By Megan Lardie
There has been a lot of talk about AI, artificial intelligence, in the news lately. The United States and Ireland are both concerned with cybersecurity. Both countries are trying to be leaders in how they handle AI.
The US is taking steps to make AI part of the educational system by stressing how important human involvement is and making trust and safety a priority. Ireland has taken a positive approach to making AI part of their education system as well.
As a teacher, I am fascinated by the entire concept of AI. In the future, will students ever have to do any research on their own? Will there be a time when computers will take over the thinking of all humans? What even is AI?
Imagine you have a robot friend, and this friend can learn and do things on its own without you telling it every single step (think of coding, if you are familiar with that). That’s a bit like what Artificial Intelligence (AI) is! AI is like giving a computer or a machine the ability to learn and make decisions by itself, a little bit like how you learn from your experiences.
When you play a game on your device, and the game gets better at challenging you the more you play, that’s because of AI. It learns from how you play and makes the game more interesting for you.
Or when you are at school and your teacher asks you to login to a program or app for reading or math. Those programs use artificial intelligence from sources such as test scores to figure out where exactly you can improve certain skills, such as reading comprehension or math facts. So, AI is like giving machines the power to learn and do things without someone telling them every single step.
As awesome as AI is in our daily life, it does have its limits and can sometimes be wrong. The biggest concern with AI is privacy.
People share a great deal of personal information on the internet. AI makes it even easier for hackers to cause harm. If you are online and someone that you do not know starts asking you lots of personal questions like your address or what school you attend, do not share that information! The internet and AI are used for so much good but there are always a few bad people out there.
Thinking of using AI to complete that book report that your teacher assigned? Do not do it!!! The same way AI begins to understand how you speak or write, teachers can recognize your speaking or writing as well.
It is very easy for a teacher to be able to determine if you used AI to complete your assignment. I am not going to tell our secrets! Here is my advice: It is not worth getting a zero on the assignment. Just use your own brain. You are smarter than AI!
***See the paragraph in italic? It was written by ChatGPT. If you were a teacher, would you be able to tell if those were my own words or was it AI?
Kids in the Kitchen
Sheet Pan Maple-Mustard Pork Chops and Carrots
Ingredients
It is supposed to be good luck if you eat pork on New Year’s Day!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 4 (5 ounce) bone-in, center-cut pork chops (1/2 inch thick)
- 1 ½ pounds carrots, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch slices
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon coarsely chopped peeled fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground pepper
Directions
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
- Whisk 1 tablespoon of oil, mustard, and maple syrup in a small bowl. Place pork chops on one side of a rimmed baking sheet. Brush the tops with the oil mixture. Place carrots on the other side and drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle garlic, ginger and turmeric on the carrots and toss to coat. Season everything with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes.
- Turn the broiler to high. Broil until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a chop without touching the bone registers 145 degrees F, about 4 minutes. Continue cooking the carrots, if needed, until tender and glazed, 2 to 5 minutes more. Serve sprinkled with parsley.
Literature Corner
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
By C.S. Lewis
Grab a blanket and curl up in a corner this winter and read this classic novel. Four siblings' step into a wardrobe and end up in the land of Narnia, a land eternally frozen by the White Witch. The siblings encounter lots of adventures and danger and when almost all hope is lost, the Great Lion, Aslan returns. This is the second of the books in this series, which starts with The Chronicles of Narnia. For ages 5-10, 208 pages.
The Mitten
By Jan Brett
Nicki drops his mitten in the snow ,but does not realize that it is missing. The curious animals in the woods each take a turn crawling into the soft mitten ,from a tiny mole to a big, brown bear!
Q. Why did the snowman buy a bag of carrots?
A. He wanted to pick his nose!
Q. What can you catch in the winter with your eyes closed?
A. A cold!
Gab in Gaelic
Happy New Year to You = Athbhliain faoi mhaise dhuit (pron: ought/bleen hunna dwit)
Speech by Mary Lou McDonald at “Preserving Our Past, Rising to Our Future” Moore St conference
Megan Lardie
*Megan is a Reading Intervention educator with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. She has a BA from Hiram College and BA+ from Ashland University. She resides in Avon Lake with her husband, Joe, and their five children. She can be reached at [email protected].
ends
