Educators Experiment Positive Roles Of AI In School At First Hackathon

In England, a two-day event centered around artificial intelligence and education takes place soon. Set for the 30th and 31st of October, the hackathon in London will invite participants to experiment with AI. The objectives include simplifying administrative duties for teachers and being able to provide personalised student feedback.
 

Teachers Tackle AI Experimentation

 
A strategic collaboration involves the UK’s Department for Education, Faculty AI, the National Institute of Teaching, and the AI in Schools Initiative. It aims to guide teachers and school leaders through the world of AI.

Attendees from prestigious institutions such as Harris Federation, Star Academies, and others will convene to test AI’s capabilities in various scenarios, including the creation of lesson plans and accurate exam grading. Students from secondary schools will also add their voices and experiences to the discussions and experiments.

Tom Nixon, Director of Government at Faculty AI, has expressed optimism regarding the integration of AI into school environments, stating, “AI has the power to cut workloads and improve young people’s education.”
 

Solutions and Synergy Between AI and Education

 
In the pursuit of bringing theory into practice, the developed solutions from this AI hackathon will not remain confined to the event. The best strategies and tools developed will be shared with the Department for Education’s workload reduction task force and demonstrated to schools nationwide. This aligns seamlessly with the government’s goal to lighten the working hours of teachers and leaders by five hours each week.

Dr. Calum Davey, Executive Director of Research at the National Institute of Teaching, emphasised the vital role of schools in problem identification and solution development in the realm of AI applications in education, expressing, “Emerging AI technology may help with their work.”

In June, the Department for Education opened a call for evidence, inviting educators to contribute their perspectives on AI in education, focusing on ethical considerations, risks, and possibilities. The feedback from this call and the results from the hackathon will be published in November 2023, aiming to refine the government’s approach to safely and fairly advance AI in education.
 

 

Advancing Education with AI Support

 
Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, pointed out that understanding how AI functions and ensuring its safe use are pivotal in education. She mentioned, “We need to improve our understanding of how AI works and ensure its safe usage.”

Meanwhile, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan shared a broader vision, expressing, “We want to see teachers using AI to speed up administrative tasks and planning so that they are free to focus on the things that make the biggest difference to students.”

The UK, known for responsible development in AI, aims to keep its commitment to this sector. The hackathon and the upcoming UK AI Safety Summit on November 1 and 2 are demonstrations of this.
 

Working Together Towards Progress

 
Encouraging collaboration and innovation, the event marries technological expertise with on-ground educational experience. Reducing the admin-related burdens on educational professionals with technology inevitably enhances the quality time dedicated to education.

The enthusiasm surrounding the event shows a collective, hopeful lens at the role AI can play in education. Professionals across STEM and policymakers are coming together. The hackathon is giving them a platform to create more beneficial solutions for their industries.