A Robot at the Head of the Class?

Ulrick Juul Christensen, CEO of Area9 Lyceum, an ed tech company that specializes in personalized learning, wrote an op-ed at The Hill that pushes ed tech and personalized learning.

Shocker. The Hill should have been paid for what is essentially an advertorial. 

He says teachers should embrace the change that is coming, even if it means a robot at the head of the classroom:

At the center of this discussion is the most valuable asset in the classroom: teachers. At the same time, educators should not fear a technology intrusion, with visions of robots instead of humans at the head of the class.

Advanced tools such as adaptive learning platforms are highly effective for providing individualized instruction to students, while freeing up teachers to do what they do best to encourage more collaboration and creativity in the classroom.

Why in the world wouldn’t teachers fear a takeover of their primary role?

Then he promotes the “flipped classroom,” an educational fad with no data backing it up, that is common among those who have bought in (sold out?) to personalized learning.

So how can learners at all levels enhance their knowledge and master the Four Cs? One compelling but surprisingly effective way is the flipped classroom, which literally reverses the typical instructional approach.

Students access online learning and interactive lessons at home, which allows them to come to class prepared to put that newly acquired knowledge into practice. The technology delivers the instruction, but the teacher determines the content and sequencing and develops classroom lesson plans.

And here’s the push behind this nonsense.

As the focus on worker readiness and training for the AI-enabled workplace intensifies, there is a greater mandate to view K-12 education through the same lens. Teachers will be a huge part of the solution, with technology tools to make them even better at teaching students with a personalized approach.

It’s all about getting kids ready for the workforce, in this case, the AI-enabled workplace.

There may not be a robot at the head of the class, but under this model of education teachers will no longer teach. The technology, not the teacher, will drive instruction.