Fox5: AI & Education

Last Friday our Chief Program Officer, Corey Layne Crouch, appeared on Fox5 where she and a panel of education leaders discussed how AI literacy is the most critical issue of our time. The discussion was ride ranging and focused on how schools, parents, and students can work together to navigate the challenges and opportunities GenAI has created.

Key highlights of the conversation:

• AI literacy is the foundation - The greatest need right now is creating space and time for educators, leaders, and parents to understand GenAI's capabilities, opportunities, and limitations before attempting widespread adoption.
• Traditional learning and assessment must change - The panel agreed that traditional methods need to evolve. When AI can complete most if not all traditional assessments, educators must shift focus from final products to learning processes and durable skills like critical thinking.
• Real learning requires productive struggle - AI tools are built to eliminate friction and get to end results quickly, but real learning happens through grappling with challenges. When students bypass this struggle, they miss crucial cognitive development opportunities.
• A balanced, age-appropriate approach is necessary - Using AI as the main learning mechanism is problematic at any age, but especially concerning for students under 13 whose cognitive development is still forming. Creating balanced and age-appropriate learning ecosystems is essential.
• Equity gaps are widening - Gender disparities in AI usage and faster adoption rates in well-resourced districts highlight the urgent need for intentional AI literacy initiatives to prevent further and widening divides.
• Verification skills are essential - Students must learn techniques like "lateral reading" to fact-check AI outputs, taking responsibility for both the information they consume and what they present to the world.
• Empower future AI leaders - Beyond using AI tools, young people should be involved in developing and designing these technologies, ensuring diverse voices shape AI's future.

Thanks to host Lisa Evers and Fox5 and fellow panelists Dr. Christopher Emdin from Columbia University and Rob Kisner from Iona University for this important discussion about navigating AI's transformative impact on learning.

You can watch the full episode here.