The Research & Development Council

Rémy Liotard, Faculty Lead, MS French and Theater

“My brain didn’t even think of some of the possibilities we’ve explored here.”

This quote from Anushka, our Secondary Tech Integrator, is a good representation of what regularly happens on the Research and Development (R&D) Council. Every time we meet to discuss innovative ideas and potential applications at AISC, our minds are blown. The pace at which technology and creativity advance out there is dizzying. However, when you explore practical ways to harness innovation to enhance what we do in the classrooms, it is really energizing!

The R&D Council aims to support faculty who want to experiment with new tools and ideas. We can provide guidance and feedback, but we can also help acquire equipment and licenses. Moreover, we publish results and observations to make the work of our amazing colleagues more visible; it is truly inspiring to see students’ engagement and curiosity shoot up when they get to do something new in class!

A few examples: Lisa Krebs is leading a project where First Graders are developing their problemsolving skills by using Cubelets, which are magnetic blocks with different functions that can be snapped together to form robots. Bob Krebs’s new recording studio is giving everyone a chance to be music producers for a day, and refine their musical art. Meanwhile, a few High School teachers are experimenting with the Equity Maps app to boost collaboration in their classrooms, and Middle School students get to experience how tall the Eiffel Tower actually is, thanks to VR headsets and virtual visits to Paris.

Simply put, if you have an idea that could enhance learning in your class, the R&D Council will help you implement it. Greg Clinton, Admin Facilitator of the council, is particularly proud of how explicitly innovation is supported at AISC. As he puts it, “We make time for it.”

And the latest innovation that’s getting attention is, of course, the rise of AI in the global discussion, with OpenAI’s ChatGPT making quite an impact on education around the world already. The R&D Council has already started exploring how the AISC Community can benefit from such a potent tool. Stay tuned!

The R&D Council includes Greg Clinton, Chandni Venkatesh, Anushka Sachdev, Bob Krebs, and Rémy Liotard.