Empowering Special Education with AI: Practical Applications for Personalized Support

Introduction

• Speaker: Dr. Jamie Burton
• Event: Kids First Education virtual conference
• Background: Former classroom teacher, principal, and current member of Kids First
• Mission of Kids First: Partnering with schools and districts to create success stories from student to superintendent level.
• C3 Success Model:
  • Collaborate with partners to identify needs and outcomes.
  • Create a personalized plan with action steps.
  • Commit to achieving the desired impact on student learning.

AI in Education

• Dr. Burton's Experience:
  • Utilized AI tools in a school with a large special education population.
  • Recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
  • Presented on AI chatbots in education.
• Purpose of the Session:
  • Learn how AI tools work.
  • Promote safe and ethical use of AI.
  • Streamline work for special education teachers.
  • Personalize learning for students with special needs.

Understanding AI Tools

• Chat GPT:
  • Released in November 2022, a milestone in AI advancement.
  • Simulates human language and trained on vast data.
  • Open AI made it available for developers, boosting educational AI tools.
• AI's Potential and Concerns:
  • Concerns include ethical considerations and policy needs.
  • AI cannot replace the empathy provided by human educators.

Safe and Ethical Use of AI

• Frameworks and Guidance:
  • North Carolina's graphic: AI as a learning partner should reduce struggle but enhance learning.
  • Washington State's Human Inquiry to AI to Human Empowerment framework.
  • Alana Winck's remix framework for responsible AI use.

Streamlining Work with AI

• Capabilities of AI Tools:
  • Chat GPT can create essays, songs, graphs, images, PowerPoint presentations, etc.
  • Free apps for mobile accessibility.
• Prompt Libraries:
  • Predefined prompts help in generating quality outputs.

Special Education Applications

• Case Examples and Tools:
  • AI tools save time for teachers by creating instructional materials, behavior plans, etc.
  • Conmigo by Khan Academy: AI enhanced platform offering personalized learning.
  • Magic School: Offers AI tools for lesson planning and differentiation.
  • Defit: Customizes reading materials to various student needs.

Conclusion

• Recommendations:
  • Choose one general-purpose chatbot and one AI-enhanced educational platform.
  • Utilize prompt libraries for effective AI interaction.
• Final Thoughts:
  • AI is a tool, not a replacement for teachers.
  • Analogy: AI as a Swiss army knife and Iron Man suit—versatile and powerful.

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• Contact Information: Dr. Jamie Burton encourages collaboration through Kids First.