Views of AI within MIS systems

[Aftab_Ahmed]

Dear All,

 

It was announced by government that they are re-looking in how AI is being used in public services and in particular education where they have invested over £1m in companies developing AI solutions by April this year.

 

https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crr05jykzkxo.amp

 

It would be interesting to see how other schools are using AI in particular across MIS systems and how effective it is for outcomes to support teaching and learning and data outcomes.

 

Any views, thoughts or experiences are greatly appreciated.

[taz]

Policy:

We have AI as an option within our MIS but are opting not to turn it on. Our school policy is that we do not feed any AI product non-anonymised data on staff or students, particularly sensitive data. We gave interested departments AI but more in a "generate a generic lesson plan" or "summarise this document" capacity, via standalone chatgpt accounts (Team level, so not used for training AI models). We blocked copilot app for students via group policy and AI in general is blocked on our web filter for students (not blocked for staff).

 

Efficiencies: Those who already loved the idea of AI are waxing lyrical about how much time it saves their planning; those who are not particularly invested in technology other than the basics, are largely unimpressed. It's not sparking a revolution just yet, more sparking widespread confirmation bias. I've looked at a few products that claim to reduce load by AI marking - so far, it's been more marketing than reality, the applications are just too under developed or UI too clunky (save time one place, lose it somewhere else).

 

If you are asking about AI within MIS specifically, they are mostly in early days, used for letter writing or keyword searching. I haven't seen anything regarding data analysis but that would be quite a big leap to allow AI to make predictions or summarise data that might affect student outcomes:

SIMS desktop has no AI that I know of

Bromcom: https://docs.bromcom.com/knowledge-base/the-different-types-of-bromcom-ai/

Arbor: https://support.arbor-education.com/hc/en-us/articles/23469719769501-Managing-Arbor-AI

Edited January 13, 2025 by taz

[Roberto]

 

Any views, thoughts or experiences are greatly appreciated.

 

Not in education any more but I have been heavily involved in the adoption and development of AI solutions where I work. Below is my summary of a few rules we’ve developed (and which at least one high street bank you’d all recognise also apply to their AI use):

 

1. AI output should be reviewed by a human before being shared with others or used to make decisions.
   
2. AI tools should be evaluated prior to use to ensure that they meet our standards; for example, that sensitive data is not being used to train the vendor’s AI; that data is not being taken out of region (e.g. customer data that we’ve pledged to only store or process in the EU isn’t being taken outside the EU by the AI process)
   
3. AI tools should respect the RBAC/access level of the user and data; e.g. my use of an AI tool like copilot shouldn’t expose data to me that my role and permissions should prevent me from seeing.
   
4. That the AI tool adds value rather than being turned on just because it’s there.
   
5. 
   

Edited January 14, 2025 by Roberto

[CHiLL]

We use Bromcom, which has an AI feature that can be enabled, though I believe it is an extra license that we haven't purchased. Our management have been heavily pushing staff to utilise AI, specifically the browser-based version of Copilot or ChatGPT to help incorporate new ideas, reduce workload or provide inspiration to lessons/job roles where possible, with this use of AI being tied into our CPD for this year (acknowledgements made for some staff who may struggle to incorporate it into their job roles). Our staff have had a fair amount of training sessions that outline what AI can and can't do and also how they should and shouldn't use it, especially when it comes to personally identifiable information, anonymising data, etc and an AI policy was created. Edited January 14, 2025 by CHiLL

[Oaktech]

We are taking broadly the same approach, with broadly the same results as @taz

 

Our Bromcom has the AI feature disabled by our MAT.

 

The only thing the staff have trialled over and above what has been mentioned is the auto marking in Teams and the general feeling is that it takes longer to define the rubrik and mark scheme properly than to to just mark the work conventionally.

Edited January 14, 2025 by Oaktech

[TechMonkey]

The only thing the staff have trialled over and above what has been mentioned is the auto marking in Teams and the general feeling is that it takes longer to define the rubrik and mark scheme properly than to to just mark the work conventionally.

 

But is this the usual coding problem of it takes longer to setup but then every use after saves time?

The old XKCD is it worth the time matrix

[Oaktech]

But is this the usual coding problem of it takes longer to setup but then every use after saves time?

The old XKCD is it worth the time matrix

 

Our staff don't recycle student work year to year enough for it to make it easier in the long run. It's always reflected on and changed to try to work better.

[Aftab_Ahmed]

It will be interesting to see what developments are coming especially with predicted outcomes of students data and future pathways - which I thought was already developed and embedded by some of the big MATs out there.

No doubt there will be a big push at BETT this year.

[Tefters]

Can you imagine AI in the current SIMS 🤣

 

That's about as funny as imagining SIMS / FMS NextGen being finished and fully replacing the old app in the next 5 years!

[TheCookieMonster]

Word of warning, got to be careful about using AI to process data outside of MIS systems. Something like ChatGPT will process data outside of the UK which could put you in breach of UK data protection laws. Bromcom's AI carries warnings about using it for personal data where it's using AI outside of the norm, but they have one that works from within the MIS which is quite good. If you have O365, Microsoft Co-pilot operates within your tenancy so keeps data etc nice and safe.

 

I think AI within an MIS is the way forward, as the supplier takes on many of the relative costs, risks etc.

[BromcomMatt]

I handle a lot of the customer comms related to AI at Bromcom. Currently, AI is available as a general chatbot like ChatGPT and to query Help Centre content. AI can also be used to generate text for learning content in Student Portal and create messages to parents in different languages. We have never exposed customer data to large language models outside our Azure servers based in the UK. We now have access to Azure based Openai apis to use AI within the same servers where school data is hosted and that offers new opportunities for schools to use AI to analyse their data. Look out for changes in the MIS that will increase the scope of AI as a tool to work with your data. We are using AI internally to deliver efficiencies. It is an exciting area that is going to have a massive impact in all areas of our lives including school, work and beyond. We also know that schools and MATS want to adopt AI at their own pace so we will never force these changes on Bromcom customers and will always allow granular controls in roles, permissions and configurations so AI features can be launched in a way that is best suited to individual needs.

[Aftab_Ahmed]

That sounds fantastic. It would be great to see a road map of these developments.

I also wonder how the other major vendors are developing this and to remain compliant with GDPR laws.