ASU Learning Transformation Studios Sparks Crucial Conversations at the 2024 ASU+GSV Summit and AIR Show
Walking the halls of the Manchester Grand Hyatt and the San Diego Convention Center, it's hard to believe that the ASU+GSV Summit started with a modest gathering of 300 people back in 2010. This year, the 2024 conference included over 7,500 education, technology, and policy leaders who spent April 13 - 17 exploring how educational technology and artificial intelligence are fundamentally changing K-12 and higher education.
New this year was a three-day "AIR Show" that focused specifically on AI's transformative nature and how it is reshaping education and learning. With no cost to attend, the "AIR Show" panel discussions and keynote presentations attracted thousands of educators, including classroom teachers, who had never attended an ASU+GSV event.
Following the "AIR Show," the ASU+GSV Summit took center stage, including its usual plethora of unique panels, speakers, keynotes, hands-on demonstrations, interactive sessions, one-on-one meetings, and impromptu convenings.
Central to the "AIR Show" and Summit were three-panel discussions hosted by the ASU Learning Transformation Studios and moderated by Alan Arkatov, Executive Director of the ASU Learning Transformation Studios and Senior Advisor to ASU President Michael Crow.
Each panel featured hand-picked experts and was curated to dissect the intersections of AI, media literacy, early childhood education, and health in education and learning.
The Promise and Perils of AI in the Classroom
In the first panel, "The Promise and Perils of AI in the Classroom: What Educators Really Think About the Technology," Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, the nonprofit responsible for the Speak Up Research Initiative, revealed startling data from her organization's latest AI technology survey, a project co-sponsored by the Studios and the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
"Seven percent of teachers are telling us they're regularly using AI," Evans said. "For high school students, 45% tell us they are using AI regularly outside of school, around their own personal interests, their own self-directed learning, pursuing curiosities, using it within social media."
Evans noted that educators' familiarity with AI remains low, with ChatGPT being the only product most have heard of. When asking teachers and administrators their opinions on AI's benefits and concerns in education, Evans emphasized that educators' low levels of understanding, and awareness should be considered when creating new policies.
Dr. Karla Estrada, Deputy Superintendent of Instruction at Los Angeles Unified School District, raised concerns about equity in AI access.
"We understood that AI was going to become the next equity issue in our school district," she stated. "We want to make sure that we maximize this tool also to personalize that learning and really drive to make changes."
Estrada highlighted the importance of understanding AI's potential to personalize learning experiences for students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds who may not have access to such tools outside of school. She also stressed the need for collaboration between various departments within the school district to implement AI solutions effectively.
LAUSD recently announced the launch of its AI-powered learning platform, Ed. Estrada explained that Ed was the product of collaboration with parents, students, teachers, technology partners, and LAUSD's leadership.
"Ed really was an opportunity to ensure that our students and our parents have the most personalized information based on the data we have," she said. "Students wanted to know what the weather was going to be. They wanted to know what their lunch menu would be for that day. They wanted to know when the bus was coming or not coming. Parents wanted to be able to see how their student was performing."
Christopher Hoang, Assistant Director for Technology Innovation and Outreach at the Los Angeles County Office of Education, emphasized the importance of including student voices when developing AI policies and guidelines.
"Our students are the ones that give us the most valuable feedback because they're the ones that are going to be using this," he said. Hoang noted that students are concerned about the hypocrisy surrounding AI use, with teachers using the technology while students face punishment for doing the same.
"Our students are saying, at this point in the world, everything we're generating [with AI], everything we're creating, you have to realize it's the same thing as remixing," explained Hoang.
Dr. Gudiel Crosthwaite, Superintendent of Lynwood Unified School District, shared his frustration with the pace of change in education and the lack of high-speed internet and technology resources in his district, which he said 99% of Black and Brown kids, who all participate in the free/reduced lunch program.
"We strongly resist change. We love the status quo, and it's hard to pivot and adapt," Crosthwaite said. "When we brought up the conversation about AI with our staff, it was like all the fear came through. Are we going to lose our jobs? What's our job going to look like in the future? The whole thing about plagiarism came up, right? We were hearing from our teachers that we are doing too much. We've got to stay focused."
Crosthwaite discussed the challenges of implementing AI in a school district serving predominantly underprivileged students, emphasizing the need to address adult anxieties while keeping student voices at the forefront. He also highlighted the importance of reimagining public education to serve the diverse student population better.
"We have a responsibility to make sure that we're equipping our kids so they can be ready for the next phase of their lives," he added.
Can Technology Help Us Determine What's True and What's Not?
The second panel delved into the crucial role of media literacy in combating misinformation and disinformation.
Dr. Battinto Batts, Jr., Dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University, emphasized, "Media literacy is fundamental to everything that we're doing at the Cronkite School. If we are to accomplish anything at Cronkite, we have to spread media literacy beyond the walls of our schools and into our communities."
