Trending in ED AI

In this episode of ⁠Trending in Ed AI, Mike Palmer welcomes Andrew Sliwinski, Global Head of Product Experience for ⁠LEGO Education⁠, on the day of a major product launch. Together, they explore the intersection of physical play and artificial intelligence, revealing how LEGO is redefining AI literacy for the next generation.

Andrew shares his winding career path from tutoring in Detroit to directing Scratch at MIT and serving on the board of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The conversation dives into ⁠LEGO Education’s new Computer Science and AI curriculum⁠, a hands-on, privacy-first platform designed for students from kindergarten through eighth grade. 🧱

They discuss moving beyond screen-based learning to collaborative, physical experiences—like building a dancing robot owl to understand machine learning. Andrew explains why we should stop teaching kids to just tread water with AI tools and start helping them understand the "black box" through first principles like data, probability, and bias. 🤖

Whether you are an educator or a parent, this episode offers a unique look at how "learning through play" prepares children to be the architects of the future. 🎓

Time Stamps:

0:00 - Introduction: A Big Day for LEGO Education 1:15 - Andrew’s Journey: From Detroit Classrooms to MIT Scratch 2:55 - The Legacy of Mindstorms and the Genesis of AI at LEGO 4:45 - Launching the New K-8 Computer Science & AI Curriculum 6:10 - Learning Through Play: Only the Best is Good Enough 9:15 - Shifting AI Literacy from "Use" to "Understanding" 11:40 - Collaboration vs. "Maze Solvers": The Power of Hands-On Teams 14:30 - Children as Role Models: Learning from the Next Generation 17:30 - Vocational vs. Defensive Perspectives on AI Education 22:15 - Passing the "Substitute Teacher Test" 24:00 - Dancing Owls & Machine Learning: Cool Things You Can Build 25:50 - Screen-Free Tech: Starting AI Concepts in Kindergarten 29:20 - Solving the Privacy Puzzle: Local Data & No Accounts 36:30 - Durable Skills: Data, Statistics, and Probability 39:30 - Closing Thoughts: Handing Kids a Screwdriver for the Black Box

Stay ahead of the curve in education! ⁠Subscribe⁠ wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode of Trending in Ed AI. 🔔

In this episode, host Mike Palmer welcomes back Dr. Eddie Watson to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of AI in higher education. Following the release of the second edition of his book, ⁠Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning⁠, Eddie shares insights from working with nearly 200 campus teams on transitioning from AI-resistant assignments to AI-integrated pedagogy. ⁠Here's the link to Eddie's first appearance⁠.

Key Takeaways:

Beyond Academic Integrity: While cheating remains a concern, the conversation is shifting toward AI literacy as an essential learning outcome to prepare students for an AI-integrated workforce.

The "Calculus" of Cheating: In high-stakes environments, students often feel a competitive disadvantage if they don't use AI.

Pedagogical Transparency: If faculty ban AI for specific assignments, they must explain the "why" (e.g., building foundational skills) to encourage student compliance

Backward Design: Eddie advocates for starting with the desired learning outcome and engineering assignments and instruction from there.

Learning to Write vs. Writing to Learn: AI’s role should differ based on whether the goal is mastering writing mechanics or using writing to process course content.

Durable Skills: While technical skills like prompt engineering may change quickly, mindsets like metacognition and critical thinking remain essential.

"Ground Truth" Bots: Using tools like NotebookLM or Small Language Models (SLMs) allows students to interrogate specific, vetted data sets like OER textbooks.

Efficiency vs Engagement: The episode concludes with a look at the "Efficiency vs. Engagement" binary. While institutions may use AI to automate grading and increase class sizes, the real opportunity lies in reinvesting saved time into "signature pedagogies"—mentoring and fostering a sense of student belonging, which are the greatest predictors of student success.

