In honor of National AI Literacy Day last week, the CS Everyone Center, the FL K-12 AI Education Task Force, and the Institute of Advanced Learning Technologies (IALT), sponsored a University of Florida College of Education event to network, reflect, and share learnings on the state of AI education. Our Center members showcased research, curricula, participated in panel discussions, and promoted the work of the FL K-12 AI Education Task Force across the two-day convening. Below are highlights from the conference:
- Nykema Lindsey shared insights on how emerging technologies, such as AI to immersive environments, can reshape education to be human-centered and ethically designed across diverse learning spaces during the panel discussion, “Panel on Perspectives on the Future of Learning Technologies.”
- Andrew Bennett and Nykema Lindsey (co-authors: Dwi Maharrani & Maya Israel) gave a demonstration of the POUR (Perceivable Operable Understandable Robust) framework and how users might use this framework to evaluate software and hardware for accessible applications.
- Shan Zhang (co-authors: Anthony Botelho and Maya Israel) shared insights on developing and aligning self-reported and objective-based assessments of AI literacy to uncover learner profiles and gaps between perceived and demonstrated competencies among K-12 teachers during the poster session, “From Perceptions to Competence: A Learner Profile Analysis of K–12 Teachers’ AI Literacy.”
- Dwi Maharrani (co-authors: Andrew Bennett, Nykema Lindsey, and Maya Israel) presented her poster on a self-assessment survey instrument under development entitled: “Competence Self-Assessment for Computer Science Teachers” (ACCESS)
- Alexis Cobo (co-authors: Meize Guo and Nykema Lindsey) gave a demonstration on an elementary unplugged lesson, a logic puzzle based on the AI4K12 Big Idea #2 Representation and Reasoning.
- Meize Guo (co-authors: Ali Rinehart & Gayle Evans) demonstrated an elementary AI activity used by UFTeach preservice teachers that focused on the AI4K12 Big Idea #2. Additionally, highlights from preservice teachers’ practicum (e.g. instructional strategies) and an extended digital version of the activity created in Google AI Studio were also featured.
- Maya Israel shared insights on the state of FL K-12 AI Education Task Force during the panel discussion “AI In Education: Impact Stories.”
We look forward to continuing to catalyze the conversation on AI literacy within the College of Education and across the K-12 ecosystem.
