Post by Jade Bowler

Aaaaah, what a culmination! 👏 After working with the incredible Daniel Emmerson and Ali Gellett FRSA from Good Future Foundation and Big Education on the Big AI Project, an AI Ethics curriculum for UK schools, it was such a joy to celebrate the national rollout via the Next Generation Schools Conference in London. In the words of the powerhouse founder Liz Robinson, “This conference is not about big name speakers. It’s about bringing together school leaders and educators who have been on the ground doing the work for years — sharing our experiences, learning from each other and envisioning where real education transformation is possible.” And you felt that expertise in the room. I attended fascinating workshops led by educational leaders on everything from: - How to Educate the Head, Heart and Hand (especially when our system is built to over-index on the ‘head’ part!) - How we can rethink assessment and even invent ‘Learner Profiles’ that capture students’ holistic strengths beyond just exam grades - Why Oracy should be foregrounded just like numeracy and literacy; and how the changes in the Curriculum Review present an opportunity for better oracy education! - How we can enforce enrichment mandates into law I jumped on the panel last minute to chat all things AI in the future of education, joined by the incredible academic Rebecca Mace. As the youngest person in the room, I did admittedly fear misrepresenting “youth” as a monolith, which tends to happen when individuals of any minority are consulted on behalf of their group. However, being an online creator with daily access to thousands of student perspectives, I aimed to capture the sentiments of the zeitgeist around students' AI fears, hesitations and use cases. I also shared up-to-date research outcomes from the CogSci literature on cognitive dependence and memory retention with extended AI use. Overall, it was such an incredible day and very inspiring. If you’re at a UK school, Headteachers can sign up for free AI ethics training here: https://lnkd.in/gGN5yXiN And if you personally want to learn about everything from cognitive offloading, to the environmental impacts of AI use, you can watch my fact-checked video here: https://lnkd.in/e-rBAUts P.S the lavender colour coordination is still going strong 🫡💜