Knightly News: Hi! Thank you so much for meeting with me today! To start, I think that a lot of Pace students don\u2019t know about your new role. Can you explain what you do at Pace and how students can use your help?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Holly Berg: Yes! So my role is AI Technology, Education and Digital Literacy Specialist, which basically means looking at how students and teachers are using everything on the internet and on their computers. Of course, the big focus this year is AI and really trying to be mindful about how we’re using it both as teachers and students, but also trying to think about what it’s going to look like for you guys as you’re graduating. We want to know what we need to have you prepared for something that’s kind of unpredictable at this point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
KN: We\u2019re so excited to have you at Pace! What are you most concerned about with AI and students? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
HB: I know that our students work hard. You carry a heavy load. I think for a lot of students, using AI feels like a more efficient process, and I think that there’s truth in that. There are definitely things that you can give to AI to work with your efficiency, but what I worry about is your ability to think independently and make sure that you’re not relying on it sort of as a crutch. We want to hear your voice, not what AI kind of gives back to us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
KN: So how do you think AI will change education now and in the future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HB: It’s really hard to predict, because I think a lot of teachers initially thought that it wouldn’t affect their world and that it would not be something they have to worry about in their classroom, and they were wrong. Teachers are scared of making that same mistake right now, and are trying to find the right balance. The biggest part is preparing you guys for something that we can’t predict. You know, 10 years ago everyone said that if you taught students how to code, they would have guaranteed success. They would be able to do any job in the world, and now that’s irrelevant. It’s trying to predict the unpredictable, and in the school setting that’s really hard. We like predictability; we like things to be routine. We like knowing what’s happening, and school is going to become a lot more student-driven, a lot more of getting to pick what you’re interested in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
KN: Okay, what’s your personal experience with AI and technology? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
HB: I have been a technology teacher for 15 years, working with Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools, and I’ve been a teacher for 22 years. For AI, I’ll be honest, I am a little scared of it. It is Pandora’s box; you don’t know what you’re getting when you open it. I would say my personal experience is that I am cautiously optimistic. I’m intrigued by what it can do. So now, looking at it for other things that it can do, like being able to build apps really quickly, if you’re studying things and you need extra help, it’s just sort of fascinating what you can accomplish in 30 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
KN: For your job at Pace, would you say you’re working primarily with the High School, Lower School, or Middle School?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HB: Everything! Mostly, my focus is going to be the Upper School, at least for this year. Most of our students really legally shouldn’t be using AI because they have what they call end-user license agreements. I know that it’s being used. My focus is really more on where the students can use it. For Middle School, I want to make sure that they understand what AI is. We’re looking more at Gemini, which is a product that works with our Google accounts. It’s a sort of safe playground for AI. In the Lower School, it’s really just getting them to understand what AI is because by the time they’re in Middle School, it’s going to look completely different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KN: We talked about AI and students, but how are you going to work with teachers and build curricula with AI?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HB: A lot of the teachers are really excited about looking at projects and classwork and even things like creating study guides really quickly for you guys and letting you independently create things that you can share out with others. I’m really excited to work with the teachers, and I think, just like students, we have teachers that are really excited about AI\u2019s potential. We also have some teachers that are really nervous about what it could do. My role is really trying to find the middle ground for everyone, where we have a deep understanding of how we can use it here and also making sure that people have enough information to decide how they want to use it and if they want to use it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
KN: Is there anything else you want the students to know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HB: Yes! I am looking to connect with students about their opinions and experiences with AI. I would love to reach out to anyone who wants to share. I would be happy to set up a panel or<\/p>\n\n\n\n
board to learn about Pace students and AI. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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