If you’ve been anywhere near the kettle in the staff room, or you’ve simply got an internet connection, you’ve no doubt been bombarded with news about generative AI tools.
We know AI technology is moving fast, with what seems to be near-limitless potential to both disrupt and transform education. We also know there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to how AI can – or should – make its way into the classroom. So, we’ve been engaging with educators to better understand how AI tools might impact teaching and learning.
Our HQ has been buzzing with ideas, and we’re actively exploring AI features to support instruction, feedback, assessment, and student engagement with Showbie and Socrative. We see AI as a unique opportunity allowing us to develop new solutions to old problems.
As Abdul Chohan, educator and VP of Learning, shared with the team:
Imagine personalised assessments that adapt to individual student needs, offering tailored feedback instantly. Imagine being able to identify learning gaps swiftly and support interventions to ensure no student is left behind.
AI has the potential to simplify school and trust processes, easing the burden of overworked teachers by streamlining assessment and allowing for more time to focus on direct instruction and building relationships with students. This isn’t just a futuristic dream—it’s within reach.
There’s a lot to consider when it comes to putting AI to work in the classroom. Whatever we land on, our approach to developing AI features will be the same one we apply to any new feature: to build easy-to-use tools that empower teachers to create meaningful connections with every learner.
Our AI Guideposts
With that in mind, we want to share some important considerations guiding our thinking when it comes to adding AI within Showbie and Socrative:
🧑🏫 Pedagogy first, technology second 🧑🏫
Ironic coming from an ed-tech company, but we’re not interested in adding AI tools simply to say we have them. We’re committed to designing tools for teaching and learning, rather than gimmicks or simply repackaging features from corporate software.
💡 AI to enhance, not replace💡
Our goal is to develop human-centred tools to enhance what you’re already doing. Whether you’re a lead educator, teaching assistant, or support staff, we believe in building tools to help educators teach their best lesson, and engage students more deeply in their learning journey.
🛠 Simple tools for everyone 🛠
Be it classroom essentials you need to share lessons, provide feedback, assess learning in real-time, or new tools to unlock student creativity, we’re committed to developing features that ensure the learning environment is accessible and equitable in supporting every student.
🔒 Safety and security as a starting point 🔒
This point is really important to us – as we know it is to you. As with any sub-processor, the third-party platform we’ll use to support our AI features will be GDPR compliant and adhere to strict, industry-recognized data privacy and security standards.
> Read more about data handling for AI in Showbie
> Read more about data handling for AI in Socrative
What’s next for us?
We’re monitoring the development of regional AI regulations across our customer markets to understand any impacts of features we develop in the apps so you can be confident AI features are safe in your classroom.
As partners in your classroom, we see AI as an opportunity to enhance your roles as educators not replace you. With AI features making it easier for you to create deeper connections with your learners, and more efficient for you to create rich teaching experiences, you’ll be able to guide students to success through personalised learning.
Stay tuned for news and opportunities to try out some new AI-supported feedback and assessment features soon. Sign up for news on AI features from Showbie.
If you’ve got ideas for AI in Showbie and Socrative, we’d love to hear from you! Share your AI ideas here.
(this post was written by a real life human!)
