We just got 50% of our time handed back to us. So? Now What? As an industry, education is not great at grabbing these sorts of gains. In fact, no profession has transformed as little nor as slowly as education. Period! I mean, just think of how the following industries have evolved, then think of education, here we go: medicine, military, transportation, media, hospitality, energy, communication, agriculture, and on and on. It’s clear that education has not kept pace.  

Education has had several opportunities to transform, but we didn’t seize them. Why not? It’s simple: education, as a system and an industry (that produces high school graduates), has never needed to evolve to survive, let alone thrive. As an industry, we have always been safe and financially secure; perhaps even invited and encouraged, not to evolve. There’s no competition to the universal model of schooling.  

Unlike other industries, our market forces (mainly supply and demand) and our main client (colleges and universities) have never really wanted our “finished product” to be anything different than what it has been in the past. And, therefore, we remain today pretty much the same thing we’ve been for a very long time. 

You might be wondering: What were these golden opportunities we were offered in the hopes of evolution? Well, to begin with: the internet, personal computers, mobile devices, online learning, project-based learning, blended learning, gamification, STEM and STEAM, social media, open educational resources, and movements like 21st Century Skills and SEL. The most recent gift for transformation came as a virus. The Covid-19 pandemic offered us first-hand insight into what we could and should be, when we returned to our bricks and mortar schools; but all that was completely forgotten (or worse: ignored) when the masks came off. 

It seems like us forgetting what we learned from the virus was the last straw for the gods of “educational transformation.” Clearly, they are finally done waiting for us to do what’s right and necessary; done waiting for us to significantly change: WHAT we teach (content, skills, dispositions, etc.); and HOW we teach (pedagogy) it.  

As a response to our failure to respond, the gods aggressively pivoted their strategy from gently offering us opportunities to transform to stuffing the forces of change down our throats. And today’s force of change is: Artificial Intelligence (among other emerging technologies). 

Unlike the past, when educational systems had a choice to integrate and leverage opportunities into teaching and learning, now there is no choice. Anyone who is paying attention agrees that schools, teachers, and educational systems that do not fully, wisely, and enthusiastically embrace this beautiful, accessible, and powerful tsunami of change will become irrelevant and be out of business; and that is not hyperbole. 

Sure, there are some pockets of our educational world that will not go quietly or gently into that dark night of irrelevance without putting up one last futile fight. But those of us that do seize it will live long and prosper. 

Speaking of the fight. A recent blog from the Berkeley AI Research (BAIR) Institute acknowledges that large language models like ChatGPT are impressive and potentially revolutionary. However, the authors quickly refer to these technologies as “a problem.” They mention how “students have begun using these models to ghostwrite assignments, [and perform other tasks expected of students, and therefore many] schools [have begun] to ban ChatGPT.” I emphatically disagree and I’m deeply disappointed and concerned—but not really surprised—that in so many educational circles the inevitable, natural, and organic collision of emerging technologies and education is being viewed as a “problem.” It is not! 

I’d like to be a bit more empathetic, but it’s just not coming to me. I do not understand their concerns; the benefits of AI in education far outweigh the risks. AI will (it already has begun to) personalize learning, tutor students and coach educators, create relevant and engaging content, gather and analyze data, and so much more. AI, more than anything before it, will be a platform for diversity, inclusion, and equity. AI’s powerful toolkit will change everything. And the first thing it will change is how teachers spend their time.  

The one deliverable of AI to education (and all other fields) that is indisputable and conclusive is: We, every adult in the educational equation, will be given tons of TIME back. That’s a fact. So, the question we need to tackle, today, is not: What are we going to do with AI? But rather: What are we going to do with all the time that AI has now gifted us? 

In the book “Time to Learn: How a New School Schedule Is Making Smarter Kids, Happier Parents & Safer Neighborhoods,” the authors discuss how a longer school day can support achievement in reading and math while providing a richer, broader curriculum. The book discusses success stories and how a longer school day can provide more opportunities for students to engage in extracurricular activities, receive additional academic support, participate in enrichment programs, and in community service projects The authors argue that a longer school day can help close the achievement gap and provide a more equitable education for all students; whilst deepening relationships between colleagues and between teachers and their students. Well, the book was written before AI entered the game. Teachers don’t need a longer day anymore to do the stuff above and so much more. We just got 50% of our time handed back to us. Let’s grab it.