Latest / Integrate This! Ed Tech Podcast / SchoolAI in Action: Safe, Student-Centered AI with Hattie Strong

Transcript

SchoolAI in Action: Safe, Student-Centered AI with Hattie Strong · Integrate This! Ed Tech Podcast

0:00
Welcome to Integrate This, your go -to EdTech
0:03
podcast where curiosity meets classroom innovation.
0:07
Join your hosts, David Berner and Jeremy Mikla,
0:09
as we explore the rapidly evolving world of educational
0:12
technology. From game -changing tools to insightful
0:15
conversations with today's top EdTech voices,
0:18
we're here to help educators stay informed, inspired,
0:21
and ready to innovate. So tune in, level up,
0:25
and let's integrate this. Welcome to the Integrate
0:40
This EdTech podcast. I'm Jeremy Mikla and joined
0:44
as always by co -host David Berner. And we're
0:47
very excited to welcome our special guest today,
0:50
Hattie Strong. Hattie is from School AI and we're
0:55
really excited to get into some conversation
0:57
about... what is going on generally in the world
1:01
of AI and education, but also how school AI can
1:06
help fill some of that space and to help meet
1:10
some of the needs of teachers and students as
1:12
well. And so Hattie, why don't you get things
1:15
rolling here for us during this episode and give
1:19
us a little bit of kind of your origin story.
1:22
How did you get to this place where you're at?
1:26
Well, thanks for having me, first of all. So
1:28
yeah, I'm Hattie Strong. I started this journey
1:31
as a kindergarten and then first grade teacher.
1:34
So I'm an elementary friend. I taught in Bowling
1:38
Green, Ohio. Don't hold it against me. I know
1:41
if you've got a Toledo, Bowling Green, you know,
1:43
there's always a battle there. But yeah, I had
1:46
31 students. And one student didn't know letter
1:51
G, the other student was doing blends and digraphs.
1:54
And then I had another student jump in from the
1:56
filing cabinets and 27 other variations of that.
1:59
And I quickly found out that everything had to
2:03
be differentiated. You know, the laminator and
2:06
I had a very intimate relationship, but it was
2:09
such a successful year. My first year, everyone
2:12
got what they needed. Everyone's progress monitoring
2:16
increased and we ended the year. It was so, so
2:19
encouraging. And I lasted three years in the
2:22
classroom. And so I kind of do what I do now.
2:27
And I moved out of the classroom after that to
2:29
support. teachers, students, the people that
2:32
support them a little bit broader across the
2:35
Midwest. So I exited the classroom and went to
2:38
smart technologies. You might know those smart
2:40
boards that you saw me, you know, popping around
2:43
all Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin.
2:48
So I did that for a long, long time, you know,
2:50
love active learning. That's what kept me going
2:53
in my classroom. Turns out my smart board was
2:56
from the 90s, but hey, didn't know that when
2:58
I jumped. So yeah, it was a really exciting time,
3:01
kind of opened the door and did that for a long
3:04
time. And then when OpenAI, you know, popped
3:07
around, it was just like, oh my goodness, like,
3:10
how do we handle this from an education, you
3:12
know, pedagogy first lens, like safety, security.
3:16
And I fell in love with school AI. And that is
3:20
ultimately how I made my way here is just to
3:22
support safety first, students first and drive
3:26
that equity in education. I became an educator
3:29
because I'm a first generation high school college
3:32
grad. So I know that education is the ultimate
3:34
equalizer. And that's kind of why I do what I
3:38
do every day. Right. And so was it some of those
3:42
experiences you think with some of the students
3:44
and and the the amount of work perhaps that you
3:47
were putting into making sure you reached every
3:50
every student that just I mean after three years
3:53
you know that's kind of like I hear and I remember
3:56
you know even when I was coming into being a
3:59
first two three -year teacher like if they may
4:01
if you make it past three years you know then
4:03
that's a success story right but you know like
4:06
but there's so many expectations I think that
4:08
are put on you know, new teachers, especially
4:11
at the beginning. And they really do want to,
4:14
you know, go above and beyond, not just to show
4:17
off to, you know, their peers or to their administrators,
4:22
but because they really passionately believe
4:24
strongly in what they're doing for the betterment
4:26
of their students. But at some point, did you
4:29
kind of like realize that I can't keep putting
4:32
in the same amount of time and effort? all along,
4:37
year in, year out without it. causing some self
4:40
-care issues. Yeah, I mean, there's that aspect
4:43
to it, of course, you know, when you have 31
4:45
little bodies and you're one person and, you
4:48
know, that assumes the facilities are up to date
4:50
and that, you know, you have, I didn't have air
4:52
conditioning. So, you know, thinking about basic
4:54
needs and it just was really tricky. I was on
4:57
every curriculum committee and tech committee
4:59
and scholarship this and needed new books and
5:02
like to do teaching the way I wanted to do it
5:05
to my standard because that's what every kid
5:08
deserved, it broke me. And I looked at myself
5:12
as a 24 year old thinking about like, how exhausted
5:16
I was, how am I going to do this for 30 years?
5:20
There has to be a better way. And it kind of
5:23
just had a light bulb moment of, wow, if I can
5:26
support X amount of teachers per building per
5:29
state, you know, per territory, maybe there's
5:32
a way to support teachers so they do make it
5:35
longer than I did. So that's just kind of, yeah,
5:38
it's a bit of self help, but it's also a bit
5:41
of how do we work smarter, you know? Yeah, you
5:44
mentioned a couple of things in there too about
5:46
the experience that you had where you do have
5:50
a lot going on in the classroom. Teachers are
5:54
extremely busy and it's something that we've
5:55
talked about a lot in this podcast about we're
6:00
trying to find a balance of getting teachers
6:03
practice with some AI learning about what AI
6:08
is, AI literacy, understanding all the different
6:12
components that AI is, and then also exposure
6:16
to tools to be able to create things. And so
6:21
something like school AI that you're working
6:24
with, how do you approach helping teachers feel
6:29
confident using AI? Yeah, it's a great question.
6:33
I think it starts with kind of our why. Our company,
6:37
we're made up of current, former educators, administrators,
6:41
instructional coaches, you know, my friend Tara.
6:44
So ultimately, we all have our why in our story
6:48
of where we came from and how insanely difficult
6:52
that was. So I think we start with understanding
6:55
where every teacher is at. Every district is
6:58
in a different place, right? Every student population
7:01
has a different need. So really just understanding
7:04
what the main pain points are of what are you
7:09
most stressed about, right? Like what can we
7:11
take off of your plate and streamline it a little
7:14
bit so you have more time back with your kiddos.
7:17
really meeting teachers where they're at, hearing
7:20
what, if I could, you know, the magic wand, right?
7:23
If I could do something to really alleviate things
7:26
that are weighing them down right now, what would
7:28
that be? That might be a pedagogical thought
7:31
partner to streamline suggested grouping, right?
7:34
For small groups based on letter fluency. Or
7:37
it might be trying to find a differentiated learning
7:41
space to support a student like mine that didn't
7:44
know basic letter sounds. So everybody has a
7:47
different need and really just trying to find
7:49
that organic spot that makes them see that light
7:53
bulb moment of, oh my goodness. this is so powerful.
7:57
I can actually use this like ethically and equitably
8:01
for my kiddos. Do you feel like in your experience
8:05
with working with schools have teachers been
8:11
really receptive to the things that school AI
8:14
offers in terms of getting them just exposure
8:17
to AI? Yeah, you know, it's hit or miss. I always
8:22
say, like, I love the tough, you know, the tough
8:24
educators. One school in Michigan brought me
8:27
up on the assembly stage and the director of
8:30
curriculum said, if you can get my teachers on
8:32
board, like, we're ready to go, right? And so
8:35
I got up on there in that 90s gymnasium with
8:38
my mic and no teacher wanted to be there, right?
8:41
They're head down with their laptop because they
8:43
have a hundred things to do or either grading
8:45
or we're doing an IEP or, you know, something
8:47
that we know is urgent. And I just said, okay,
8:50
I want everyone to shout out exactly what you'd
8:52
rather be doing right now. And so it was mass
8:55
chaos, right? And I opened School AI and I recorded
9:00
like the chaos and we were able to streamline
9:03
almost all of those things they'd rather be doing.
9:06
And it instantly turned it around from this is
9:09
something I have to learn to take on to how can
9:12
I leverage this for all of the great work I'm
9:14
already doing? Because teachers are the experts.
9:17
We're continuing ed, right? We're constantly
9:19
adapting. Hello, COVID. So that's usually how
9:22
I start. And then they really do relate to the
9:26
fact that, wow, this understands ZPD. This is
9:29
thinking Maslow before Bloom. Like it is really,
9:33
really well done. And we're off to the races.
9:37
So when I started like getting into using school
9:41
AI a little bit in, you know, it was kind of
9:43
in, you know, I don't have a classroom of kiddos.
9:46
So I tried to project what, you know, how is
9:49
a teacher? And I honestly, my first go around
9:53
is always social studies. I always default back
9:56
to that, right? But then I start to approach
9:58
it as, okay, what if I'm a different, you know,
10:00
what if I'm a, you know, a middle school science
10:03
teacher, or, you know, what if I am trying to
10:05
help Class with fluency and phonics, you know,
10:09
like how would how would they approach using
10:11
this tool in their ways? And I think for me like
10:17
one of the things that I found Really compelling
10:20
in the in using school AI was the ability to
10:24
create the spaces Which to me kind of like meant
10:28
I could make kind of like my own personalized
10:33
tool I don't know if I want to go use that term
10:39
exactly, but like it customized to exactly what
10:43
I wanted to do. And I knew that using the guardrails
10:47
that school AI has in place to help promote the
10:50
safe use of these tools as well was really kind
10:54
of supportive. But I guess kind of like I'm getting
10:56
to a question here, I promise. Where, you know,
11:01
that's how I viewed it, but where do you think
11:03
school AI shines the most within this AI and
11:07
education space? So I like to like zoom out,
11:12
zoom in, right? Because everyone has a different,
11:16
you know, fan favorite, right? Like party trick,
11:18
right? Or something that is changing their day
11:20
to day. But the zoomed out view, school AI is
11:23
a pedagogy first platform. And what that means
11:27
is that we're constantly thinking what is best
11:30
for the teacher, the student, someone who is
11:34
supporting them, the administrator, the front
11:35
office secretary. And so in doing that, we have
11:40
built an AI assistant in DOT, my favorite for
11:44
DOT. And DOT is our kind of guide on the side
11:47
for all things educators. So you have an educator
11:50
focused personal assistant, if you will. So I
11:54
can streamline all of that data. You know, I
11:56
can have a Copa and FERPA safe space to input
12:00
my beginning of the year screeners and to start
12:03
to understand how I'm going to meet students
12:04
needs, right? The other side of that is that
12:07
we are the first student facing platform and
12:11
that is how we were built. We are safe by design.
12:15
So how that works is that a teacher or administrator
12:18
creates an individualized learning space. And
12:22
it's very, very simple to do so. You could even
12:24
use a thought partner to help streamline that.
12:27
But through creating that space with my key objectives
12:30
for maybe one student or groups of students or
12:33
whole class, in real time, that space has the
12:36
ability out of the box to ensure students are
12:39
getting what they need. I have a live data dashboard
12:42
as the educator understanding exactly what they're
12:45
doing because we would not put kiddos out to
12:47
the playground without a monitor, right? So constantly
12:51
having that accountability and that full fidelity
12:53
for teachers to know what is going on, how are
12:56
my students doing in real time, and who needs
12:59
me most. So that's kind of like the overview
13:03
of how you could leverage, right? You've got
13:05
your personal assistant, but you also have this
13:07
ability to differentiate anything and everything
13:10
you could need even for parents. We have parent
13:14
spaces. We have administrator spaces. So it's
13:17
really just any learning experience that has
13:19
an AI guide on the side thinking about what everybody
13:22
would need. So when you when you think about,
13:26
you know, I'm glad you mentioned, you know, the
13:28
student facing component of school AI and and
13:31
really designing around that that safe space
13:34
from the very beginning of it. But still, are
13:37
there? guidelines or recommendations that you
13:40
would make to teachers about when is an appropriate
13:43
time to begin to introduce students to the types
13:48
of AI literacy skills that we know that they're
13:52
going to need, not just as they advance through
13:54
years in school, but for career readiness beyond
13:59
graduation. Yeah, it's a great point. I mean,
14:02
we are seeing it in kindergarten classrooms.
14:04
We're seeing it, you know, in post secondary,
14:06
you know, in different use cases. So to your
14:09
point, you know, we want to start with. this
14:13
literacy focus, and we want to be the thought
14:16
partner for districts, right? They have, you
14:18
know, their roles. They're a technology director.
14:21
They're an educator. We want to be this AI, you
14:24
know, expert that is going to support the whole
14:26
child and teachers. So kind of thinking about
14:29
that, we have a full community. of literacy -based
14:33
courses, of micro courses. So all of our partners
14:36
and people leveraging our free platform have
14:40
that ability to say, hey, I want to start with
14:43
this five -minute elementary AI literacy course,
14:46
and we're going to go through a space as a whole
14:48
group. And I'm going to introduce you to your
14:50
accommodations, your read -alouds, your easy
14:53
read mode for neurodivergent friends. So really
14:56
through modeling. We kind of encourage that,
14:59
you know, from the K5 space. And then from there,
15:03
the ability to customize any learning experience
15:06
or any school AI space enables them to build
15:10
that literacy organically. in a way that relates
15:13
to them. So if I push back on my topic sentence
15:16
space and say Spider -Man, Spider -Man, the AI
15:19
actually has the ability to be like, did you
15:21
know Spider -Man loves topic sentences? He would
15:25
actually hunt for, you know, a verb in this way.
15:28
So it's going to tie back to the interest and
15:31
just be able to give that educator a second to
15:34
meet the student's needs. to get the data point
15:37
and then go put out the fire or then go intervene
15:40
you know with their 30 others. So do you think
15:45
or like or can you think of any like I'm sure
15:48
you see a lot of creative uses of spaces and
15:51
of activities that are planned using school AI
15:55
like what are some of those most creative original
15:58
unique ones that stand out in your mind? Yeah
16:01
I totally forgot to answer your guardrail. you
16:03
know point popping back spaces have guardrails
16:06
built in out of the box teachers do not have
16:09
to emphasize don't give them this answer don't
16:12
don't do that out of the box good to go back
16:15
to what you had just asked about use cases oh
16:19
my gosh educators counselors principals like
16:22
the community in k -12 is so amazing in the midwest
16:25
where i get to spend my days One of my favorite
16:28
spaces right now is actually a space from a learning
16:31
AI learning strategist in Michigan Virtual. And
16:35
he has created a space where he has input all
16:38
of his district's library catalogs with Lexile
16:43
levels. And students are actually able to enter
16:47
the space, say what their name is. The AI understands
16:51
what books would be a good recommendation, what
16:54
interests they may have based on previous data
16:57
that the teacher has put in, and then it helps
17:00
them select a book. It asks them if they would
17:02
like a person of color leading his voice or how
17:05
they would best relate to sci -fi or this or
17:08
that, and then it helps them go to the library,
17:11
find the card catalog, and get that book. And
17:14
so it sounded really, really simple, but I was
17:16
speaking with educators in Redford. Shout out
17:19
to Redford, Michigan. And it was the first time
17:23
in 10 years that this teacher has had all of
17:26
her kiddos pick a book, fill out the actual details
17:30
to describe that book, and do it within one class
17:33
period in probably 10 years. So that was one
17:36
of my favorite ones this past week. The other
17:40
side of that is that we have counselors using
17:42
spaces that can be calming corners or can be
17:47
an after hours safe space. Our spaces have guardrails
17:50
built in so that if anything crosses a line of
17:53
safety security or mazel before bloom, if someone
17:56
says, I'm hungry, a red alert actually goes back
17:59
to the educator and administrator with a timestamp
18:03
to that combo. So again, just that full fidelity
18:06
and keeping that educator central to the loop
18:09
because we want everything to go through that
18:11
expert for kids. And one of the things that you
18:16
mentioned there is, well, there's a couple different
18:18
uses that you mentioned where it kind of covers
18:22
the whole or a lot of different areas of the
18:26
school. So like counselor or upper or lower level
18:29
kids that are using the spaces. One of the things
18:33
that we've seen is like grade span breakdowns.
