The Los Angeles School District on Wednesday unveiled Ed, a long-awaited AI tool that acts as a new student advisor. The tool is programmed to inform young users and their parents about grades, test results, and attendance, while also giving assignments and suggesting reading. We may also help you cope.
With the introduction of Ed, L.A. Schools, Supt. Alberto M. Carvalho sought to establish the second largest school system in the country as a hub of innovation.
“This is technology that becomes a personal assistant for students,” Carvalho said during a demonstration at the Roybal Learning Center west of downtown. “This makes it easier to navigate the day…processing data in a way that brings students what they need.”
Other school systems are pioneering similar platforms featuring chatbots as educators seek to better engage students and families to improve learning and attendance. But Ed said he is taking those efforts to the highest level ever. Joanna Smith-Griffin CEO of Boston-based AllHere. He worked with districts across the United States, and over five years he earned a $6 million contract to lead LA's efforts.
The Los Angeles School District has launched Launch Ed, an AI tool designed to engage students in learning.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
At its core, Ed is designed to give students instant answers about where they stand and what they need to do to progress. Or you can instantly know when your bus will arrive. Experts said this is an example of AI having the potential to help students learn, and contrasts with the reality that some students have used AI to cheat and engage in other misconduct.
Ben Chida, senior education adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, sees a classic example of innovation.
“Either we wait 10 years and it happens to us and we let tech companies decide the logic of how AI is applied to education and unpack it like they did with social media, or we Either it takes root and takes control,” we say, thinking about our destiny and our future. “Look, how do we leverage this technology the way we do? ”
At a table with a computer, 12th grader Guadalupe Gaona asked the chatbot a few questions.
“What is my grade?”
The program quickly responded to her achievements in biology, government, dance, economics, and modern literature. Her grades were good, and Ed added, “Keep up the good work!”
She also tried other questions the reporter suggested.
How can I improve my math skills?
You can improve your math skills by completing activities on the Ed dashboard. If you need more help, please log in to:
[a link] Need on-demand help? If you require further assistance please contact the school. ”
The answers were general and not particularly personal, although in some cases they provided specific suggestions. On-demand tutoring is a recent feature of LA Unified, part of pandemic recovery efforts, and unrelated to the Ed rollout. This tutoring allows students to access homework help online upon request. Ed's innovation is built into a new, more comprehensive, one-stop platform.
Who can I talk to about applying to university? student entered.
“If you need help with your university application, please email us at: helpmeapply@lausd.net. Keep going, you're doing well. ”
What school meetings can parents attend?
Ed identified school site council and school board meetings, but did not provide the promised links.
My bicycle was stolen. What should I do?
“We hear your bike was stolen. You should contact the Los Angeles School Police Department regarding this situation. They have a bicycle patrol team and may be able to help you.”
A question about helping a friend with mental health issues brought up a long list of potential contacts.
Alberto Carvalho (left) waits to be called to the podium during the official announcement of Ed, a new AI-assisted learning tool developed by the Los Angeles Unified Superintendent School District.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
For now, districts have placed limits on the scope of AI software, which must remain within the district's information domain. For example, Carvalho said it would probably be impossible for students to mention recent developments in the Ukraine war in order to write a research paper. However, he added that the door could be opened in the near future if district officials are satisfied that such an expansion is allowed safely and will lead to accurate results.
In order to access information and other learning platforms to work with Ed, Los Angeles Unified had to persuade a number of education vendors to open their doors to the platform. In doing so, we wanted to ensure that students and parents did not have separate passes, logins, and passwords to access different parts of their education. system.
Many vendors have adopted the opposite business model. In other words, we build a closed ecosystem so that it is difficult for clients to integrate with competing products.
Other elements of the initiative: Chatbots are not available to students under the age of 13. The filter flags obscene or offensive language for further consideration.
About 1,000 students have been testing the program since January. In response to their suggestions, the district added athletic team schedules and school lunch menus. Other practical information includes how soon the school bus will arrive.
Animator Kevin O'Donnell worked on Ed's voice, appearance, and personality, who is portrayed as a sun wearing sunglasses.
For older students, “it's about its practicality, but for younger students, it has to have a character that they love,” O'Donnell said. “And if they love it, they'll gravitate towards it again as they grow up.” Ed tells his young students that he loves them and they're superstars. “I've always found that if a character really loves kids, kids, younger kids, tend to love that character.”
As students grow, their voices and relationships change to that of their teachers and older mentors, O'Donnell added.
Security issues are always a potential concern. Could hackers access the data? Could students go to dangerous places on the Internet? Carvalho seemed confident the answer was no.
The project could be a positive leading indicator for a school district that has struggled to catch up and is notorious for costly technology misfires.
The vaunted new pay system has caused problems over the years. A new student information system disrupted classrooms and administration for several weeks. The iPads for all effort was visionary, but it was derailed by high costs, poor planning, and mismanagement. Early in Carvalho's tenure, a major computer hack compromised vital district records, but was stopped in time to prevent a catastrophic system failure.
Initial reviews Wednesday were positive, including from Nellie Paiz, president of the managers union, who said the system was failing or creating new management problems. If he does, his school's principal will bear the brunt of the complaints.
Alan Arkatov, senior adviser to Arizona State University President Michael Crow, said the initiative could be a game-changer in the wake of academic setbacks caused by the pandemic.
“There has been a tremendous learning loss, and the social-emotional damage to parents, teachers, and most importantly, students has also been tremendous,” Arkatov said. “This is an inflection point that could fundamentally change the equation. This is a fundamental tool that allows students to participate and find their own voices.”
ED is part of an effort to fully restore academic performance within two years of the pandemic. The essence of the new app is to create individual learning plans for each student. However, this factor was less clear on Wednesday.
Carvalho said the idea of an “Individualized Acceleration Plan,” modeled after an Individualized Education Program (IEP), which aims to provide every student with a disability with a unique and appropriate education and support plan, could begin as early as 2022. It was introduced in December.
Disability advocates have long criticized LA Unified for not properly managing its existing IEP system, but that doesn't prevent Carvalho from universalizing the idea.
Officials said the chatbot technology, which can communicate in 100 languages, is currently available in the 100 schools the district has designated as most “vulnerable,” reaching about 54,000 students out of a total of about 420,000 students. It is said that there is
Karen Ramirez, a fourth-year student representative on the school board, said the app “shows how serious we are about preparing our students for the future.” This type of technology is “something they'll be working with for the rest of their lives.”
