The Top 5 Posts of 2024
Plus extra Links!
This year, articles on Learning on Purpose were viewed more than 80,000 times (!). For my last post of the year, I’ve gathered the five most popular pieces of 2024 and an extra long list of Links.
I also want to say thank you, to those of you who read, to those of you who subscribe, and to those of you who share. I started this Substack a year and a half ago as a place to dump my thoughts and to keep myself honest about sticking to a writing routine. You have helped make it something far bigger, connecting me to people, opportunities, and learning experiences I never expected. I'm grateful.
Keep an eye out for new posts in January. Happy New Year!
The Top 5 Posts of 2024
Upcoming Ways to Connect with Me
Speaking, Facilitation, and Consultation
If you want to learn more about my work with schools and nonprofits, reach out for a conversation at eric@erichudson.co or take a look at my website. I’d love to hear about what you’re working on.
In-Person Events
February 24: I’ll be at the National Business Officers Association (NBOA) Annual Meeting in New York City. I’m co-facilitating a session with David Boxer and Stacie Muñoz, “Crafting Equitable AI Guidelines for Your School.”
February 27-28: I’m facilitating a Signature Experience at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Annual Conference in Nashville, TN, USA. My program is called “Four Priorities for Human-Centered AI in Schools.” This is a smaller, two-day program for those who want to dive more deeply into AI as part of the larger conference.
June 5. I’m a keynote speaker at the Ventures Conference at Mount Vernon School in Atlanta, GA, USA.
June 6. I’ll be delivering a keynote and facilitating two workshops (one on AI, one on student-centered assessment) at the STLinSTL conference at MICDS in St. Louis, MO, USA.
Online Workshops
January 9-March 31. I’m doing a four-part online series for school leaders, “Leading in an AI World.” We’ll cover AI literacy for leaders, crafting policy, and working with educators and families in managing change. This program is in partnership with the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS), and is open to members and non-members.
January 23. I’m facilitating an online session with the California Teacher Development Collaborative (CATDC) called “AI and the Teaching of Writing.” We’ll explore the impact generative AI is having on writing instruction and assessment, and how to respond. Open to all educators, even if you don’t live or work in California.
Links!
The concept of “arrival technologies” has had an enormous impact on how I think about and talk about generative AI. Justin Reich and Jesse Dukes update the theory for our AI age.
Maha Bali offers a cake-making analogy for talking to students about the ethics of responsible AI use.
I have come to rely on Bryan Alexander’s occasional scans of different parts of the AI discourse. Here, he reviews the different forms of AI opposition.
Ethan Mollick just put out a helpful summary of the advancements generative AI has made just in the last month.
I worked in online learning for years, and anyone who teaches in online or blended environments should be paying close attention to the capabilities of AI agents when it comes to doing coursework.
Helpful overview of recent research on the impact generative AI has on diverse student populations.
Jane Rosenzweig is seeking teachers of writing to contribute to her new Substack on AI and the writing classroom.
One of the most popular and problematic AI platforms out there, CharacterAI, is making some adjustments to better protect young people (because self-regulation has always gone well with tech companies).
Dylan Wiliam, an assessment expert, has three thoughts on generative AI and its impact on learning and schooling.
I only recently came across Max Hallucinator, a GPT someone built to force ChatGPT to create hilarious wrong answers.
What are the tradeoffs of surveillance culture in schools? Schools are using AI to monitor students, looking for early indicators of thoughts of self-harm.
Depressing, but also illuminating about what we can expect from AI-generated video: “I Went to the Premiere of the First Commercially Streaming AI-Generated Movies”