18:37
I don't know if you've seen any of those, but
18:40
do you have any thoughts on or has school AI
18:42
talked a bit about like how they determine what's
18:46
appropriate exposure at different grade spans
18:49
or for certain age groups at all? Or is it more
18:53
teacher design? Yeah. So, I mean, we're COPA
18:56
for BOSOT compliant by nature. So, you know,
18:59
we are fit for CAIDA, you know, adult learning,
19:02
but ultimately we are consulting, you know, with
19:05
each school district and making sure what are
19:08
your guidelines? What are, you know, your current
19:10
board policies? Because if they have a different
19:13
initiative and it's just four through 12, fantastic,
19:16
right? Like that's how we're going to scale at
19:18
your district for year one. Or other districts
19:21
are like, We have to provide equity equity for
19:24
our students and teachers and tools we offer
19:26
so we are going to blast this, you know pre k12
19:29
So it really just depends on I guess the state
19:33
the geo and what's best for each admin and teacher
19:36
Yeah, um, and that's actually that's something
19:39
we see a lot like obviously from school to school
19:42
It's like completely different on how they're
19:44
approaching it If they're approaching it sometimes
19:47
um is another uh issue as well, but um One of
19:52
the things that Jeremy and I talk about in some
19:56
of the trainings that we've done and this is
19:59
a you know, we I think we've got this from a
20:01
number of different organizations, but there's
20:04
like this concept of balancing opportunity versus
20:08
over reliance on the tool and What kind of things
20:14
do you this school AI think about just in terms
20:16
of making sure that there isn't? like complete
20:20
cognitive offload for students where they don't
20:24
really do much of the work themselves? Is it
20:29
dependent on the teacher design of a particular
20:32
space or a thing that they create or what type
20:35
of things like that are you seeing in terms of
20:38
making sure that their interactions with the
20:40
tools are still somewhat rigorous or that it
20:43
challenges them a little bit? Yeah, that higher
20:46
level cognitive load, right? We don't just want
20:48
to create a world of copy and paste and this
20:51
and that. No, great question. Out of the box,
20:54
you know, our learning experiences are going
20:56
to probe for deeper learning, right? So the second
21:00
I put a one word response, I'm going to be met
21:02
with a little bit of a probing question or trying
21:05
to tie into an interest. So that, you know, is
21:10
enabled out of the box. But to your point, the
21:13
teacher does have an ability to set different
21:15
guardrails. So maybe I'm a foreign language teacher
21:18
and I want to put, do not provide translations,
21:21
right? Maybe that's an accommodation that I don't
21:24
want the AI to take. Or maybe I do, because I'm
21:27
in, you know, sixth grade and I have a ton of
21:30
Bengali kiddos and I want them to be able to
21:32
translate in real time, right? So it's a little
21:35
bit of both, right? Everything that we're doing
21:38
in our former educator brains is for best learning
21:42
practices. So we're mirroring that AI to make
21:45
sure it never takes on a personalized approach,
21:49
to never relate, to make sure students know,
21:52
I'm speaking with an AI thought partner. This
21:55
is not human. This is not something that is going
21:59
to become. my best friend, this, that, the other.
22:02
And it's not, you know, an agent to just streamline
22:05
and not take ownership of my work. It's going
22:08
to really probe to take on deeper thinking and
22:11
scaffold what I need in real time. Yeah, and
22:15
that's great. And one of the things that I really
22:18
like too is, and I've seen this, I feel like
22:20
I've seen this more and more, is some of the
22:23
tool or yeah, some of the tools, the platforms
22:26
like SchoolAI. or like we've talked with the
22:29
creators of EduAid before. And one of the things
22:32
that I've noticed is there is more emphasis being
22:36
placed on hiring people that were teachers and
22:39
have some classroom experience or they understand
22:43
how pedagogy works. And that's really great.
22:47
And I guess what I'm curious about is what have
22:50
you seen in terms of things that have been created
22:53
just from your teacher lens? uh what's the most
22:57
interesting things that you've seen as a use
23:00
case or like a classroom use case for school?
23:03
Yeah, well I go back to my kindergarten brain
23:07
um so my elementary friends this may be you know
23:10
life -changing for you my secondary friends are
23:12
gonna be like okay but I had 31 kiddos of course
23:16
and I taught every single strand. Every single
23:21
strand in every single kiddo needed a different
23:25
differentiated group or center or, you know,
23:28
uh, tech, you know, tip to intervene for 10 minutes.
23:31
And so my favorite thing to do in the platform
23:34
is to put in a CSV of data. So I have my kiddos
23:39
info because it's compliant. I cannot, you know,
23:42
I have to worry about scrubbing names and matching
23:44
kiddo one to Jodi and this and that. So anyway,
23:47
I can upload this massive data file that says
23:50
how every kiddo is doing in letter fluency, in
23:53
letter sound, uppercase naming, right? Into math
23:56
mastery, into their accommodations, their 504s,
24:00
their IEPs, or where they learn best in my classroom.
