Weekly Newsletter Practical AI Strategies Beyond Scales: In theory and in practice Hi everyone, This week I’ve been reflecting on the journey of the AI Assessment Scale since its first version back in 2023 (or 650 years ago in AI years). Many readers of this email will be familiar with the scale (if you’re not, aiassessmentscale.com has all the papers), and I’ve had the pleasure of talking through the AIAS with hundreds of educators in the past few years. But we also know that scales and...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Weekly Newsletter Practical AI Strategies Hi everyone, This week I’ve been at schools in Melbourne and Regional Victoria talking about the near future of GenAI, and the ever present “AI assessment” conversation. One thing was clear across all sessions. Whether teachers love AI, hate it, or are totally indifferent, everybody understands the importance of helping students negotiate this new online territory. The Internet isn’t what it was when we were growing up! Many of us are old enough to...
14 days ago • 1 min read
Weekly Newsletter Practical AI Strategies PhD Retrospective: Three Years of GenAI in Education Plus: The Term 3 Waitlist for Practical AI for Curriculum Leaders closes Sunday Hi everyone, I've been running a lot of online PD for the past few weeks, including some chunky three-hour workshops on topics like assessment and the use of AI for making teaching resources. In many of the sessions, we've reached the same conclusion: GenAI doesn't save you time. The technology can be used in ways which...
22 days ago • 2 min read
Weekly Newsletter Practical AI Strategies If you know, you know: Part 4 - Moving from knowing to doing with GenAI Plus: The Term 3 Waitlist for Practical AI for Curriculum Leaders is open Hi everyone, First of all, some exciting personal news. After three years of working with and studying GenAI, I have received the official confirmation of the completion of my PhD. I'll be graduating in Melbourne in June, and am looking forward to what comes next in my work with schools, universities, and...
28 days ago • 2 min read
Weekly Newsletter Practical AI Strategies Case Study: Saskatoon Public Schools and AI Assessment Plus: The Term 3 Waitlist for Practical AI for Curriculum Leaders is open Hi everyone, One of my favourite parts of my job is getting to know educators from around the world, and in all areas of education. This week I've run sessions for schools in South Australia, New Zealand, Sydney, and face-to-face in Singapore. I've spoken with Teachers Registration Board staff in Tasmania, and their...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Weekly Newsletter Practical AI Strategies Dealing with Shadow AI in Schools Plus: Practical activities for building subject expertise with and without AI Hi everyone, Welcome to Term 2! Down here in the Southern Hemisphere we're transitioning to Autumn. Out here on the farm, that means that we've had days where we've lit the fire, and days where it's still hitting 30°C... If your students are anything like my kids, the change in season makes them a bit wild. Now's probably a great time to...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Weekly Newsletter Practical AI Strategies What a "living" AI policy for schools really looks like Hi everyone, In late 2023, I was commissioned by the Victorian ICT Network for Education to write a set of generative AI guidelines for schools. ChatGPT was not quite a year old. Schools were caught between panic and possibility, and my job was to produce something a fictional "VINE School" could work from: principles, practical advice, and a template that member schools could adapt to their own...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Weekly Newsletter Practical AI Strategies This week on the blog... Accessibility and Expertise Plus: Easter course discount ends soon Hi everyone, Two posts this week, both circling the same question: what actually reaches people when knowledge travels through a medium? The AI industry's implicit pitch is that the medium has finally become transparent. You put knowledge in one end and get it out the other, perfectly preserved, infinitely scalable. Both of these posts push back on that idea,...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Weekly Newsletter Practical AI Strategies This week on the blog... A Taxonomy of Agentic AI Hi everyone, Happy Easter to those of you on a break. Term 1 has wrapped up here in Victoria, and I hope wherever you are in the world you get at least a few days to switch off. If you do find yourself with a bit of time over the holidays, this week's three articles might be worth a read with a coffee or two, because they cover a lot of ground: from the language of AI agents, to the hidden cost of...
2 months ago • 2 min read