Alpha School are doing the same as I am (as a home educator), i.e. using AI provide personalised pacing. I need this because I've got gifted kids with 'spiky' profiles. Alpha School and I are also using it to streamline some types of learning to open up more time for others, such as field trips or science projects.
It really frustrates me where people assume, if parent-educators are using AI, they're using ChatGPT as a full-time personal tutor. I'm sure someone, somewhere, has tried that - but it's not a good idea!
Totally agree - which is part of the reason I wanted to write this. I think most are completely unaware of all the incredible AI learning tools out there. I linked to a bunch above. Which are your favorites? There is a lot to like about alpha school's model. I think it's incomplete in some ways - but parents can fill in those gaps and most of alpha school's kids are spending 6 hours a day doing personal projects which is incredible and something I feel strongly that kids SHOULD be doing. I'd love to hear more about the AI resources you use and how your family is using all the extra free time! It's a beautiful thing!
AI-wise, I was using Doodle Maths for a while and I, also, use IXL for assessment. We also use lots of apps, but it's stuff like Beast Academy, Duolingo and Reading Eggs that have less AI functionality.
I'll definitely be fully investigating some of the options you've mentioned above, as well!
I wrote a whole Substack post about how I came to be very 'app'-led for the structured component of our home education. Most of what it's opened up is time to spend completing science/engineering kits, physical activities like climbing, ukulele lessons or other classes, and/or exploring the architecture, museums and attractions in our home city (London).
I am mostly commenting right now on the section about how AI works. I appreciate the spirit of this, it’s important not to project “thinking” onto systems that don’t have consciousness, intention, or lived experience. But I think describing AI as *just* remixing or predicting words misses something deeper and more consequential. Prediction isn’t trivial, it’s how *we* generate language too. At scale it gives rise to surprising, emergent abilities: generating new metaphors, proposing novel protein structures, even forming hypotheses no one’s written before. These systems don’t “think” like we do, but they can *simulate reasoning* and produce original ideas in ways that extend human cognition. For me, the key isn’t to dismiss AI as a parrot, but to teach our kids how to *orchestrate* it. They should learn to use it as a powerful cognitive partner without confusing it for a mind. That’s where agency and discernment will matter most.
Thank you for writing this! I'm a cognitive scientist and I get so annoyed by both extremes of the ways that people approach AI. It's good to see someone explaining the relevant issues.
Alpha School are doing the same as I am (as a home educator), i.e. using AI provide personalised pacing. I need this because I've got gifted kids with 'spiky' profiles. Alpha School and I are also using it to streamline some types of learning to open up more time for others, such as field trips or science projects.
It really frustrates me where people assume, if parent-educators are using AI, they're using ChatGPT as a full-time personal tutor. I'm sure someone, somewhere, has tried that - but it's not a good idea!
Totally agree - which is part of the reason I wanted to write this. I think most are completely unaware of all the incredible AI learning tools out there. I linked to a bunch above. Which are your favorites? There is a lot to like about alpha school's model. I think it's incomplete in some ways - but parents can fill in those gaps and most of alpha school's kids are spending 6 hours a day doing personal projects which is incredible and something I feel strongly that kids SHOULD be doing. I'd love to hear more about the AI resources you use and how your family is using all the extra free time! It's a beautiful thing!
AI-wise, I was using Doodle Maths for a while and I, also, use IXL for assessment. We also use lots of apps, but it's stuff like Beast Academy, Duolingo and Reading Eggs that have less AI functionality.
I'll definitely be fully investigating some of the options you've mentioned above, as well!
I wrote a whole Substack post about how I came to be very 'app'-led for the structured component of our home education. Most of what it's opened up is time to spend completing science/engineering kits, physical activities like climbing, ukulele lessons or other classes, and/or exploring the architecture, museums and attractions in our home city (London).
I am mostly commenting right now on the section about how AI works. I appreciate the spirit of this, it’s important not to project “thinking” onto systems that don’t have consciousness, intention, or lived experience. But I think describing AI as *just* remixing or predicting words misses something deeper and more consequential. Prediction isn’t trivial, it’s how *we* generate language too. At scale it gives rise to surprising, emergent abilities: generating new metaphors, proposing novel protein structures, even forming hypotheses no one’s written before. These systems don’t “think” like we do, but they can *simulate reasoning* and produce original ideas in ways that extend human cognition. For me, the key isn’t to dismiss AI as a parrot, but to teach our kids how to *orchestrate* it. They should learn to use it as a powerful cognitive partner without confusing it for a mind. That’s where agency and discernment will matter most.
Thank you for writing this! I'm a cognitive scientist and I get so annoyed by both extremes of the ways that people approach AI. It's good to see someone explaining the relevant issues.