The International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (Teacher Task Force) is organizing a Strategy Lab during the upcoming Mobile Learning Week 2019. This year, the theme of the event “Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development” will look at the opportunities and threats linked to the use of AI in education.
Technology offers enormous opportunities to expand the scope of knowledge and the reach of education and to support various styles of learning. With the development of AI, teachers’ education and roles have to evolve to allow teachers to adapt to new learning environments and empower them to harness these innovations and use them in their day-to-day work.
The Teacher Task Force is mobilizing its members, particularly those belonging to its thematic group on ICT and distance education for teacher development, to share innovative pedagogical approaches in teacher management and professional development methods designed to include the use of AI during a Strategy Lab taking place Friday 8 March from 9 to 11 am (Paris time).
The Strategy Lab will feature examples of projects currently using AI, as well the practical role AI can play in addressing the challenges faced by teachers, with o focus on education in emergencies settings. Can AI be an effective support tool for teacher? What are the main concerns with this? Will the use of AI help bridge the digital divide in terms of teaching or will it widen it?
We will also discuss the ethical and moral considerations of using AI to support teachers. Can AI be used to support teacher education and training? Should it be? Should we be concerned that AI could replace the teachers themselves? This discussion will also focus on the potential social impact of AI in education as well as the biases (racial, gender and cultural) that could be involved in implementing AI systems in education settings.
Our presenters will also broach the more practical side of AI use to support teachers. What technological means are available to quantify the feasibility of introducing AI in supporting teachers and teacher development especially in refugee settings? What type of costs and investments are needed and/or available?
Finally, this Strategy Lab will serve as a springboard to discuss the policy guidelines needed to encourage appropriate use and discourage inappropriate use of AI to support the challenges faced by teachers and teacher development in the 21st Century.
This year we will be joined by Professor Hamdy Abdelaziz, Program Chair at the School of e-Education from the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, Dubai, UAE; Dr George Saltsman, Director of Educational Innovation in the Office of the President, Lamar University, USA; Dr Nicky Mohan, Managing Partner of the InfoSavvy Group and Director and co-founder of SpringBoard21; and Bijay Dhungana, Vice-President of the International Centre of Excellence for Innovative Learning (ICEFIL).
Held annually in Paris since 2011, Mobile Learning Week is UNESCO’s flagship conference on ICT in education. It convenes education and technology experts from around the world as well as provides the educational community, governments and other stakeholders a unique opportunity to discuss the role of ICT and new technologies in education and the achievement of Sustainable Education Goal 4.
You can find more information about Mobile Learning Week 2019 on UNESCO’s website: https://en.unesco.org/mlw