As we wind down the summer and have said goodbye to ISTE24 in Denver, I am looking forward to the new school year. The start of school is an exciting time for educators. Even though I have been at Cisco now 13 years, and that is hard to believe, I still get this feeling of great anticipation for the new school year. Does that mean I am still an educator? I would like to still consider myself an educator as I strive within my current role to advocate for our schools as they strive to acquire and deploy technology within the school environment. Our breakout room at ISTE was so exciting. Thank you to all that joined us.
Benefits of AI in K12
The 2024-2025 school year will be exciting in that technology continues to transform every staff, faculty and student environment. Artificial Intelligence (AI) was a key topic at ISTE24. We were all sharing how AI is being used in the classroom to enrich learning, but I continue to also want to endeavor into the areas within our school environments that we use AI in K12 to help make tasks and activities within our job’s easier, make decisions faster and help us look forward into what needs to be done. The implementation of AI within our schools requires every school community to consider and adopt artificial intelligence responsibly.
There are so many benefits of AI in K12, but we must also identify and prepare for the challenges that this technology will bring to our schools. I have shared with many schools the Cisco Principles for Responsible Artificial Intelligence. These principles can provide a broad AI in K12 governance framework that includes transparency, fairness, accountability, privacy, security, and reliability. When looking at AI technologies to adopt and deploy within a school this framework will assist in identifying and addressing potential risks.
Along with these 6 principles, Cisco is also happy to share our Responsible AI Framework and AI Readiness Index. Many states are adopting frameworks and roadmaps to help their schools. A huge shout out to the Colorado Education Initiative for inviting me to join them for their work in this area over the past few months. These resources from within your state, from other states and from other entities such as Cisco are there for your school committees to discern and build your own policies and frameworks for your district. Cisco AI Readiness Assessment. I would be remiss if I did not mention the great resources that CoSN and Digital Promise have for districts.
Using AI in K12 to break down barriers
In our ISTE24 breakout room, Cisco Webex engineers discussed AI as it is embedded in our Webex Collaboration Portfolio, an integrated suite of software, hardware and peripheral technology to create personalized learning experiences for all students, teachers and staff. The beauty of Webex is in its flexibility, it is a suite of tools that can be used holistically or specifically for calling, meetings, webinars, messaging or events. The AI allows for transcription, closed captioning, interpretation including sign language, summaries, breakout room options, and away features to name just a few.
Did you experience our World of Wizardry?
Cisco partnered with The Learning Counsel for another fun-filled year as we created a “World of Wizardry” and shared using AI in K12 to auto cohort students to personalize learning for all students from all learning levels. AI can be used in education to eliminate some of the manual tasks that teachers do day in and day out allowing them more time with students. We have transformed so many industries such as the shipping and transportation industry using AI, it is now time to help our educators by building in AI so that they are able to meet the needs of every student.
Again, as we look at the Cisco Principles of Responsible Artificial Intelligence the need for data privacy; student and employee PII, reliability and most of all security using artificial intelligence responsibly is key. If you did not read the blog by Josh King, Education 4.0: The Role of AI in Transforming Education, I will refer you here.
ISTE24 is in our rear view mirror. We are excited about the new school year and look forward to being your trusted partner in your technology initiatives this year.
Additional resources
- Get up to speed on Year 5 and final year of the E-rate cycle
- Learn about innovative tech for K12 education