Quotes:

"The one who does the work is the one who does the learning. How do we make sure our students are doing the work, because that's where the learning occurs?" — Eddie Watson

Time Stamps:


00:00 - Introduction & Welcome Back


00:55 - The Innovation Cycle: Second Edition of "Teaching with AI"


01:41 - Eddie Watson’s Background & Role at AAC&U


03:32 - The Shift: From Academic Integrity to the World of Work


05:10 - Complexity of Academic Integrity & Student Pressures


07:42 - Evolving Assessment Strategies & Motivation to Cheat


10:55 - Backward Design: Aligning AI with Learning Outcomes


12:54 - Writing to Learn vs. Learning to Write


14:43 - Agentic AI & Modernizing Assessments


18:50 - Creating "AI-Resistant" vs. AI-Transparent Assignments


24:43 - Developing a Meta AI Literacy Model


28:00 - Durable Skills: Metacognition & Managing AI


33:50 - Custom Chatbots, SLMs, and Ground Truths


46:40 - The Future: Efficiency vs. Engagement


49:00 - The Human Element: Mentorship & Student Belonging


51:00 - Closing Remarks

⁠Subscribe to Trending in Ed⁠ wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an insight-filled conversation like this one.

Michael Ioffe is the CoFounder and CEO of Arist, an AI=powered enterprise learning platform that delivers just-in-time instructional content via SMS. We hear Michael's back story, dropping out of Babson College to pursue a Thiel Fellowship allowing him to become a serial entrepreneur who was selected for Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

We also hear what led Michael to start Arist with a focus on frictionless learning in the flow of work, delivering innovative learning interventions for Fortune 500 companies. Michael shares his belief in the importance of agency as perhaps the most critical super skill to impart to learners as we prepare for an AI-powered future of work.

Hear how a sharp, innovative entrepreneur is launching an AI-powered learning platform designed to work with a rapidly changing world of work.

Subscribe so you never miss a conversation like this one.

Welcome to Trending in ED AI, brought to you by Palmer Media, the same folks who produce the flagship education podcast Trending in Ed. In this special milestone edition, host Mike Palmer is joined by our virtual co-host, Nancy, to explore the exciting and rapidly evolving world of Artificial Intelligence through a learning lens.

In this episode, we discuss:


The Canny Centaur: We revisit key concepts like the "canny centaur" and navigating the "uncanny valley," exploring how to effectively blend AI with human intuition and empathy to enhance learning without losing the human touch.


AI in Practice & Pop Culture: We dive into AI's immediate applications in education, from personalized tutoring systems reminiscent of Baymax from Big Hero 6 to accelerating skill development through simulations, much like Neo in The Matrix. We also touch on ethical considerations from series like Black Mirror, discussing data privacy and algorithmic bias.


Sycophantic Drift: Discover the fascinating concept of "sycophantic drift"—how AI assistants can unintentionally become overly agreeable, and the design challenge this poses for providing accurate feedback in educational AI.


The Future of AI Hardware: We explore the intriguing collaboration between Jony Ive and Sam Altman on new AI hardware, including speculation around an "AI surveillance medallion," and its implications for privacy and continuous data capture.


Contrasting AI Philosophies: We highlight the differing perspectives of prominent AI leaders, contrasting Luis von Ahn of Duolingo's "AI-first" strategy with Dario Amodei of Anthropic's focus on AI safety and ethical alignment.


Mary Meeker's AI Report: We break down Mary Meeker's latest report on AI adoption, revealing its unprecedented speed, plummeting inference costs, and the "great reshuffling" of job roles that signals AI as a mandatory infrastructure.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at Trending in Ed AI for more.

This episode of Trending in Ed - AI features a truly insightful conversation with Dr. Philippa Hardman, a renowned expert at the intersection of learning science, data, and artificial intelligence. Dr. Hardman, whom we affectionately call an "unusual hybrid beast" , brings a unique perspective as a historian by training who now dedicates her work to applying learning science principles to educational technology.

In this essential discussion, Dr. Hardman challenges conventional notions of AI in education, emphasizing that AI is fundamentally "a tool in our hands... rather than a replacement". She explores how AI can help us "deliver better learning experiences" by making learning more motivating and leading to true mastery, not just recall and regurgitation. We delve into why AI represents a potentially more profound disruption than previous technologies like MOOCs , specifically because it can force us to deliver on the long-standing promise of fostering innovative, original, and creative thinking.

Dr. Hardman also provides a critical look at the risks of AI, acknowledging that it is "as flawed as we are as humans" and inherently biased. She stresses the importance of making everyone "very critical consumers of AI" and understanding how to mitigate these risks. She advocates for using AI to develop crucial skills like critical thinking, rather than avoiding its use in the classroom.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the practical applications, ethical considerations, and transformative potential of AI in shaping the future of education. Dr. Hardman's insights are invaluable as we collectively navigate this rapidly evolving frontier.