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