PHOENIX — The future of Arizona’s education system could be whatever you want! Experts weigh in on the customization of schooling and integrating new technology into the classroom.
The final segment of the Arizona Media Association’s Education Solutions Town Hall focuses on the changing state of Arizona’s school system.
With the evolution of technology such as artificial intelligence, the way students take in information is already different, and Peter Boyle with the Center for the Future of Arizona said as more technology comes out, education must also adjust.
“If you are a teacher, AI can seem really, really scary. Instead of my student reading “To Kill a Mockingbird,” they’re getting the summary from a chatbot. Well, how can I turn that around and really leverage technological tools to my advantage?” he said.
Boyle added the focus of the classroom must remain on the student regardless of the new technology.
How teachers, technology can coexist
Katie Ratlief with the Common Sense Institute added onto Boyle’s idea, saying the way school is being digitalized could also be harmful to the student.
“I think we need to train teachers how to use technology as a tool, but not as a substitute for one-on-one teaching. I think that’s why you saw so much learning loss during the pandemic was we thought we could just substitute technology for that one-on-one relationship that students have with an educator, and you can’t,” she said.
Jaime Casap, former Chief Education Evangelist at Google, explained another future problem could be how to get teachers up to speed with technology without having them learn alongside their students.
“That’s going to be a huge problem is how do we teach teachers how to use these tools at the pace at which these tools are coming at us,” he said.
Ratlief said on top of evolving technology, the education system as a whole is evolving too — toward a customizable system that is individualized for each student. She said Arizona’s wide school choice and many options is rushing that stage of education.
“In Arizona today, the data says half of students are already choosing the school that works best for them … so you will continue to see schools innovate and provide that customized experience or they will start to lose students,” she said.
Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.
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