Latest / Randy Unscripted / Technology Can't Replace Teachers - NaPodPoMo 2025 #5

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Technology Can't Replace Teachers - NaPodPoMo 2025 #5 · Randy Unscripted

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  Randy Black: Randy Black.
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  Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Black. He's a troublemaker. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to Randy
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  Unscripted. I'm Randy Black, and this is another entry
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  in my napod promo challenge. That's national podcast post month where podcasters
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  all around the world are pushing themselves to create and publish 30 episodes
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  in thirty days.
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  It's all about creativity,
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  consistency,
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  and community.
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  Today,
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  working in education,
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  I thought that that I'd take the time to unpack a topic that's transforming classrooms. It's it's challenging educators,
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  and it's exciting students everywhere.
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  That's artificial intelligence.
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  We're gonna talk about how it's being used in schools, what opportunities it brings,
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  and what ethical questions it raises.
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  Let's start with the big picture.
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  Artificial intelligence or AI
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  isn't some far off futuristic idea anymore.
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  It's already woven into the tools that teachers and students are using every
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  single
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  day.
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  From grading systems and learning platforms
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  to tutoring chatbots and accessibility apps,
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  AI is reshaping
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  how education works.
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  But before we go deeper,
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  it's important to clarify what
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  AI
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  actually is
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  and what it isn't.
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  At its core,
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  AI is about machines
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  simulating
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  human thought.
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  It's not magic,
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  and it's not alive.
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  It's software
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  that is built
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  to recognize patterns,
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  to to process data,
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  and to make predictions
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  from those.
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  There's all kinds of different types of AI, but the ones that are impacting schools, say, are usually
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  narrow AI. They are systems built for very specific tasks like grading,
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  providing feedback,
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  or recommending learning resources.
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  We
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  also hear about machine learning where
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  systems,
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  they learn from data to
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  improve over time, and and we also hear about generative AI, which which creates new content like text and images or even video.
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  Those are the kinds of tools that are now
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  slowly
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  making their way into classrooms.
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  For teachers,
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  AI can be a real game changer.
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  It's not here to replace educators.
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  It's here to help them.
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  Imagine being able to instantly generate quiz questions,
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  differentiate assignments,
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  or even get automated insights into which students
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  might need extra help,
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  all without having to stay up past midnight doing grading or lesson prep.
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  That would be awesome.
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  AI can do some very some very powerful things for you, like it could create personalized
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  learning plans based on student specific performance.
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  AI can automate grading and feedback, saving you valuable
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  time with what you do to prepare for your classroom.
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  AI can provide curriculum support for you,
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  generating prompts and activities on demand.
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  And AI can offer professional development
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  by suggesting resources that are tailored to your strengths or your needs.
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  It's like having an assistant
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  who never gets tired
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  but still needs guidance
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  and supervision
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  to stay on course.
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  For students,
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  the impact might even be more immediate.
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  Adapted learning tools like DreamBox or CanMingo
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  adjust difficulty levels for work that they're doing in real time,
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  and writing assistance like Grammarly provide feedback
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  instantly to them.
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  Students can get twenty four seven tutoring support.
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  They can practice with AI powered and generated flashcards,
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  or they can use text to speech tools that make content
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  more accessible.
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  These technologies are are helping learners at every level, including students with disabilities
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  or those who speak multiple languages.
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  AI is making learning more responsive and more personal,
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  but
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  it's not without its challenges.
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  And that brings us to
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  the ethical side of things.
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  As AI becomes more embedded in classrooms,
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  schools need to think critically about privacy,
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  bias,
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  and equity.
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  For example, if an AI tool
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  uses
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  biased data,
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  it might give unfair results or recommendations.
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  If schools collect and analyze student data,
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  who controls that information,
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  and how securely
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  is it stored?
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  There's also
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  risk of overreliance
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  on automation, letting algorithms
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  make decisions that should involve some human judgment.
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  Teachers
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  bring things to the table like empathy,
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  creativity,
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  and moral reasoning,
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  things that AI
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  simply can't replicate.
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  So the goal isn't to automate education.
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  It's to enhance it,
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  to make teachers' lives easier,
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  to help students learn better,
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  and open up new opportunities
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  for innovation
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  without losing the human connection
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  that makes learning meaningful.
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  So here's something to think about.
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  How can schools balance the efficiency
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  and the insight that AI provides
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  while still keeping the essential human element at the center of education?
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  That's a question worth asking,
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  not just for educators,
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  but for anyone who values the role of people in a world of machines.
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  That's all for today's episode of Randy unscripted, part of my napod promo series.
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  I'm diving into a new topic every day this month exploring how technology,
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  culture,
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  and creativity intersect in our everyday lives.
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  If you're a podcaster or thinking about becoming one, I'd love to encourage you to join in the challenge.
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  Create,
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  share,
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  experiment.
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  There's no better time than now to add your voice to the bigger conversation.
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  So keep chasing knowledge,
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  keep challenging ideas,
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  and I'll catch you in the next round of Randy Unscripted.
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  Right? What if they want an encore? You unplug and you run. Run offstage.
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  Smiling. Smiling. Of course. No encore.