24:03
I can put that file in and say, I need groups
24:07
of six that are hetero or homogeneous based on
24:10
letter fluency. And within 30 seconds, I have
24:13
a perfect combo to try out. The amount of hours
24:16
I spent tweaking, okay, Brody can be here. And
24:19
then Hayden went, oh, nope, I need to switch
24:21
that group because he knows that sound. And I
24:24
spent hours. And if I think about using AI as
24:28
this partner where I am the expert because teachers.
24:32
are our experts, admin are our experts, can kind
24:36
of use it as I need it. We always say, beat up
24:39
on the AI, right? Like, you're not going to hurt
24:41
its feelings. And within 30 seconds, I have a
24:44
new hypothesis of groups that are either going
24:47
to land flat on their face or be amazing. And
24:50
so far, they've been awesome. So we recently
24:55
had on as a guest Saba Quidway. who, to the point
25:00
that you're just making, really kind of helped
25:03
to lay out this idea of we need to get past using
25:07
tools and AI as a tool, and you start using AI
25:11
as a teammate. And from hearing you just give
25:14
that example, it seems like you've got that process
25:18
working already. Yeah, you know, we really, again,
25:23
the company, we always say AI is not our thing.
25:26
Like we love AI. But AI is not the thing. The
25:29
thing is equity in education, this thing we've
25:31
been running at for how many years now, trying
25:34
to just add more and more onto teachers' plates
25:37
and school leaders' plates. And it's like, is
25:40
this this thing, if done right, that we can really
25:43
enable teachers to not only survive, but thrive
25:47
as these experts? So again, I'm not saying it
25:50
would have kept me in the classroom, but I don't
25:52
know. Like, I could still be doing what I'm doing.
25:55
if I had the ability, you know, to have this,
25:59
you know, thought partner. Of course I can go
26:00
across the hall to Mrs. Powell or this or that,
26:03
but like to be enabled all the time, to be at
26:06
home, yeah, as a first year teacher, it would
26:08
have been great. Yeah, and I kind of think of
26:11
that sometimes as well, like how would I be using
26:13
this, you know, like... what I have stayed in
26:16
the classroom versus moving into a role that
26:17
I have now. I don't think I would have. I think
26:20
I really enjoy what I'm doing right now. And
26:22
I, you know, getting a chance to have great conversations
26:25
with people, you know, all over the country and
26:28
get to getting to hang out with David, you know,
26:31
has been a lot of fun too. I don't know. Honestly,
26:35
like, again, I gave the story about me getting
26:37
on the stage and grow seal, like, It's so invigorating.
26:42
Like I know I'm a teacher to my core because
26:44
when I'm training teachers or when I have those
26:46
light bulb moments with educators or leaders,
26:49
I'm like, this is it. You know, like this is
26:51
what we're doing. So it's so cool to see that
26:54
full circle on the other side too. Sure. Let's
26:57
stick on that theme of teachers a little bit
26:59
here. And you know, like the innovation really
27:03
kind of comes from teachers. So how does school
27:06
AI really try to integrate the voice of teachers
27:11
into the designs that they're making. Oh, man.
27:16
If you could see our customer success team, they
27:19
are unreal. We are boots on the ground. Anyone
27:22
who is a school AI partner truly is a partner
27:25
the last three years. Shout out to my Chippewa
27:28
Valley friends in Michigan. They have been with
27:31
us from the start. And we have an active feedback
27:34
loop so that everything that we need to change
27:37
or address or enhance as things move quickly
27:40
in this world, they're telling us first, this
27:43
is what would change our lives, or this is what
27:45
our students need most. And so we have a voice
27:48
of the customer component every week where our
27:51
product team is enhancing, building, meeting
27:54
the product where they're at to enable teachers.
27:58
Recently, we came out with our browser extension.
28:03
And I tell you what, it was one of the biggest
28:06
things we heard all year from our partners. We
28:08
need something for teachers that are not going
28:11
to navigate to another platform. We need something
28:15
that will meet our teachers where they're at.
28:18
And so it's been so fun to see products, hear
28:20
this need. deliver it. I mean, unbelievable delivery
28:24
time, Jeremy. I don't ever want to be in product.
28:26
And to have it have impact for teachers to be
28:29
able to provide in -line comments within, you
28:32
know, 30 seconds that are pedagogy first and
28:36
require the teacher to add them in, right? So
28:38
keeping that human always in the loop. So that's
28:41
been really fun to see, you know, a couple other
28:44
things with our enhancements of our spaces. We
28:46
heard a lot. about our spaces being a bit too
28:49
open -ended. We really need them to follow, you
28:52
know, mastery level and outcomes to mirror what
28:55
students, you know, learning experience looks
28:57
like. So if you go into spaces now, our mission
29:00
control, the data dashboard, is all aligned to
29:03
mastery and outcomes based on how students are
29:05
progressing through the topic, as well as how
29:08
they feel about it. So if they put in, I don't
29:11
want to do this, you're going to get a note that
29:13
they're resisting, but we see a little bit of
29:15
encouragement when we're directing over here.
29:18
So I think that is the main piece. We're building
29:21
for y 'all, and we want what y 'all need most.
29:29
I've seen a lot of different tech products that
29:32
have kind of come out on the market in the education
29:34
world, right? And then they come out, the teachers
29:38
sees, oh, there's this great thing and then they're
29:40
gonna go try it out and they tell other people
29:41
how great it is. And then maybe a school decides
29:45
to invest in that product for their staff. And
29:49
then that's the end. of the cooperation. There's
29:53
very little training for teachers, right? Yeah.
