Alright, folks, Times Insider here to give you the lowdown on our crew and how we hustle to bring you the news. Today, I got a pretty interesting story for you. So, imagine this: I get invited by Marisa Shuman, a computer science teacher at the Young Women’s Leadership School of the Bronx, to come into her classroom and see what’s going down. This school is all about math, science, and tech, so you know it’s gonna be good. Turns out, she’s got this lesson ready on ChatGPT, an A.I. chatbot that can whip up book reports and essays. Now, as a reporter who’s been diving deep into how tech companies are changing schools, I was all in. ChatGPT was blowing up in schools and college campuses, and executives were preaching that knowin’ A.I. tools was crucial for students. But here’s the plot twist: New York City Public Schools just put the kibosh on ChatGPT over concerns of cheating and inaccuracy. But our girl Marisa ain’t one to back down. She saw this as a golden opportunity to teach her students a valuable lesson. She fired up ChatGPT at home and used it to create a lesson on fitness trackers and all that wearable tech jazz. Then, she unleashed it on her 11th and 12th graders. But get this, she wasn’t so concerned if they learned about the wearable tech itself — she wanted them to analyze the accuracy and effectiveness of the lesson generated by the chatbot. Talk about a critical thinking exercise. Her students were straight-up critical, y’all. They found errors, cheesy ad lines, and questions that were just too easy. One of ’em said it reminded them of fourth grade. Now, this got me thinkin’ about the importance of firsthand experience and face-to-face interviews. Time to step outta the office and hit up some classrooms across the country. So, turns out schools are under pressure to jump on the generative A.I. train real quick. Tech big shots are swearin’ by these A.I. chatbots, claimin’ they’ll change the game for education and personalize learning for students. And ain’t nobody wantin’ to miss out, ’cause apparently, not knowin’ A.I. could cost you job opportunities. So, your boy here decided to hit the road and find out what’s really goin’ down. In Silicon Valley, I swung by Khan Lab School, where sixth-graders were testin’ out a new A.I. tutor called Khanmigo. The kids were havin’ a blast messin’ around with it, askin’ math questions in slang and even makin’ Khanmigo spit some rap lyrics. But across the country, opinions on these A.I. tutors were mixed. Officials at First Avenue Elementary School in Newark found Khanmigo a bit a little too helpful, wantin’ the students to think through the steps themselves. You know, a little more brain exercise. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some impressive A.I. uses in schools too. I met some teachers in Walla Walla, Washington who were usin’ ChatGPT to create fun literary games and storytelling assignments. But here’s the kicker, folks: It’s not just about the tech skills. From the Bronx to Walla Walla, school officials and teachers are tellin’ me that it’s just as important for students to learn how to question artificial intelligence. Actually, for some of ’em, it’s even more important. So, guess what I’m gonna do? I’m hittin’ up more schools, folks. I want to see what other stories are out there, ’cause believe it or not, many schools and teachers are just startin’ to explore what A.I. education should really look like. If you’re an educator who wants me to come check out your school or share your experiences with A.I. tools, hit me up by fillin’ out this form. Let’s dive deep and find out the real deal.
