Austin Next

Trailblazing Access to AI in Austin's Young Minds

We shift focus from the broad, macro-level implications of AI to its tangible effects on the ground, as Austin increasingly becomes a hub for educational innovation. Joining me are Principal Keith Moore of Austin's Campbell Elementary and Jules Beesley from Creative Action. We discuss their efforts in bringing AI and other cutting-edge technologies to their scholars, emphasizing the importance of providing access to these tools and technologies for students today and their impact on our future.

Episode Highlights

• The goal of integrating AI in early education is to create access and provide opportunities for learning and exploring new technologies.
• They strive to integrate the latest tools, keeping pace with their rapid evolution while ensuring effective learning experiences for students​​.
• Demonstrating endless imagination, 4th graders created audio-visual poems combining their written and spoken words with striking images, while 5th graders produced science shows, integrating curriculum topics with personal creativity​​.
• Austin's education market is increasingly becoming a hub for experimentation, characterized by the emergence of creative groups, unique partnerships, and new schools/universities, all offering diverse paradigms in education and technology.
• What’s Next?
• Principal Moore: Greater opportunities for scholars, through increasing the use of technology, in these wonderful ways, to connect core curriculum to the arts.
• Mr. Beesley: How can we use these tools to tell stories, to use our imaginations, as well as explore issues of how we create.

Campbell Elementary School: Website (https://campbell.austinschools.org/) , Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thedragonleader/)
Creative Action (https://creativeaction.org/)

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