What Teachers Need to Know About Bias and AI in EdTech Products

Presented by Jim Larimore, Chief Officer for Equity in Learning, Riiid Labs; Madison Jacobs, Co-Founder, The EdTech Equity Project; and Vic Vuchic, Chief Innovation Officer, Digital Promise Global, and Executive Director, Digital Promise Learner Variability Project (LVP)
Moderated by Barbara A. Pape, Senior Director, Learner Variability Project, Digital Promise

Sponsored by Digital Promise

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Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation. Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fast becoming a mainstay in industries including criminal justice, healthcare, and education. While AI has had tremendous impacts in many ways, it has also had unintended consequences that have disproportionately impacted marginalized populations, including students of color, those living in poverty, and those with learning disabilities. What do educators need to know about AI to leverage its potential and make sure it works effectively and without bias for unserved, underrepresented students?

This edWebinar first defines what AI is and then describes educational equity issues vulnerable to amplification by AI systems. For example, what do teachers need to know about how EdTech product developers need to identify, validate, and mitigate for bias so their products champion the needs of our most marginalized learners?

In this edWebinar, we:

• Define AI, so we are all speaking the same language
• Learn to identify the ways in which existing equity issues in education can be amplified by the EdTech products we use
• Dive into best practices for mitigating AI bias by focusing on case studies
• Unveil new Digital Promise product certification for prioritizing racial equity in AI
• Discuss how we might identify new opportunities in AI that champion the needs of our most marginalized learners

This recorded edWebinar is of interest to teachers, librarians, school and district leaders, and educational technology leaders of all grade levels. 

Optional pre-reading for this edWebinar: What Do EdTech and AI Have to Do with Racial Bias?

About the Presenters

Jim Larimore is Chief Officer for Equity in Learning at Riiid (pronounced “rid”) Labs, where he leads strategy, programs and partnerships to leverage Riiid’s strengths in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to close gaps in educational opportunity, achievement and student success. Jim previously led ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning, served as Deputy Director for student success at the Gates Foundation, and has been a student affairs leader at campuses including Stanford, Dartmouth, Swarthmore, and NYU Abu Dhabi.

Jim has served on the Gates Millennium Scholars Advisory Council, the Stanford Alumni Association Board of Directors, the International Student Affairs Advisory Board for the Universidad de Monterrey in the State of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and the Advisory Board of the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice.

He currently serves on the advisory councils of the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions, the Center for Postsecondary Readiness and Success at American University, and the Dean’s Advisory Council at the University of Iowa’s College of Education. Jim also serves on the Board of Directors of the Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity, which is based in Austin, and the NROC Project, based in Monterey, California, which works with educational organizations to promote student success in math and English at scale.

Jim is a first-generation college graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University – Commerce (formerly East Texas State University), and a master’s degree from Stanford.

Madison Jacobs is a communications practitioner and civil rights advocate passionate about creating policy rooted in equity. She is the co-founder of The EdTech Equity Project that provides EdTech companies and schools tools to mitigate racial bias in EdTech products using AI. Madison’s work leverages her experience across education, small and large technology companies utilizing AI, and as an Aspen Institute Tech Policy Fellow to develop narratives that center the voices of underserved students and families to influence multi-stakeholder change that champions the needs of Black and Brown learners.

Vic Vuchic, Chief Innovation Officer at Digital Promise Global, is a seasoned thought leader in education technology and philanthropy. He is the executive director of the Learner Variability Project (LVP), an applied R&D initiative focused on developing learner models to support research-based personalization of learning for the full diversity of learners. Vic received his Master of Education from Stanford University and is an expert in learning science, innovation, and scaling what works. He has launched game-changing initiatives that have increased access to education and improved learning for tens of millions of learners in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Prior to Digital Promise Global, Vic consulted with a number of foundations and organizations on education technology, innovation, and philanthropy. Prior to consulting, Vic developed strategies and managed over $100 million in technology-focused grants at the Hewlett Foundation to launch and grow the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement and create and advance the Deeper Learning strategy. Vic also has a BSE in systems engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and received a scholarship to spend a year studying jazz performance at Berklee College of Music.

About the Moderator

Barbara A. Pape is the senior director for the Learner Variability Project at Digital Promise. She has 20 years’ experience in strategic communications, writing, and policy analysis, primarily in education. Previously, she served as the executive producer of the award-winning Teaching & Learning conference, sponsored by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, where she developed content and oversaw outreach and communications. As a writer, she has written for numerous publications, including Harvard University, the National Education Goals Panel (U.S. Department of Education), and Parents magazine. Barbara also served as editor and publisher of the first electronically delivered education newsletter, the Daily Report Card. She served on the Advisory Board of the Kennedy Center’s Intersection of Arts Education and Special Education Committee, serves as a judge for the Milken-Penn Graduate School of Education Business Plan competition, and is on the Boards at the Education Writers Association and Potentia. She earned an Ed.M. at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and launched her career as a middle school language arts teacher.

Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.

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Digital Promise was created with the mission to accelerate innovation in education to improve opportunities to learn.