Embracing Artificial Intelligence in California ELO-P Programs: Preparing Students for the Future
Artificial intelligence is all the rage these days - but is it a fad or is it here to stay? And is it worthwhile to implement artificial intelligence tools at your ELO-P program? At the heart of artificial intelligence are learning algorithms that are used to process data to find useful patterns, and adapt its system to improve its performance. AI has already had a major impact on education with students using tools like ChatGPT to write their homework assignments for them, and on the other side there are educators using AI recognition software to identify which students are cutting corners.
Students should have access to artificial intelligence tools so they can have a better understanding of how AI functions, how they can ethically use it to their advantage, and how the technology can have unintended consequences. Knowledge is power, and the next generation of students can use that power to responsibly guide the development of artificial intelligence and apply these lessons to the new tools of tomorrow. This all starts with ensuring that your ELO-P staff are properly equipped with a foundational AI literacy that enables them to understand how artificial intelligence works, and how to engage productively and responsibly with the technology. Luckily STEMfinity offers different options for staff training including our STEM 101 Professional Development, as well as a course called AI Essentials for Educators offered by Mastery Coding. Our STEM 101 Professional Development training is the best option if you are looking to integrate several different types of resources at your ELO-P program like robotics and AI.
Robotics are a great way to implement AI tools into your ELO-P program and they offer a multidisciplinary focus that combines engineering, programming, and artificial intelligence all in a single package. While most robotics kits offer students the ability to program their robot to perform specific actions, the majority of robots do not have the ability to take new information and learn from it to improve its own performance. STEMfinity has a wide selection of robotics kits with AI components that enable students to build a machine that learns along with them. Some of the benefits of adding artificial intelligence to your ELO-P’s robotics program include facial recognition, sound recognition, object recognition, object tracking, and color recognition tools that will significantly enhance any project that your students are working on. For example, this means that students can turn their static pre-programmed robot into a thinking machine that is capable of (among many other things) learning the shape of a stop sign, a green traffic light, or even a honking horn, and then act accordingly. A few great robotics resources that integrate artificial intelligence are UBTECH, Makeblock mBot2, Zumi, KAI: The AI Robot, and pi-top.
These artificial intelligence capabilities might seem simple at first glance, but there are a wide range of applications that span across multiple industries. For instance, placing a simple artificial intelligence system inside a refrigerator could allow it to keep track of every single item placed within it and provide its owner with an automated message of when a food is close to expiration, and then automatically add that item to a running shopping list that is based upon your shopping habits. We could also place artificial intelligence systems inside of vehicles to monitor intoxicated behavior and automatically shut down the engine if the sensor is triggered. In the near future, artificial intelligence could analyze an individual’s entertainment viewing history and automatically generate new content based upon that viewer’s preferences. While the technology to do this isn’t quite there yet, it is jaw-dropping to see how quickly it has advanced in only the past couple years. One of the unfortunate side effects of this will be that we can no longer trust the authenticity of photos, videos, and and audio recordings and it will be interesting to see what kind of counter-technology is developed to help combat the issue. Heck, it’s hard enough these days to tell whether a company’s online chat support is even a human being!
Another great way to integrate artificial intelligence lessons into your ELO-P program is by using handheld computers like the Makeblock CyberPi Go Kit, micro:bit V2 GO, and BOSON Artificial Intelligence Starter Kit. Or, if you are looking to simplify the approach, Meritus AI offers several online courses that are designed to progress students from beginners to experts in artificial intelligence. These courses include AI Novus (Grades 2-5), AI Primus (Grades 6-8), and AI Meritus (Grades 9+).
Is your ELO-P program ready to get started with AI? Our in-house STEM experts are ready to help you select the artificial intelligence resources that are best for your students, staff, and budget! You can get started by using one of the links below:
