In the opening speech at Bett, the British Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan, spoke of all UK schools raising their standards in technology, including improving Internet connections and WiFi across the country. Then, she talked about artificial intelligence and its role in the future of education. She called it a "Game Changer," compared it to the calculator and Google, and said it would change the teacher's role and day-to-day work. She has seen teachers creating lesson plans with ChatGPT and exciting examples of AI-based grading. She claimed that it should not be seen as a cost-cutting exercise but rather help teachers with tasks that take up all their time.
"Schools should soon be prepared to adopt artificial intelligence to perform "tasks that really drain teachers' time"
She also addressed homework and other unsupervised learning activities, discussing how they might need to be scrutinized now that artificial intelligence can help students cheat. She also said they are working on a plan for implementing artificial intelligence to get the most out of it in school - in a safe way.
There is not the best mood among teachers in England due to the contract negotiations, and this caused many teachers to walk out of the speech in protest. Many teachers perceived her focus on artificial intelligence as if AI could replace them if unsatisfied.
Kayla Russell
Sophia Waterfield
Poppy Wood