Batts stressed the importance of embracing AI in journalism education, drawing parallels to the industry's initial hesitation to adopt the internet. He called for a proactive approach to preparing students for the AI-driven future of media.
Gordon Stables, Director of the Annenberg School of Journalism at the University of Southern California, noted, "I think the thing that we're doing right is acknowledging that we have a problem and acknowledging that we have to change the way that we're thinking about it."
Stables emphasized the need to move beyond nostalgia for the past and focus on developing the instrumental skills necessary for navigating the modern media landscape. He suggested that educators should start by teaching foundational information competencies and then help students understand the appropriate use of different platforms.
Nick Melvoin, a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, stressed the importance of teaching transferable skills. "We want to teach kids the skills to utilize whatever the platform is, as opposed to whatever the latest thing is, whether that's TikTok or ChatGPT," he said.
Melvoin argued that school districts should embrace AI technologies while ensuring policies are crafted with input from industry experts, parents, teachers, administrators, and students. He shared examples of how LA Unified is working to incorporate AI in the classroom, such as having students critique AI-generated content to develop critical thinking skills.
Dr. Kristy Roschke, a professor of media literacy and Director of the News Co/Lab at Arizona State University, added, "Students' needs are very important, but so are educator needs. We also need to be training the educators across K-12 and higher ed because we expect educators to know how to use these tools."
Roschke emphasized the importance of providing context and relevance when teaching media literacy skills to students. She also called for a more nuanced understanding of critical thinking, arguing that simply possessing these skills does not guarantee immunity to misinformation.
"It's really important to remember that for students, transferability and relevance are everything," Roschke added. "And we don't contextualize these critical thinking skills so that they know how to use them in other places. We can talk about critical thinking all day long, but if we aren't ready to talk about it on their terms, I don't see that really landing in the way we want it to."
Integrating Worlds: How Technology Bridges Education and Health for Early Learners
The final panel explored the intersection of technology, education, and health in supporting early learners.
Dr. Judith Karshmer, Dean and Professor at ASU’s Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation and the University’s Chief Wellness Officer, began the discussion by sharing an important lesson she learned over many years.
"One of them is this idea that we have all the answers within our own area. So, for instance, in health care, not the world's fastest-moving industry; education, not the world's fastest-moving industry; and, oh, technology, pretty fast. So, when you take those three areas and put them together, we have an opportunity to make a difference," she explained.
Karshmer stressed that integrating education, technology, and health should focus on promoting wellness as a value rather than a single program or technology. She advocated for a holistic approach that engages parents and caregivers in the process.
"This integration of education technology and health is really making sure that all three of those pieces come together in a way that is not about one program or one technology, and it's about really aligning those," Karshmer said. "That's the only way I know we're going to break down those silos is because we are talking about the value, not the program.
Dr. Harvey Karp, a pediatrician, child development expert, and the creator of the SNOO smart sleeper bassinet emphasized the importance of nurturing the parent-child relationship.
"Fundamentally, we have to give parents other resources to create a more natural and naturalistic environment for the child," he said. The fundamental lie in our culture is that the normal family is two parents and a child, and that is completely wrong. It's the extended family. The only human family that existed for millennia was the extended family. What we're doing right now is a weird experiment, and it's not working out so well."
Karp discussed the critical role of the first six months of life in brain development, highlighting the potential of technology to support parents during this period. He introduced the SNOO smart sleeper as an example of how technology can provide the rhythmic sensations necessary for optimal brain nurturing.
"SNOO changes the paradigm, giving parents the support they need and deserve but also giving babies rhythmic sensations that we now believe to be as important to brain nourishment as milk," he added.
Kris Perry, Executive Director of Children and Screens at the Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, cautioned against the harmful effects of adult-designed technology on children.
"We have kids using devices that were created to addict adults, and they're addicting children," she warned. "We need to make those devices and programs safe so that if a parent needs to use technology or a teacher could benefit from using technology, it was designed with the child's best interests in mind."
Perry emphasized the importance of preserving strong dyadic relationships between children and their caregivers, arguing that technology can disrupt these critical connections. She called for policies that promote access to high-quality care, education, and community support to enhance child development.
"I'm really heartened by this panel because you're saying that if we get back to these basic fundamental truths about human development and what we need to survive, we have the answer," she added. "It's right here within us: What will we do with policy to put the guardrails there that are essential to a safer online experience for kids?"
Beyond the Panels
In addition to hosting and moderating the thought-provoking panels, the ASU Learning Transformation Studios team facilitated new partnerships and collaborations at the Summit through private meetings and convenings. As the bridge between America's most innovative and largest public university, the team brought together key players from education, EdTech, government, and industry to facilitate programs and events that can drive meaningful change.
The ASU+GSV Summit, co-founded by Michael Moe and Deborah Quazzo in 2010 in partnership with Arizona State University, continues to be a driving force in ensuring equal access to the future through innovations in lifelong learning and skills development. With its engaging panels and networking opportunities, the Summit's goal is to shape the conversation around education and technology, paving the way for a brighter future for all learners.