29:55
If you can't see her, she's wiping her hands
29:58
with this, right? So what types of things does
30:00
school AI put in place to make sure that teachers
30:03
are given the PD that they need in order to really
30:06
be effective with using AI as a teammate? Yeah.
30:11
So that is, I mean, you spoke to it, right? We
30:14
know the data is there when we give, you know,
30:17
thousands of these tools or, you know, individualized
30:21
needs for teachers. That's just that, right?
30:23
We've provided it. We've checked the box. And
30:26
so for us, we know that what actually leads to
30:30
real adoption and real scale is the understanding
30:33
and literacy and background. So we have a full
30:36
professional learning team of educational strategists,
30:39
my friend Tara, the Tiago, and they have masters
30:43
and doctorates in coaching, in teaching, and
30:46
so all of our curriculum, all of our learning
30:48
community is anchored in that grounding of curriculum.
30:54
We have a curriculum manager who is constantly
30:56
monitoring, okay, if we want to incorporate this
30:58
curriculum for this district, what could that
31:00
look like at scale? So, you know, we meet with
31:03
every potential partner as soon as, you know,
31:06
we figure out what the best fit is, you know,
31:08
to roll out and implement. We all get on a team
31:10
with customer success, our education specialists
31:13
and myself, and we say, What are the goals for
31:16
the implementation? What does this look like?
31:18
Are we a train the trainer? Are we doing on sites?
31:21
Are we doing tech Tuesdays with office hours,
31:24
right? What does that look like to meet your
31:27
teachers where they're at? Especially if it's
31:29
mid year, I'm doing a lot of mid year adoptions,
31:31
right? Testing season. So again, meeting them
31:34
where they're at, building that implementation
31:37
plan. So it's not just here you go. And you have
31:40
that constant support from our customer success
31:43
and educational strategists. that basically build
31:46
it all. I mean, that has been probably my saving
31:49
grace this last year is being able to work with
31:52
these amazing districts and then say, OK, all
31:54
of that lift you're doing on the curriculum side,
31:56
on the superintendent side, on the MTSS side,
31:59
we are going to streamline it in this way for
32:02
you. And this is your go to person. If you ever
32:04
need anything, it just feels different. It's
32:06
just relationship based, you know. And one of
32:10
the things that I've noticed, too, is that there's
32:13
a pretty. active and supportive champions community.
32:17
Yes, I'm so glad you brought that up. When I've
32:21
gone in and I've posted a couple of things to
32:24
it as well, it's like, I think this would be
32:25
fun to do. But then it's very interesting to
32:28
start reading through many of the posts of other
32:31
teachers. And maybe you're not going to copy
32:33
exactly what they're doing, but it gives you
32:35
an idea, right? Yeah. Well, and globally too,
32:38
right? I mean, we... We have friends in that
32:41
community. Shout out to our Nick who manages
32:43
that global community of ambassadors and champions.
32:47
And yeah, you know, having that, it reminds me
32:50
kind of of like the Facebook wall days, right?
32:52
Having that safe space to just say. Where do
32:55
I even begin? And having someone reply within
32:57
a few minutes in that community of, well, where
33:00
should you start? What kind of teacher are you?
33:02
Are you a teacher? Are you an interventionist?
33:04
Are you a para? Right? Everyone is going to kind
33:07
of need something different. And yeah, Nick manages
33:10
our champions. Shout out to Nick. So if you go
33:12
on schoolai .com slash champions, you can sign
33:15
up. You get lots of really great intel. But yeah,
33:18
we're really just trying to build this community
33:20
to make safe and equitable tools and platforms
33:25
available to educators. Educators don't know
33:28
what they don't know. And so my biggest why this
33:32
past year was to make sure people aren't dumping
33:33
data into the chats or into things that are going
33:37
to take that PII just because someone didn't
33:40
know. So as you start to look at the future of
33:46
AI, which is extremely difficult, I feel like
33:49
every time we ask our guests this question, or
33:52
something to the effect of this question, it's
33:54
difficult to answer. But maybe try the best you
33:58
can. What will not change, no matter how advanced
34:02
AI gets? For us, what will not change is having
34:08
that human element constantly in the loop. So
34:12
for us, obviously, I'll say it more and more
34:15
again, we're educators first. Keeping things
34:18
deeply human and keeping multiple lines of humans
34:22
in the loop for kiddos is what we know will always
34:26
remain true because to your point the rigor the
34:29
critical thinking I mean if we take it, you know,
34:32
an output from, you know, Claude or something,
34:34
right? You know, the adult in us has the wherewithal
34:38
to know I have to push back. I am the editor.
34:40
I am the expert. So if we don't have those guidance
34:43
and those guardrails in those relationships that
34:46
educators build, all of this is for nothing.
34:49
So keeping teachers and educators and humans
34:52
in the loop always. OK, and as a former elementary
34:57
teacher, let's say that you and thinking about
35:02
other educators as well. But let's say that you
35:05
are still teaching. You don't know anything about
35:07
AI and someone brings it to you today. What's
35:12
the thing that you would say that you should
35:14
do or teachers should do to start learning now
35:17
so that they can get ahead or not get ahead,
35:20
but just get caught up to speed on what AI is.
