One class, thirty learners: how AI can help you plan for them all
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At the end of July our Programme Director Dr Sarah Alcock spent a week at the AI in Education at Oxford University (AIEOU) Summer School. Working alongside over 80 education leaders and change makers, Sarah heard from thought leaders at Oxford University Department of Education, UK Department for Education, Google DeepMind, OpenAI, EDSAFE AI Alliance, UNICEF, Stanford University and Singapore's Ministry of Education to name a few. The Good Futures Foundation also ran a parallel student summer school, and the daily online link ups were a powerful way of keeping learner voices at the forefront of discussions.
One of the main aims of the week was to workshop ways to operationalise the Department for Education's Product Safety Standards. A joint report from AIEOU and the DfE will be published soon, summarising the outcomes of this. In the meantime, Sarah shared:
"It has been an amazing experience to work with passionate educators from across the world, participating in so many open and collaborative sessions focused on what AI should look like in education. I come away with renewed conviction in the power of humans to shape AI into a safe and responsible tool for learning."
Sarah also reflected on how the AiEd Certified Framework is positioned:
"What struck me most was how naturally every theme of the week - from governance and safety to pedagogy and community - mapped onto the AiEd Certified Framework. It confirmed that the framework is built around the right questions. And the Collaboration and Community element resonated particularly strongly; the Summer School was a vivid reminder that creating space for open, honest discussion is not a nice-to-have, it is foundational to getting AI right in education."
The end of the Summer School is certainly not the end of the work. Sarah is part of an innovative AIEOU research group, collecting data directly from teachers about their experiences of AI in the classroom. The DfE have invited the team to present the outcomes, ensuring teacher voices are heard by decision makers. Additionally, AI in Education will stay involved in Product Safety Standards operationalisation discussions, and commit to contributing to ongoing research and development projects.
If you are starting to implement AI in your school or college, find out how AiEd Certified can support you.