Common Questions about AI for Educators

In this episode of Trailblazing Schools, Trudy Graham explores the nuances of choosing and using AI tools in education, emphasising the importance of context, cost, and critical questioning to maximise benefits and avoid pitfalls. She explores some criteria for choosing AI tools in education, the importance of existing AI familiarity and cost-benefit analysis of paid AI models. Trudy gives some examples of ways to prompt for more balanced and honest answers, and explains why regularly asking the AI to offer counter-arguments and uncover blind spots makes for better decision making.   Resources: Find out more about the Trailblazing Schools Partnership here: https://www.trudygraham.com.au/trailblazing-schools/  Find out more about the Leaders Learning Circle here https://www.trudygraham.com.au/leaders-learning-circle/  Get your copy of AI in Action: Field Notes from School Leaders. It's free, practical, and designed to prompt your own next step. Download today at trailblazingschools.com/fieldnotes  If this conversation resonated and you're exploring how to strengthen leadership in your school network or system, visit trudygraham.com.au/connect  to explore working together. Credits The Trailblazing Schools Podcast is hosted by Trudy Graham - https://www.trudygraham.com.au/ This podcast is edited and produced by Ellen Ronalds Keene from PERK Digital - https://perkdigital.com.au/ The theme music is Dusty Road by Indiebox  Trudy Graham acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which she lives and is recording today, the Darumbal people, and pay my respect to elders past and present, for they hold a deep and continuing connection to the land, sea, and sky. Chapters 00:00 Introduction: Why AI choices matter in education 01:24 Common questions about AI for educators 02:35 The importance of context and access in choosing AI tools 04:18 Why your current AI tool is your best asset 07:31 Is paying for AI worth it? The value of subscriptions 11:23 How to prompt AI for balanced, honest answers 14:36 Customizing AI responses and settings for better outcomes 15:51 Practical next steps: Challenging AI before decision-making AI in education, AI tools, decision-making, productivity, critical thinking, AI investment, prompt engineering, leadership, technology in teaching