Bord van de Nationale Onderwijstentoonstelling 2023
Bord van de Nationale Onderwijstentoonstelling 2023

NOLAI at NOT 2023: 'Don't think AI, think education'

News item

ChatGPT has caused a ruckus in education in recent weeks. Developments are moving fast, and you might feel overwhelmed as a teacher or school. During the Nationale Onderwijstentoonstelling 2023 (National Education Exhibition) NOT, Friday was all about AI. NOLAI was there, of course, and many interesting conversations were had. Did you miss it? Then read further.

AI is Stupid 

EdTech Day Chairman Jim Stolze brought AI quickly into context. "AI is a collection of techniques that humans use to make machines look smart. It is a tool; it has no agenda of its own. You can combine those techniques, and it may seem smart, but it is still 'narrow intelligence': you can beat the chess computer with any other game." That puts AI in proportion but does not necessarily make it easier. An online course has been developed especially for teachers to help boost their knowledge. 

Be the Smartest 

As smart as it may seem, AI is not flawless. It is important for teachers and schools to be on top of it. Marieke van Osch from NOLAI: "AI doesn't automatically give the right feedback for every student. As a teacher, you know if and how the feedback connects with the student. By all means, use AI; it is very useful, but always be smart in using it yourself". Artificial and human intelligence can reinforce each other; there are things AI is better at, and there are things humans are better at. Choose consciously and know that there are different combinations. 

Marieke van Os op de Nationale Onderwijstentoonstelling 2023

AI in the Classroom 

A lot of AI is already present in education. For example, it is in the computing power behind Gynzy, Snappet, and Prowise Learn, which are widely used programs in primary education. The Education Council already wrote about an additional actor in the classroom in their report, Deployment of Intelligent Technology. We can no longer ignore it, but how can we handle it properly? And how do we remain in control ourselves? 

How do you want to deploy AI? 

AI can improve the quality of education, even if only by reducing teachers' workload. But what is needed, what really helps teachers and schools? NOLAI will spend the next ten years looking for it, working closely with schools, companies and scientists. The trick is to look for the question behind the question. So not: 'How do I make a dashboard?' or 'How do I check if a text has been written with ChatGPT?', but questions like: 'What student data do we want to monitor and why?' and 'What do we want to prepare our students for?'. These are tough questions which will take time to answer. As Annelies Wiggers puts it: ''Big issues require courage, and -anything- to start.''. That is what we are going to do this school year, with NOLAI launching 5 to 7 projects focusing on these educational questions. 

Practical Questions 

Many and varied questions are currently coming into NOLAI, such as questions about the application of AI in a specific subject area, for example, technical reading, but also questions that are more about the use of AI in organising education. For instance, AI can be used to give more insight into pupils' ways of learning. At the NOT, other questions were asked again, for example, about the use of AI in assessing exams and career advice. NOLAI is further developing some of these questions. 

Stay Informed 

Would you like to (continue to) think about the proper application of AI in education? We would love to have you join the discussion! Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and stay informed about new meetings, concepts, products and more.

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National Education Lab AI (NOLAI)