When Students Skip to Replacement: Rethinking AI in Learning with Ryan Gravette

📚 Today’s kindergartners will never know a world without AI.

In our EDU Café conversation, the second of three in his series on AI’s impact, Ryan Gravette of Idaho Digital Learning Alliance shares how students are becoming “AI natives” and what that means for learning. He notes that students often skip straight to replacement (using AI to do the work for them) rather than using it to inform or augment their learning.

This poses a critical challenge for educators:

• How do we design assignments that prevent replacement and instead encourage deeper learning?
• Can AI become a tutor that asks questions, offers hints, and supports students as they learn rather than just giving them the answer?
• What opportunities exist for AI to open doors to experiences (like interviewing professionals) that students might not otherwise have access to?

Ryan challenges us to rethink assessments and instruction so AI strengthens rather than shortcutting student learning.