35:24
Where would you start them out? Yeah, I would
35:27
honestly start. I would make a free account with
35:30
School AI because our free platform is Copa Frippa
35:34
SOC compliant. So you want to dabble in something
35:38
that is safe for you to use, right? You don't
35:40
want any personal liability there. And through
35:43
that, you have a thought partner that can help
35:46
you get started. You can say, I'm Hattie. I have
35:49
20 years of teaching in Bowling Green, Ohio.
35:52
I'm first grade teacher. I don't want to be having
35:55
this conversation with you, but AI is the buzz.
35:57
Where do I need to start? And DOT is going to
36:01
scaffold for that teacher. So I think first,
36:04
knowing where you're at is a safe space. Most
36:07
things that are free are not free, my friends.
36:10
They're gathering data on you. So A, make sure
36:14
it's a safe space. Maybe look to your district
36:16
guidance. And then from there, Just have a combo,
36:20
you know, just see what the platform or dot can
36:24
do for you or Say I'm a skeptic and I'm really
36:28
busy and I need to carpool today for soccer Like
36:31
how can I have lunch based on the schedule, you
36:33
know make it work for you It doesn't always have
36:35
to be putting AI in kiddos hands if that's not
36:38
where we're at, right? Yeah, I like that and
36:42
then you know, once you have that entry level
36:44
then you just work from there to build capacity
36:48
And eventually you're gonna be using it and starting
36:51
to recognize opportunities to use it in spaces
36:53
you wouldn't have previously thought about. Yeah,
36:56
it's that intrinsic motivation first, right?
36:59
Like in my teacher trainings, okay, what would
37:00
you rather be doing right now? Or what would
37:02
you wave the magic wand for? And then you start
37:06
to kind of have the wheels turn of, oh, wow.
37:10
Well, and speaking of that, what would you rather
37:12
be doing now? Let's get into our lightning round
37:15
where maybe we'll find out a little bit more
37:18
about, you know, what makes Hattie such a great
37:21
educator in the first place. And so this part
37:25
of the show, we have some questions lined up.
37:28
You know, you've had a chance to see them ahead
37:30
of time. So maybe you've given a little thought
37:32
or not or, you know. Sometimes things change
37:34
on the fly too. So we'll begin with these. Feel
37:38
free to respond to any like that you need to.
37:42
And then we'll have some this or that kind of
37:44
questions that get thrown in as well, where it
37:46
is just one option that you get to choose from.
37:49
Perfect. I'll keep it nice. All right. So I get
37:53
the first one here. What's one thing teachers
37:55
are over complicating about AI right now? Yeah.
38:01
So I think, you know, it's tough because I don't
38:05
necessarily know that it's over complicating,
38:07
but there's so much noise right now that I think
38:11
teachers are starting, you know, the last few
38:14
years to really see the possibilities. So I think
38:16
they're over complicating how much they're trying
38:20
to take on with AI. And I mean that like, you
38:23
know, there's a tool for this little piece or
38:25
if I want to create this or if I want to make
38:26
a song or, and then you start to have this AI
38:29
noise of like 20 different tools and doing this
38:33
and doing that. And then you try to mimic it
38:35
or scale it with a different teacher and they're
38:36
completely lost. And so I think trying to really
38:40
hone in on what is the goal, right? I want to
38:44
enable myself. I want to enable my students and
38:47
families and those that support them and I want
38:50
to make sure it's all relevant, you know to best
38:53
practice like I think that has to be the center
38:55
so that then they can go and support what their
38:58
district is evaluating without it being just
39:01
I keep calling it tool buffet because it's insane,
39:03
right? Some districts are like, yeah, we have
39:05
20 different tools and I'm like Like, what does
39:08
that look like to scale at the district level?
39:11
Like, how are you showing, you know, the strides
39:13
you're making, or the data points, or what do
39:15
the case studies look like, you know? So I think
39:17
that gets complex right now. What's one AI use
39:23
in education that's underrated? Data analysis.
39:28
I mean the ability to put in if you're an administrator
39:32
or Superintendent and you go to a board meeting
39:34
you're able to dump in Year -over -year district
39:38
achievement data and get trends and norms that
39:41
you may have missed my favorite party trick is
39:44
to say What is one data set that if I was reading
39:47
this it you know 11 o 'clock at night that I
39:49
would miss? so I think that We spend so much
39:53
time with MTSS analyzing the data and what we
39:57
need to do. Now we can just actually drive that
40:00
impact plan. So that's probably what's underrated
40:03
for me. What's one old school teaching move that
40:07
you still love? Oh man, humor. To be honest,
40:13
when I'm leading all of my sessions, I was just
40:15
at McCall in Michigan and we had a really cool
40:17
policy session. And like again, I mean, I say
40:20
cool policy, but you know, it was really fun
40:23
and it was a good time and everyone was active
40:26
and moving. It wasn't sit and get. And so I think
40:28
just mimicking all of those best practices I
40:31
did with my five -year -olds now with adults,
40:34
humor and being, you know, deeply human in your
40:37
interactions is what still matters. I've never
40:41
heard policy and cool used in the city. Oh, it
40:44
was so cool. You guys are going to show me the
40:46
outline. You'd love it. That's your optimism.
40:49
I appreciate it. If you could redesign one thing
40:54
about school with AI in mind, what would it be?
41:00
I think it would be like less at the school level.
41:05
And I think it would be more at like the national
41:07
level, just understanding that we need to provide
41:12
broad guidance on what is ethical and equitable.
