If a pair of eyes is wandering in the corner of the classroom, don’t be alarmed. It’s just one of the new robot teachers sitting in idle mode.
East Meck is now home to three Swivl Mirrors, also known as the Swivl M2. The M2 is an AI device meant to serve as a co-teacher. Its predecessor, the Swivl camera, is able to rotate 180 degrees and record classrooms for reflection purposes. M2 has those same capabilities, but it also uses AI to lead group discussions and simulate conversations.
East received these new devices on Nov. 20, 2024 with the help of a PTSO grant. Math department head Barbara Woodcock put in an order for the original Swivl camera to record the math teachers while they modeled their lessons, but the Swivl company discontinued the product. In its place, Woodcock was offered the M2.
The Math, English and Journalism departments were each given one. The English department hasn’t made much use of theirs, and the Journalism department has only been experimenting with it. Despite the M2 being capable of interacting with students, none of the departments are using it in a formal classroom context.
“I’ve primarily used it to record teachers modeling lessons,” Woodcock said. “Several teachers are doing a book study so I’m using it to study conversation so when people are not able to come they can still hear those, but it’s still mostly teacher focused right now.”
The M2’s AI has a lot of capabilities. It can talk to students to help them get a deeper understanding of the material and will save the video for teachers to view later. It can also give an in-depth breakdown of areas where a student may be growing or struggling.
The AI is likely capable of much more, but Woodcock and the other department heads haven’t been focused on discovering the M2’s full potential.
“If it has 100 percent of its capabilities, I would say I maybe understand 20 percent of it,” Woodcock said.
“I’m not prioritizing it right now. I’ll probably get to around 50 percent by the end of the school year, but I think it’s going to grow a lot faster than I do in its abilities.”
It’s no secret that AI is getting more powerful but the day, but the M2 is still lacking in a lot of areas. Because the technology is so new, it’s incredibly buggy and needs to be updated every time it’s turned on. Teachers who have experimented with it find it’s tedious to set up, especially considering it’s primarily being used to record.
French teacher Dawn Young borrowed an M2 to record a speaking assignment but had to resort to using phones because the M2 was too complicated to set up and use.
“Well, obviously teachers can record themselves and they can record students, but we already have the technology to do that kind of thing,” Young said. “I just don’t know yet that this is more efficient. The only thing I was interested in that day was recording my students’ presentations. We never really were successful with using it.”
Even with the flaws, teachers still see the value these devices could have, particularly in small group settings. They also come with relaxation exercises that could prove helpful to helping manage the stress of teachers and students.
While this new product is certainly revolutionary, it’s still just AI. These devices have a long way to go if they want to take over the role of a traditional teacher.
“We saw the disconnect when we tried to put kids on technology during COVID, and the benefit of a teacher is just so powerful,” Woodcock said. “I don’t think technology is anywhere near ready to replace us.”
