With the recent further development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology playgrounds, educators around the world are opting to control + alt + delete (or alt + Q) on AI technology. The potential disruption to current approaches to learning has educators questioning whether we should be banning the use of AI for education purposes all together. Our mission and vision at LCS is about embracing a world that is changing and finding meaningful ways to impact it in distinctly Christian educational ways (LCS Vision).
As a Christian learning community committed to helping students Know God, Love Others, and Live Purposefully, we recognize the importance of delivering an engaging curriculum that invites opportunities for reflection on how innovations might be impacting our identity formation individually and as a community. By extension, we are approaching conversations about AI technology with questions about how it can support how we encourage the formation of our learners towards “the knowledge, skills, and values to live a life of purpose and impact for Christ” (LCS Values).
In the spring of 2022, we recorded a series of podcasts on the role that technology plays in education (LCS Talks: Season 2). We discussed some guiding considerations as we engaged in conversations about how LCS approaches the use of technology in our community, shared encouragement to families as they support their children’s identity formation and use of technology, and how to have open and honest dialogue about tech usage from K-12.
In the podcast, we unpack how the further development and presence of AI tech in educational spaces is inviting us to think about how we create formational learning experiences and design assessments that are authentic.
With consideration of these questions, we would encourage you to check out Season 2 of the LCS Talks podcast entitled, “Faith, Identity, and Technology” where we explore how to grow in wisdom and faith-informed discernment as families navigate conversations about tech usage and engage in the process of reflecting on how technology is involved in our spiritual formation.
A Preview of the Season:
In Season 2, Episode 1, Berkley, Eric, Dave M, and Kevin explore key scriptural passages (including John 10:10 concerning abundant life) and ways for educators to think about the role of technology in a school community.
In Season 2, Episode 3, Berkley and Kevin connect with MIT PhD graduate, Dr. Jessica Van Brummelen as she shares about her research work on Artificial Intelligence, how schools around the world are engaging girls in STEM education, and the relationship between science and Christianity concerning big questions about existence.
These respective episodes provoke all sorts of important educational questions and considerations including the following:
- What are ways we can continue to reflect on what teaching and learning look like in an age of easy accessibility to Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
- What aspects of technology should we embrace as part of our learning?
- How can the use of technology help us to do meaningful work?
- How can teachers allow students to engage with aspects of AI in their learning and still provide clarity about its potential limitations?
- How does the use of AI confirm the approach and philosophy of the new curriculum that envisions learners developing both content and skills in order to be productive citizens?
- What are ways we can design meaningful work, formational learning experiences, and authentic assessments given the possibility of students interacting with various AI tools?
In light of recent conversations about AI technology, it is our deep hope to create learning opportunities that are founded on relationships. Our Biblical studies curriculum rationale includes the following aim:
“We are always presently preparing students for a world that we do not see, but perhaps in some way still know is out there- the world that is, is not what it ought to be. We imagine technology as something to be understood, explored ethically, and used as part of making the world a better place. What we do has implications for generations upon generations and that the present moment is what we are most responsible for because it creates new possible futures for peace and partnership in God’s reconciliation and restoration.”