41:17
I feel like if I could change anything, it would
41:20
be that there would be more uniform guidance
41:22
so that there's less corporate America, right?
41:26
We're not consumers necessarily in K -12, and
41:30
so making it so that it is really about the kids
41:32
and the outcomes. So you're back in the classroom
41:36
for a day with your kindergartners. Yep. What
41:39
are you teaching? Ooh, you know, I was the teacher
41:45
who took my kiddos outside four times a day.
41:48
You know, I broke everything up as soon as possible
41:51
and I made everything kind of like project based.
41:54
So if I could go back, it would probably be around
42:00
pumpkins because I love the carving the pumpkin,
42:03
taking out the seeds, prepping them, cooking
42:06
them, bringing them back the next day. um and
42:10
you know I would probably put them in a space
42:12
like analyzing the pumpkin seed and like maybe
42:15
interviewing you know a pumpkin farmer or gardener
42:18
right so thinking about all of those like teeny
42:21
little moments that just light kettos up and
42:24
how I can now meet their needs as well all right
42:30
um we're gonna go into our this or that so this
42:33
is a little tougher you can only choose one I'm
42:36
on it so AI as a lesson planning partner or student
42:42
-facing tool? Student tool, all day, every day.
42:47
Coffee, tea, or energy drink? Oh, you know, I
42:51
don't do caffeine, so tea. All right. We had
42:57
one the other day. Actually, that was just water.
43:00
So they did not like our this or that. I think
43:03
it was terrible. I love flavored water. There
43:05
you go. AI use for students' needs, structure,
43:12
or exploration? Right now, structure. For me,
43:18
structure, yeah. Beach vacation or mountain getaway?
43:23
Man, it depends on the year. Depends on how bad
43:27
the winter's been in Ohio. Probably mountain.
43:32
We've had so many people say mountains. I'm surprised.
43:37
I love it. I love the pressure. When you said
43:40
that, though, I had instantly the same thought.
43:43
Like, it depends on how bad winter is because
43:45
we live in Minnesota, so it's like... Right?
43:48
I'm like, you know, I've been in my house for
43:50
six months, probably a beach because I need the
43:52
sun, but it hasn't been too terrible. I probably
43:55
want to see, like, some amazing views. AI use
44:00
for teacher focus now on efficiency to save time.
44:06
or enhancement for creating deeper learning experiences?
44:11
Oh, with these one words. So either or depends
44:15
on the teacher. For me, it would be enhancement.
44:18
But if you're just starting your journey, start
44:20
with efficiency. And then would you rather have
44:24
unlimited time or unlimited resources? Time.
44:30
Time. Perfect. So now imagine, Hattie, you're
44:36
walking up onto a stage. You're going to be given
44:38
a big keynote. What walk -up song is playing
44:41
as you as you step out in front of everyone?
44:43
Okay, so I actually didn't see this question.
44:45
So this is what, you know, right off the cuff.
44:51
But, uh, man, it's either Let the Bodies Hit
44:54
the Floor or some kind of J. Cole song because
45:00
I don't know. cool world, something that makes
45:03
me feel like I'm about to change lives. Awesome.
45:08
Addie, this has been great. It's been wonderful
45:10
to have the opportunity to catch up with you
45:12
here and to hear insights into AI in the education
45:15
space as well as school AI. But we want to kind
45:18
of turn it over to you here at the end too. You
45:21
know, if people want to get in touch with you,
45:23
can you, you know, we'll definitely share. you
45:27
know, contact information in the show description,
45:30
but also, you know, is there anything coming
45:33
up that you would like to share, promote, you
45:35
know, we'll give you the floor. Yeah, so we will
45:38
be at COSIN Monday. So the School AI team is,
45:42
you know, on the road pretty often. This will
45:45
probably air after the conference. Good call
45:48
out, good call out. Okay, so beyond that, we're
45:50
actually... So we will have had a great opportunity
45:54
to share at COSIN. Yes. I will be at MSBO, which
45:59
is Michigan School of Business Officials in like
46:02
two weeks here. So I spent a lot of time in the
46:04
mitten. I also come into Minneapolis here and
46:08
there. So I'm looking forward to coming to your
46:10
guys' event. Got to get that registered. We're
46:13
also in different collaborative groups. So I'll
46:15
be in Chicago at the end of the month. So find
46:18
me on LinkedIn, Hattie Strong. There's not a
46:20
lot of Hatties. You can always reach out to me
46:23
there. My cell phone's on there. Jeremy and team
46:26
will share my info. But yeah, we're pretty much
46:28
in classrooms all day every day. If you need
46:30
me, I'm probably at a school visit. But yeah,
46:34
join the community, reach out to our education
46:36
strategists. Whenever you need, we're here to
46:39
help. We're not worried about, you know, fitting
46:41
in the budget. this or that, like ultimately
46:43
we want to help so. Yeah. Thank you, Hattie so
46:48
much. Thank you guys so much. I appreciate all
46:50
you do. Thanks for listening to integrate this.
46:55
Want to take your learning further? Head over
46:57
to our YouTube channel for quick tutorials, deep
47:00
dives, and more ed tech tips you can use right
47:03
away. Don't forget to subscribe and catch new
47:06
podcast episodes every Thursday on Apple. Spotify,
47:11
or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next
47:13
time, keep exploring, keep innovating and keep
47:17
integrating this.