Age of AI in Education

By Marco Santana

The conversation in education about disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence has become one of the more common in the field.

At Beacon College, however, emerging tech has been a part of the conversation since the institution hired George Hagerty as its president 12 years ago.

That has created an atmosphere that encourages faculty to explore emerging tech, which has led to an open-mindedness about AI which, in turn, helps create an environment receptive to ideas on how to maximize its effect.

We caught up with Dr. Kevin Reilly, vice president of academic affairs, to talk more about how the technology has been incorporated into the school’s approach.

 

Q: When it comes to new technologies, academics can often be, if not Luddites, slow adopters. Is that the case at Beacon?

Reilly: The faculty and academic staff are very quick to jump on board with new ideas, which is fantastic. While resistance can sometimes be a factor at other institutions, that doesn’t seem to be the case here at Beacon.

Q: Beacon College appears to have a clear direction about the use of artificial intelligence. Can you describe Beacon College’s intentions with AI?

Reilly: We want to be users and trendsetters of AI. We are committed, from the president on down, to creating course training and investing in the right AI packages to make sure students get the best possible use that they can. As an example, we had a consultant come for (National) AI (Literacy) Day in March.

Q: President Hagerty has been a big believer in this. Can you talk more about his role in this?

Reilly: It all falls from Dr. Hagerty. He’s an incredibly revolutionary thinker. He was talking about this during my (job) interview.

Q: What AI tools is the college already using, whether it’s in the classroom or for more guidance-based efforts?

Reilly: We have some software that uses AI. For instance, “Big Interview” in career services. It’s a great interview practice tool that measures all kinds of things people do during an interview.

Q: Do you believe the current generation of students serves to influence this ready adoption of AI at Beacon College?

Reilly: Like anything, you have to understand what they are saying out there. We know about “digital natives,” but they are now theorizing there will be a generation of AI natives. It’s not ‘hey I hope we get on board’ but it’s ‘how do we use this incredible technology’.”

Q: What is the fundamental importance of proactively addressing AI within an educational context like at Beacon College?

Reilly: It’s essential. Any modern technology — particularly one this powerful — starts to creep into our daily lives. Getting in front of it and getting exposure and time to play in the sandbox with some AI tools demystifies it. We have scheduled some targeted workshops this summer through the fall and it’s something we hope becomes ongoing.

Q: Looking to the future, how do you see AI potentially helping Beacon College students in their academic and career preparation?

Reilly: We are still breaking ground on how it can help. Still discovering that. If we can use it to help students prepare for the job interview process get some very good singular experiences, that is only going to help them.

Q: Finally, what are your thoughts on how AI might influence teaching and learning methodologies within the classroom?

Reilly: The ways it can be used in the classroom will help faculty develop multimodal instruction models on the fly. It is going to be an incredible tool for faculty as well as our students.