If you’ve read my previous columns here, you may have picked up on something: my encouragement around AI is to reflectively and relentlessly ask the right questions. In the first two installments, I proposed a number of questions education stakeholders can ask ourselves. This time, I thought I’d seek insights from someone who’s been working through many of these questions in collaboration with educators nationwide.
In that spirit, I’m presenting this conversation with Jethro Jones, a national award-winning former school leader who also happens to be co-founder of the BE Podcast Network (alongside yours truly), host of Transformative Principal, and author of two books, including SchoolX: How principals can design a transformative school experience for the people right in front of them!
Jethro currently consults school leaders on strategies to help them save time, lead more effectively, and overcome their own weaknesses. He’s also spent significant time over the past few years learning about AI, consulting in the AI space, hosting numerous podcast conversations on the topic, and hosting AI Office Hours for educators. I’m pleased to bring you some of his insights:
Ross Romano: You’ve been working closely with educators over the past few years to get more comfortable using AI tools. What are the biggest changes you’ve noticed?
Jethro Jones: Savvy educators are focusing less on kids cheating and more on how they can use AI to support more meaningful interactions. It’s easy to get AI to do anything you want, but difficult to get it to do exactly what you want. With that understanding, I see educators focusing on how they can leverage AI to build deeper connections with their students and other educators.
RR: What challenges are educators still feeling around the use of AI (generative or otherwise)?
JJ: There’s just so much that we don’t understand about AI. While many great tools are being developed, each design decision someone makes is based on their paradigm of the world. For example, if a company makes something that is designed to have a teacher-focused classroom, those who are project-based are left on the outside to find a different tool. To really take advantage of the most promising aspects of AI, you still have to have some degree of capability with coding, but it’s getting closer.
RR: For classroom educators who are still on the fence about AI or haven’t made a plan to use it yet, how do you make the case that it’s something everyone should learn about?
JJ: Schools are supposed to be institutions of learning. That means that even teachers need to constantly be learning as well. I’ve been saying for years that technology is not going away, and it’s imperative for educators to learn and stay aware of the latest development. Teachers don’t have to get computer science degrees, but they should freely experiment and try new things with technology on a regular basis.
RR: What do school leaders most need to understand about the potential of AI and the opportunity to support its successful implementation? Are there any risk factors leaders might also need to understand better?
JJ: The most important thing for school leaders to think of is that your AI solution should be custom tailored for your school. The beauty and power of AI is that you can customize it highly with your unique circumstances. If you’re adopting AI “out of the box” as it were, you need to at the very least talk with the company about your specific needs.
RR: What process should leaders follow in determining what type of AI usage would benefit their educators and students? Are there good resources to check out?
JJ: I created the APLUS Framework for adopting AI technology in schools for this very reason, to help schools focus on five core principles to ensure responsible and effective implementation:
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Accessibility – must be accessible to everyone
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Privacy & Ethics – must put privacy first and be ethical (avoid using copyrighted data for training, for example)
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Learner-Centered – must be focused on the learner. How does this benefit our students?
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Usability – must be usable from the very beginning. If you need hours of training to use it, it’s too difficult.
Sustainability – this is not just about money, but also about time, energy, and other resources. You can learn more about my APLUS framework on this podcast episode.
About the author
Ross Romano is a contributing editor to Educate AI. He is a consultant, advisor, performance coach, and podcast host who helps organizations and individuals define and communicate their unique vision, connecting it with strategic decisions that lead to meaningful impact. Ross is founder and CEO of September Strategies, a consulting firm supporting businesses in the K-12 space, and co-founder of the BE Podcast Network, with nearly 50 shows focused on transformative change in formal and informal learning environments. Connect with him on LinkedIn, BlueSky, Twitter, or his website.
