incorporating digital tools like AI in the classroom. And I guess before I let you go, for someone who is maybe a teacher who is lost on this stuff, or a parent or a kid who is scared or excited about the future and the possibility of artificial intelligence in the classroom, what advice would you, as someone who, you know, is making these forays ahead of a lot of people into artificial intelligence in the classroom, what advice do you have for them?
Sandstrom: I have found once again to give them a quick win with something where, for example, something that has nothing to do with school. I just planned a five-day vacation to Montreal in 6 seconds. And so I teach teachers that, or say, let's go look at your refrigerator and put all the food you have in there and come up with some recipes. And there's things we've done a bunch of times. I've written so many recommendation letters for students, You already know how to do this, so don't use your brain space for that. Let's learn new things and let AI help you with these tasks.
Siegel: That's Erika Sandstrom of Peabody Public Schools. Erika, thank you so much for your time this morning.
Sandstrom: Thank you so much.
Siegel: And Erika is known on social media as the green screen gal, and that is where you can find her across social media, also at greenscreengal.com. You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition.
Peabody Public Schools teacher Erika Sandstrom understands why teachers and parents worry about how artificial intelligence is used in the classroom.
“It's come on like this huge wave, so a lot of teachers are still in the fear mode,” Sandstrom told GBH’s Morning Edition co-host Jeremy Siegel Wednesday.
Conversations about artificial intelligence are dominating culture. With the rapid advancement of technology like ChatGPT come big questions about what it means, including in the world of television and film, even in the medical industry.
That discussion includes classrooms, too. Sandstorm, a middle school teacher and digital learning coach, said she uses it herself and encourages her students to learn how to use AI tools, too.
“I use it from everything from writing my smart goals — which is really fun, that makes my life easier. ... I jazz up my lesson plans that I already have. I'll throw things in there that I've used for years, and I want to add the latest technology. It just makes it so much easier," she said.
Sometimes she encourages students to use an AI-generated presentation as a jumping-off point they can then make their own, or as a template they can modify.
“The reason that I find these so powerful is that staring at a blank screen can be very intimidating. And your self-esteem goes in the toilet, even [for] adults,” she said. “And having these assistants, it's like having a buddy you can riff with, you know, you can go back and forth.”
Sandstrom said she’s found uses for AI tools in art classes, so students can turn their scribbled into AI-generated art; and in creating videos and presentations.
There is still a lot of preparation and thought that goes into those assignments, she said.
“You don't just sit down and say, we're going to make a video and here's your topic and then talk to the computer,” Sandstrom said. “There's a lot more prep before that. Just the normal things we've always done. It's more for taking it to a different level.”
She’s also found it useful for social-emotional learning — teaching students how to regulate their feelings at school and in life.
“I've even had kids use AI to help them figure out a way to make up with their friend after a fight,” she said.
Sandstrom has been recognized as a K-12 IT influencer by EdTech magazine for her work incorporating digital tools like AI in the classroom. She said she encourages teachers to use AI tools for grading essays and doing other time-consuming work.
“AI for me is more about making my life easier so I can spend more time with my students,” she said. “I've written so many recommendation letters for students, You already know how to do this, so don't use your brain space for that. Let's learn new things and let AI help you with these tasks.”
Teachers should embrace AI smartly, she said.
“It's [AI] not going anywhere. It's here to stay,” she said. “There's so much positive for AI being used. … But the teachers also need to be trained properly. We can't just throw them into this like we did with remote teaching and expect them to just embrace it.”
