This blog is from one of COBIS’ Supporting Associates.

Written by Ian Nairn, Founder and President, C-Learning

Sitting here in Dubai after the most attended Global IT Conference - GITEX 2024 - I am reflecting on how far the United Arab Emirates has travelled in such a short space of time since it was founded in 1971 and where its ambitions lie with respect to Education and AI.

I had the opportunity to listen to and talk with many educators over the last week and the passion and energy they have to take advantage of developments in AI to better support teachers, students and everyone involved in education is clear to see.

In June this year Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, announced plans to “upskill all teachers in the Emirate in artificial intelligence” and said that “our aim is to create an educational system that equips our students with future-ready tools and provides an optimal learning environment supported by AI technologies” and “investing in education is an investment in Dubai's present and future.”

Sheikh Hamdan also added that the “top 10 teachers who effectively integrate AI into their teaching practices will be honoured at the 2025 AI Retreat. With such a clear vision, energy and resources I am sure that they will succeed.

In June as an ISTE Member I also had the privilege to attend ISTE Live 24 in Denver and meet so many more educators but I wanted to share the thoughts from two of them as they have helped me better understand what I need to be responsible in my use of AI and to start my AI journey.

Ethan Mollick (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emollick/ & @emollick on X) from Wharton Business School has been using AI with his students for many years and at ISTE shared this advice with the audience:

I completely agree and whatever AI resource you use and/or have access to then you just need to get started and get the first 10 hours of using AI completed because then you will have a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.

I also had the privilege to meet Dr Rachel Dené Poth and her latest ISTE book about AI which contains some great advice about how to start your own AI journey.

Rachelle has also had the opportunity to explore the impact that AI & Voice can have in her classroom using the award winning Merlyn Origin and you can read more about the positive benefits she found at https://tinyurl.com/27clnzx3

Merlyn Mind led by Satya Nitta and his team has been focussed for more than 10 years developing original AI solutions to allow teachers to use AI and their voice safely in their classrooms ( https://www.merlyn.org/ ). In 2022 the team at University California Irvine published their academic research into the impact that teachers using AI in their classrooms had made and at a time when teacher wellbeing is so high on the agenda and rightly so the ability of Merlyn Mind to reduce teacher technostress, save them time using technology in their classrooms and give teachers the freedom to teach and spend more time amidst their students is even more important today (https://tinyurl.com/2y8cvf2f).

COBIS Member Byron College led by Rory Gallagher in Athens is embracing the future of education with Merlyn Mind, an AI-powered digital assistant for teachers. This innovative tool is transforming the classroom by reducing technology-related stress and maximising teaching time through streamlined classroom orchestration. 

Rory Gallagher and teachers at Byron College are experiencing the benefits of Merlyn Mind's intuitive interface, which allows them to effortlessly control classroom technology using voice commands, touch, or typing. This eliminates the need for constant manual adjustments, freeing up valuable time for instruction and student interaction.

Merlyn Mind's commitment to responsible and ethical AI is central to its design. The platform prioritises user privacy and data security, ensuring a safe and transparent learning environment.

Today many teachers are looking for help and support to start their own AI journey and I would like to share this quote from Alissa White, Year 1 teacher at the Prince of Wales School in the UK where she has been using Voice enabled AI through Merlyn Mind for three years:

“For those teachers who maybe aren’t as tech savvy Merlyn Mind is great for them because they have to use their most important tool - the tool which they use every day which is their voice”

If you want to learn more please go to https://www.c-learning.net/merlyn-mind/

Come and learn how you can start your own AI journey hearing from teachers across the USA and EMEA and join us on the 6th November webinar and register at: https://tinyurl.com/25u5t9hl