A.I. Tools for Informal STEM Education
Two children use virtual reality headsets
As an informal STEM education professional, you likely have directly experienced that emerging A.I. technologies have become mainstream in the past year. Tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini (formerly Google Bard) are everywhere. A.I. capabilities like generative A.I., voice recognition, natural language processing, image recognition, and more are becoming ubiquitous. Informal STEM education professionals would be wise to consider what implications - and opportunities - these technologies will provide in the coming years. A little over a year ago, I explored some of these potential downfalls and advantages in this article (below) on our Insights page.
Screenshot of Insights article “How A.I. will be Impacting Informal STEM Education… Sooner than You Think”
As an evaluator, I’ve been having many conversations with my colleagues about the impacts that new A.I. tools will have in our field. Many of these tools can make our work easier by eliminating repetitive processes that take time out of our day. For example, many of these technologies can automatically transcribe interviews, identify patterns in how we write consent forms and suggest commonly used language, and turn written notes into digital text. In the near future, we also expect to see more tools that aid in data analysis and reporting (such as qualitative analysis tools).
While there are many exciting opportunities available, it’s also important to consider the limitations of these technologies, such as a reliance on existing knowledge and biases, a lack of program-specific context that could lead to misinterpretation, and a lack of human connection and collaborative input. We should not neglect the real value of professional collaboration for the sake of the convenience that AI tools provide.
Whether you’re an evaluator or a practitioner working on informal STEM learning programs, there is a place for AI in your practice. These tools can make us more efficient and effective in our work, serving more participants, and achieving greater impacts.
As a part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing the informal STEM learning community, we’ve begun a database of AI tools that may be helpful for informal STEM learning professionals. Some we’ve tried, others we have not, and none we are technically endorsing. We’re simply putting together a library of resources you might explore to enhance and complement your work. We hope it’s useful to you!
Do you have an AI resource you’d recommend? Drop your suggestion here!
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