EVENT
AI & Education, Inclusive Innovation for Student Success
AI & Education – Inclusive Innovation for Student Success
On November 14th & 15th, 2023, Axim Collaborative, Partnership for Education Advancement, Khan Academy, Berkman Klein Center, Harvard Online, MIT Media Lab, and MIT Open Learning organized a series of talks, discussions, and workshops to explore the potential of AI for driving student success in broad access institutions in the US.
The adoption of AI in higher education has been rapid, but not focused on meeting the needs of underserved students who stand to benefit most, helping them access and persist through post-secondary education towards employment with family sustaining wages. This is particularly relevant to the institutions serving the majority of students today, including community colleges, HBCUs, and large public universities. Gen AI holds the promise of tackling some of their biggest challenges, such as providing quality teaching and advising while operating with high student-to-staff ratios, shifting from in-person to hybrid learning modalities to better accommodate the schedules of their working students, or strengthening the development of critical thinking and metacognitive skills that are necessary to succeed in the workforce.
Every new technology that has the potential to improve education outcomes also bears the risk of exacerbating existing divides between those with access and those without. In order to ensure that AI-enabled solutions are designed to serve the needs of a broad range of students and institutions it is essential to center on their perspectives in the development. And to build the challenges of access and affordability into the planning from the start. This workshop and convening was a first step towards such a process of Inclusive Innovation and we are excited about the collaborations that are emerging.
November 14th 2024 – Keynote Presentation by Sal Khan (Khan Academy) and Cynthia Breazeal (MIT Media Lab), followed by a conversation moderated by Bridget Terry Long (Dean, Harvard Graduate School of Education, member Axim Collaborative board).
More than a hundred participants from a wide range of organizations, including institutional leaders, technology innovators, faculty, researchers, and students gathered to engage with each other about the promise and pitfalls of AI in education. Over the course of two days, they explored where generative AI could lead to transformative improvements in teaching and learning, student supports, and career access and success. The group also addressed critical topics such as mitigating bias, lack of access, and AI literacy.
Drawing over 600 people in Sanders Theatre, Sal Khan shared his excitement about the potential of new AI-based tools to make learning more engaging and creative. He provided an inside-look into the development of Khanmigo, an AI-tutor that can be integrated with Khan Academy content to guide and support students. Cynthia Breazeal talked about her work creating social robots that can engage with children in a range of supportive ways and the importance of building broad literacy and fluency with AI across the education system. She also reminded us that while these new tools may exhibit human-like characteristics, they are still machines, and lack human understanding or empathy.
November 14, 2024 - Fireside Chat
Participants engaged in a lively discussion following the keynote session, probing more deeply into problems and possibilities GenAI presents.
November 15, 2024 – Workshops and Panel Discussions at MIT Innovation HQ
The second day, workshop participants rolled up their sleeves for a series of interactive panels and workshops, covering some of the underlying technical foundations, applications that support teaching & learning, and applications that provide holistic student supports. The full agenda is available here and we will be releasing additional materials over the coming weeks. Subscribe to our YouTube channel or LinkedIn for updates.
Axim Collaborative is committed to driving Inclusive Innovation for AI in Education through partnerships, research, and future convenings. If you are interested in learning more, feel free to send an email to ai@axim.org.
