This Is Interesting: Foundations Putting A Bunch Of Money Into Creating AI Tools For English Language Learners

Multilingual By Design is a grants competition (the deadline is in two weeks) where teams of ELL-serving nonprofits and AI experts will receive grants of $350,000 each to create tools to support K-8 ELLs.

They plan to give three-to-five of those kinds of grants.

Nonprofits can apply separately, AI developers can apply separately, or they can apply as a team.  If they apply separately, the idea is that winning groups will be matched up.  Hopefully, “shotgun marriages” won’t result.

Support for ELLs is one of the few education areas where I think AI has a lot of potential, so it will be interesting to see what happens with this.

I was disappointed, though, that their “suggested reading” section contained so little of what ELL educators have written about AI.  Hopefully, those groups that are applying are much better versed on the very vibrant discourse and experimentation that has been taking place the past three years.

THE BEST POSTS ABOUT USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH ELLS could be one place to begin.