I laugh every time I see strident objections to Gen AI. The reason is that until students understand the problem with shortcuts, they won’t see the benefit of the long way to learning.

David Cutler shares this flowchart via a Facebook group where he exhorts people to listen to teachers and tells AI Consultants what he thinks. And, while I don’t disagree with this given the SOLO Taxonomy, this flowchart misses the painfully obvious issue.

And it may be avoidance of this issue is why AI deniers and Ed Tech haters are so strident, feel so ignored, and frustrated that they are quitting and retiring from the field. What is the issue?

Students and society at large have made tech that solves the problem of assessment results production. Schools are a failed model if the production of widgets problem has been resolved with GenAi. People will use the shortcut AI provides because results, production is more valued.

Analog does work. Technology isn’t a requirement for schools today. Sure, many educators lack training on high-effect size ANALOG instructional strategies. But given that lack of knowledge and expertise, technology use is bound to fail. If you can’t teach without tech, adding tech means you adopt the methods tech offers without critical analysis.

As someone who uses AI everyday to make things, my focus is on production. When I want to learn something, I reach for those analog strategies that work for me and are research proven. I know the difference and have the discipline to make those choices.

But students often do not. How can we teach that the long path is best when we are learning, the shortcut when we want to ramp up production?

Ideas

Why not give students AI access from the get go? Let them prepare for a test with any tech they want? Then, test them. When most fail, offer the alternative. The long way. Each experiment last a week with assessment on Friday. This experience of seeing for themselves what works, what doesn’t may do much more good than AntiAi/AntiTech screeds.

Of course, I could be wrong.