Commentary
At the dawn of a new school year, the issue of artificial intelligence (AI) looms large. But innovations have always been a part of classroom instruction.
For example, calculators changed the face of math class forever. Kind of.
Before the invention of calculators, all math equations were done manually. Calculators changed things by making it possible to solve complex equations in seconds and often without thinking much about the problem. All you had to do was punch in the correct numbers and—presto—the answer magically popped up on the screen.
Naturally, this led to some debate among teachers. Some thought there was no longer a need for students to memorize math facts including multiplication tables, while others argued that learning basic skills was still important, regardless of whether calculators were available or not….