Deb Rickert joined the support staff association when she began working at Saginaw Valley State University three decades ago, but she wasn’t active in the union for the first 15 years of her career as an administrative assistant – not until she testified at an arbitration hearing. “It was then I realized that labor has […]
Deborah Robertson had a tough go in her first year as president of the Harper Woods Education Association in 2021. She had only been a building rep for several months before becoming vice president, and only served in that role a few months before stepping into the top post. “My first year of being a […]
MEA member Doug Hartley completed his student teaching and teacher certification amid COVID. Today at 27, in his second year teaching computer science in Utica, a second global upheaval has begun that will affect the rest of his career: the rise of generative artificial intelligence. A colleague of Hartley’s at the opposite end of her […]
MEA member Kecia Waddell began her career in the analog world, moved into digital, and will finish in the artificial intelligence age. A 30-year special education teacher in Utica, she couldn’t be more excited. “I’ve always integrated technology for transformative teaching and learning experiences for my students, but I’m so, so, so excited to have […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Artificial Intelligence (AI) is unlike any technological tool that has come along in the history of higher education, and educators and institutions must immediately begin the ongoing work of adopting it and adapting to the rapid change it will bring. That was the striking thesis laid out in the […]
Phillip Hanson had “a bit of an existential crisis” when a new AI image generator emerged 18 months ago. An accomplished painter and digital artist, he realized artificial intelligence could achieve visual effects like his – only much faster. Having undertaken an art project using the system, called Midjourney, Hanson then made another discovery: leveraging […]
Gabrielle Likavec keeps up with research to guide her instruction as a teaching and learning consultant working with aspiring educators at Central Michigan University. The MEA member notes a few key points from early data emerging on AI. > Within five months of ChatGPT’s release, 79% of surveyed C-suite executives reported at least occasional use […]
Fourth-year teacher Allison O’Connell challenges herself every day to engage a wide variety of fifth graders in her Kent City classroom and help them grow – whether they are performing at, below or above grade level, English Language learners (ELL), or students with special needs. It’s not always easy. “It’s natural for teachers to want […]
Fifteen months after the release of ChatGPT caused big waves in the world, artificial intelligence is talked about everywhere all the time. Yet it’s hard to know what it all means for educators now and looking forward. In this series of shorts, MEA Voice Editor Brenda Ortega shares stories of how and why AI represents transformative change […]
Click to view online. In this issue: In Memoriam: Juwan Willis Letter to Members: Change is here to stay Revised! 2024 MEA/MAEA Art Exhibition The Future is Now: Supporting MEA’s strategic direction Clawson bargain lights the way: pact settles all newly restored topics COVER STORY: Are you ready for AI? Get ready—AI is transformative: ‘We […]
