Writing is hard. It is really hard for me. I am dyslexic. I didn't know that until college. Tools were not really available to support me, I was just happy to have a name for what was going on in my brain other than "dumb".
I never thought I would be able to read or write like my peers. I was shocked to learn that most people do not read the same line 3-4 times before going to the next one. It was such a tiring process. I preferred comics. Self-contained stories that allowed me to see the action instead of struggling to put it together from paragraphs of text. Imagine my surprise when I decided to become an ELA teacher in college. Once I knew how to read and could utilize supports, I loved to read. I read all of the books I pretended to read in high school and I loved them. It was like an entire world opened up to me later in life than others and I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure every student had this opportunity. I didn't have the name for it at the time, accessibility, but I knew it mattered. There had to be students like me in classrooms and I didn't want them to feel stupid like I did for all those years.
This is all coming back to me because my son is in high school and he just finished reading The Great Gatsby. It was so much fun talking to him about the chapters and knowing he was going to be surprised in Chapter 8 (Spoilers: Gatsby is murdered!). The conversations that we had were so much fun. He told me he would have to write an essay on it after they watch the movie in class. I had left the ELA classroom before AI swept into the classroom and I wonder about the stress it might be causing ELA teachers.
I talk to plenty in the SchoolAI community and it is a mixed bag of reactions. Some teachers are having students write more in class essays. Other are finding ways to allow students to use AI as a writing partner. Others tell students AI should not be part of their writing process at all. Like most things, a combination of all of these feelings is probably best. Writing in class to to communicate ideas on the spot is a good skill, using AI in deliberate ways to support your writing is a valid use, and sometimes, we just do not need AI to be part of the process. I worry about the students that are going to miss out on supports as part of these wide ranging bans that are starting to be enacted in districts around the country.
My son is in a very lucky position. He has two writers at home that will happily look over his essay, provide feedback, and help him craft an essay that represents his ideas and hits all of the benchmarks laid out in the assignment and rubric. As a teacher, I would encourage students to have multiple people look at an essay before it lands on my desk. My son's situation would be viewed as the gold standard of supporting student learning at home. However, that is not an option for all of the students.
There are people that view AI support in any part of the writing process as cheating. I struggle to see how having parents at home review a student's work and provide feedback is different than having AI provide the same feedback for a student who does not have parents at home that can provide equitable feedback compared to other parents. I think there needs to be more conversations about the equity issue of AI when people talk about district wide bans. Who is hurt when we decide to ban things in schools? Does banning schools from using various tools mean that all students will not have access to them, or only the students who can't afford to get them on their on.
Let's no pretend that the parents that can afford to purchase premium versions of LLMs are not doing so and sharing it with their children. Those students will have access to the ever growing suite of tools that these LLMs provide and those students who do not have the money for access will be left behind. Banning access to these tools ensures that the digital divide will continue to grow. Students who struggle and lack resources will continue to do so as they wait for districts to form their committees, put together roadmaps, and have public hearings, etc. That entire process could take over a year. That student who just wanted access to help with college essays misses out. The teachers who are overburdened already will not be able to use school approved tools to process data more quickly and give them insights on their students. Real time support will become impossible. More students will get lost in the process. It is not equitable for anyone.
I think there is something important about taking a thoughtful, measured approach to implementing any technology in the classroom. However, it needs to move faster than the speed of bureaucracy if students and teachers are going to actually get the support they deserve.
Working in the community side of a company is a chance to help share these ideas with as many people as possible and provide a platform for the teachers that are doing the hard work each and every day. I get to hear stories from teachers all the time about how they have helped open up AI in their school to support student learning. I think that is so wonderful and is why I love working in community. Getting to be able to connect with educators all over the world to hear their stories and provide them with the tools to tell their stories is a wonderful thing. I hope this post helps other think about equity and access as they explore how AI impacts the learning environment at their schools.
Hugs and high fives,
TNT
