Campfire Session — AI for Administration

Learn how school administrators can leverage AI tools like Flint to streamline operations, support teachers, and transform administrative workflows for maximum efficiency.

Lulu Gao, Head of Teacher Experience at Flint | LinkedIn

In this Campfire Session, our team walks through real examples of how administrators are leveraging Flint across different school processes to save time and transform their operations. We showcase practical applications from streamlining office workflows to supporting teachers more effectively, demonstrating how AI can revolutionize the way school leaders work and lead their educational communities.

Content covered in this session included:

• Flint features and chats for admins
• Creating Flint activities for yourself and your faculty
• Examples of admin activities from educators and the public library

Slides from the presentation can be found here.

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Introduction • 00:00

• Lulu introduces the session and agenda.
• An emphasis is placed on applying Flint beyond classrooms, including how administrators can use it, while acknowledging that several tasks require balancing multiple responsibilities and maintaining engagement.

Ice-breaking news • 01:51

• A discussion highlights AI news relevant to Flint usage, focusing on adoption across schools, user diversity, and the impact on teacher-student interactions, with data suggesting varied use and concerns about distance in relationships.
• Emphasis is placed on keeping the teacher in the loop when AI is being integrated into teaching.

Features for admins • 07:32

• Memory features are highlighted, showing Flint can remember user details and preferences for future chats, and integrate with profiles. This capability is demonstrated through examples of recalling roles and settings in conversations.
• The session demonstrates multiple Flint capabilities including content uploads, image processing, web search, translation, and generation of varied outputs. An end-to-end workflow from brainstorming to activity creation is illustrated with specific prompts and results.
• Clarifying questions about adding brand colors and images to a profile lead to responses about color support and potential image limitations, including use of hex codes for colors and Flint's capability to generate items from those codes.
• Discussion confirms there is no strict limit on workspace numbers, with guidance to keep one primary space for administrators and a secondary workspace for separating parent activity from student data if needed. A willingness to assist in setting up a trial workspace without seat alerts is offered.
• Branding customization topics are explored, including how to upload a style sheet with colors and mascots to align visuals. Acknowledgment that processing such branding data is feasible, but extensive sheets may risk losing detail.

Activities for administration • 18:37

• Chatting about practical uses of Flint activities beyond basic teaching, including admin and parent-facing bots, 24/7 availability, and content training from the school. The features are described as configurable and supportive of school policies and procedures.
• Examples of activities include student feedback demonstrations, lesson planning alignment with school values, and professional development uses, all showcasing Flint's ability to tailor outputs to school policies and goals.
• A question comes up about making sessions to an activity visible to those using the activity. Owners of an activity in Flint can view all activity sessions; the approach is explained and demonstrated. A caveat is noted about editing activity settings by owners.
• Administrators and teachers share use cases for Flint as a writing partner and for lesson planning, with examples of campfire session prompts and feedback workflows.

Administrator Shareout • 33:38

• A thorough overview of Flint usage is shared, highlighting data security, grade tracking, and streamlined communication tools. The speaker emphasizes secure data handling, automatic parent updates, and progress reporting to support teachers and guardians.
• A broad description of curriculum planning and course design tools is provided, including a planning guide, syllabus generation, unit design, and canvas features. The speaker notes strong adoption by teachers, summer usage, and guardrails aligned with institutional goals.
• A two-pronged approach to placement and course selection is described, featuring placement tests, a chatbot for advising, and a graduation plan prototype. The speaker cites significant time savings and ongoing refinement.
• The data discussion is clearly organized around pulling up and analyzing student placement data within Flint’s toolset, noting quick access and the ability to review sessions later. The value of streamlined record-keeping and quick insights into which students were directed to Algebra 1 or Geometry is highlighted, along with the trade-off of some initial setup time.
• The group discusses building and sharing Flint-based AI assistants for faculty, including a neuro teach workshop and climate survey, to streamline workshop creation and post-survey feedback. The process emphasizes saving time, generating materials, and enabling faculty to interact with a tailored assistant. 2 sentences with totals: 5-10 words each.
• A leadership AI coach is integrated into Flint to capture personal philosophies and communications, aiding in phrasing teacher and parent responses while aligning with middle school mindsets. 2 sentences with totals: 5-10 words each.
• The group discusses how to teach Flint to adapt to user voice and role, emphasizing the need for resources and a clear persona. Lulu Gao outlines a concrete process for configuring Flint, including creating a persona (writing coach, feedback partner, data analyst), using examples, and iterative experimentation with settings to refine behavior.
• The team highlights the iterative nature of using AI tools, noting that changes can be saved in settings for future sessions and that prompts can be exported for use across Flint or other AI tools; there is enthusiasm about shared learning and collaboration.

Conclusion • 53:25

• Lulu concludes the session and highlights the plan for upcoming campfires.
• Lulu also shares QR codes for people to check out the Campfire Calendar, Flint's Instagram (which has a bunch of teacher-facing content), and the Flint Community.