Professional Skills Experience
I decided to interview Leah Lindblom, the technology administrator at Arvada West High School. I chose her because she is a field expert in the both education and technology, and I wanted to learn more about how Generative AI is being used in schools.
"Back in the day, people freaked out when Google became a thing. ‘Oh my gosh, kids can look up the answers!’ AI is just the next big change—it’s disruptive, but really cool."
"We used to be the textbook for students—we had the knowledge. But now, knowledge is out there, and we have to teach kids how to find information, evaluate it, and critically analyze whether it’s credible or not."
"The student who can write the best prompt is going to be the one who gets the A, you know what I mean?"
Q: What do you personally think about using AI in schools?
A: "AI is just the next big change—it’s disruptive, but really cool. But I do think the world at large needs to rein it in a little. It’s exploding so fast that people can’t keep up. We don’t fully know if it’s going to be bad or good."
Q: What’s your biggest concern with AI?
A: "The ethical side and how fast AI is advancing. It’s moving so fast, we can’t keep up. Sometimes, students know more than I do because they have more time to play with it."
Q: Would you say AI will have a net positive impact?
A: "Yes, definitely. But I also think there’s a risk—especially with people using it for the wrong reasons."
This interview gave me a lot of insight into how education and technology connect, especially with AI. Ms. Lindblom compared AI to when Google first came out and people freaked out, but eventually, it just became a normal part of learning.
It was interesting to hear that schools are still figuring out how to handle AI, with some teachers excited about it and others trying to avoid it. I also didn’t expect that being a school tech admin doesn’t really involve much math.
Overall, it was cool to see how AI is already changing schools and how they are trying to keep up. It is not going anywhere, so we really need to figure out the best way to integrate it.