International School Parent Magazine - Autumn 2023
Welcome to the Autumn Edition of International School Parent Magazine! Autumn is such a busy time – school is back in full swing, and Christmas seems to be right around the corner. As the leaves slowly start to change, we look forward to the cosy winter months, while our schools in the southern hemisphere look towards long summer days and warmer weather. Once again, we are thrilled to present to you a magazine filled with interesting and informative articles, exciting experiences, and practical tips for parents. The Autumn/Winter edition of International School Parent Magazine 2023 explores topical themes such as AI, and highlights some of the amazing initiatives led by schools in our community. We had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Conrad Hughes, Director General of Ecole Internationale de Genève (Ecolint). In this piece, Conrad shares his passion for education and provides an insightful glimpse of Ecolint’s vision for education in the future. We also continue our discussion of children’s mental health, the impact of AI on our LGBTQI+ community, the importance of lifesaving first aid skills for children, and present many more interesting articles and commentary. Autumn is a wonderful time to enjoy the outdoors. Check out the article about the diverse activities on offer in Switzerland, special resources for children in the Zurich area, and learn about the stunning landscape of Interlaken. We remain committed to helping parents and children make the most of their international school experience. Have a wonderful autumn/winter period and we look forward to bringing you more content again in the spring.
Welcome to the Autumn Edition of International School Parent Magazine!
Autumn is such a busy time – school is back in full swing, and Christmas seems to be right around the corner. As the leaves slowly start to change, we look forward to the cosy winter months, while our schools in the southern hemisphere look towards long summer days and warmer weather. Once again, we are thrilled to present to you a magazine filled with interesting and informative articles, exciting experiences, and practical tips for parents.
The Autumn/Winter edition of International School Parent Magazine 2023 explores topical themes such as AI, and highlights some of the
amazing initiatives led by schools in our community. We had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Conrad Hughes, Director General of Ecole Internationale de Genève (Ecolint). In this piece, Conrad shares his passion for education and provides an insightful glimpse of Ecolint’s vision for education in the future.
We also continue our discussion of children’s mental health, the impact of AI on our LGBTQI+ community, the importance of lifesaving
first aid skills for children, and present many more interesting articles and commentary. Autumn is a wonderful time to enjoy the outdoors. Check out the article about the diverse activities on offer in Switzerland, special resources for children in the Zurich area, and learn about the stunning landscape of Interlaken.
We remain committed to helping parents and children make the most of their international school experience. Have a wonderful autumn/winter period and we look forward to bringing you more content again in the spring.
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institutions must be cautious of the<br />
potential dangers associated with its<br />
usage. Ethical concerns, bias, privacy,<br />
limited human interaction, and unreliable<br />
information are critical issues that need to<br />
be addressed. By acknowledging these risks<br />
and implementing appropriate safeguards,<br />
educators can harness the benefits of<br />
ChatGPT while mitigating its potential<br />
dangers, creating a balanced and effective<br />
learning environment for students.<br />
Though it may be preferable to ignore<br />
it, AI tools have found their way into<br />
classrooms, whether teachers are willing to<br />
accept it or not. We believe that instead of<br />
ignoring the issue, or banning the use of AI,<br />
proper education on its risks and benefits<br />
must be undertaken, and students should<br />
make their own conclusions on how much<br />
they can rely on AI tools for their work.<br />
More than ever students must be tempted<br />
to actually desire for their own benefit to<br />
learn, as if a student can have an essay<br />
written for them by AI, then corrected to<br />
have perfect spelling and grammar, and<br />
submit it with no effort, then what is to stop<br />
“Though it may be preferable to ignore it, AI<br />
tools have found their way into classrooms,<br />
whether teachers are willing to accept it or not.”<br />
them?<br />
We believe it is critical that the students<br />
themselves reach the conclusion that, while<br />
the internet may have all the answers one<br />
would ever need to effectively formulate<br />
answers for almost any prompt a Middle<br />
<strong>School</strong> teacher may give them, they should<br />
still form their own conclusions on the<br />
work. If a teacher can effectively motivate a<br />
student to learn on their own, then they will<br />
develop far more than a student who learns<br />
only what they are told to learn.<br />
Adapting to these changing times is<br />
a difficult process, that will not happen<br />
overnight. However, we believe that with<br />
modern technology must come a more<br />
modern approach than simply limited<br />
the usage of the AI tool. For two classes<br />
of a total of 25 students (ages 13-14), I<br />
gave them the task of creating a short<br />
presentation, and I said that they could<br />
use any tools they wanted – The aim was<br />
to show how quickly a presentation could<br />
be prepared using AI, so that they could<br />
then revise the information in order to<br />
show understanding. However, one class<br />
agreed that I was ‘cheating’, and not a<br />
single one used ChatGPT at any point. In<br />
another class, one student used it, but failed<br />
to do any follow up research, and did not<br />
effectively present the information on the<br />
screen. These small pockets of analysis are<br />
part of a greater discussion of AI in our<br />
school, where students are encouraged to<br />
ask questions, and talking about or using<br />
ChatGPT is not taboo. Therefore, through<br />
concentrated discussion, we believe the<br />
students can come to their own conclusions<br />
on the benefits and potential risks of using<br />
AI for their schoolwork.<br />
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PARENT AUTUMN <strong>2023</strong> | 16
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