Video How AIs, like ChatGPT, Learn: Video by CGP Grey
Should snow days be cancelled? In the advent of online learning, should childhood experiences be altered due to the ability to remain connected online? Video by CGP Grey
‘I will never go back’: Ontario family doctor says new AI notetaking saved her job – By Colin D’Mello & Isaac Callan Global News, Posted May 2, 2024 3:00 am, Updated May 1, 2024, https://globalnews.ca/news/10463535/ontario-family-doctor-artificial-intelligence-notes/
AI and the impact on student wellbeing.
In the advent that AI software becomes more prevalent throughout society, has there been any real consideration (or guidance) to the ramification of having students interacting with AI software in classrooms.
The video below discusses the impact AI can have on emotional wellbeing. When watching the video we can consider how AI software is impacting adult relationships, therefore what could the increased use of AI in the classroom mean for the developmental emotional wellbeing for young students? Are we potentially introducing students to a new way of building relationships?
Can AI be your perfect partner? Channel 4 News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crmqrm3wqKo
Can Playing Video Games Make You SMARTER?
Some interesting research has recently come out suggesting that video games can have significant cognitive benefits. A recent paper written on the subject suggests that video gaming may be associated with improved navigation ability.
Emre Yavuz, Chuanxiuyue He, Christoffer J. Gahnstrom, Sarah Goodroe, Antoine Coutrot, Michael Hornberger, Mary Hegarty, Hugo J. Spiers, Video gaming, but not reliance on GPS, is associated with spatial navigation performance, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Volume 96, 2024, 102296, ISSN 0272-4944,
Abstract:
Recent evidence suggests that greater reliance on GPS-assisted devices is associated with poorer navigation ability. Studies have also shown that video gaming may be associated with navigation ability.
We investigated the effect of video game experience and reliance on GPS on navigation ability using the mobile app Sea Hero Quest, which has been shown to predict real-world wayfinding performance. We tested a group of US-based participants’ wayfinding performance (n = 822, 367 men, 455 women, mean age = 26.3 years, range = 18–52 years) and asked them a series of questions relating to reliance on GPS and video game experience. A multiple linear regression model found no significant association between reliance on GPS and wayfinding performance. There was a significant association between weekly hours of video gaming and wayfinding performance. These findings provide a platform for future intervention-based research studies investigating whether daily activities may causally enhance or disrupt specific cognitive abilities.
Quite timely, apparently NS government does feel snow days should not cause schools to be cancelled entirely. In their recent contract which is up for vote in the union, they want teachers to report to online meetings and complete prep work during snow days.
I think that is a decent middle ground. For me the idea is not so much about letting kids play in snow, but to what extent is online teaching taking over the student experience. In BC Canada, snow day might mean one or two days, but in Quebec it might mean a month or more. I think in each case there needs to be a recognition that childhood experiences are important and that learning can happen offline as well as online.
I loved the “Snow Days” video! I also agree that what qualifies as a snow day will depend a great deal in the individual context. Growing up in Edmonton, no one thought twice about having the kids walk to school when it a minor blizzard and – 25 C. 😉
That said, the video raises an interesting question that I have returned to over and over during my career: What is gained and what is sacrificed as time and technology march forward? There are always trade-offs.
One of my favourite (and short – 3 pages) explorations of this idea in education is the 1951 short story by Issaac Asimov “The Fun They Had.” The pdf is available at https://www.bartlettschools.org/pdf/TheFunTheyHad.pdf