What’s next for Arbor and AI?

Last June I wrote a blog on what’s next for Arbor and AI. With the AI landscape moving so fast over the past 10 months, I thought it was time to give you another update. 

In June 2024 we were on the verge of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution that would change the way we live, work, and communicate. We are now fully in that revolution.

The shift towards ubiquitous AI has started: when I’m typing out a text message, my phone suggests the next word. I’m using ChatGPT to check the writing style of this blog post. When I had an issue with my broadband recently, an AI chatbot dealt with my query.

The AI wave has hit our classrooms too. I’ve had countless conversations with teachers who are using AI tools for differentiation, school leaders who are looking to put AI usage policies in place, and examiners who are concerned about plagiarism from the impact of LLMs (Large Language Models like ChatGPT).

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A vision for AI in Arbor

At Arbor, we’re taking AI seriously. We believe that AI can change the way that schools work for the better. Our vision is that AI will form a central part of everything we do at Arbor.

Over the past 10 months, you’ll have started to see more AI features being released into Arbor MIS, including features that draft an email for you, suggest a student summary and create a Custom Report Writer formula. 

We’ve also been testing even more AI-powered product ideas in Arbor Labs. We’ve been focusing AI development in these two key areas:

• Saving you time through automation
• Helping you to make decisions by generating insights and intelligence

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Saving you time through automation

We know that staff workload is near the top of every school’s concerns. I believe that the latest advancements in AI can help alleviate the staff workload crisis.

We’re not aiming to replace members of staff with AI, but we do believe AI has the potential to take away repetitive daily tasks, the kind that seem to take up your whole morning or mean that you’re working late into the night.

An example of this is our Auto Absence feature which we’ve been testing in Arbor Labs over the past few months, and are excited to release in Summer Term. Schools testing Auto Absence have said that, “Auto Absence saves me about an hour to an hour and a half every morning! It’s so quick and easy.” I am very excited for more schools to start using this feature soon. 

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Helping you to make decisions by generating insights and intelligence

We know that every school, MAT, and Local Authority wants to do more with their data. Without good quality, timely, and targeted data, your organisation is flying blind. Great data and analytics will allow you to quickly target and intervene with the students who need it.

We want to take the burden of data discovery and number crunching away from teachers, pastoral staff, and school leaders. Building on the work we’ve already done, we’re now working on the next stage of Ask Arbor which will let you create reports and governor packs. All you’ll need to do is ask Arbor questions, and we’ll build your report for you, giving you clear insights and data instantly. No more scrolling through complex spreadsheets and reports. 

The most exciting part is that we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible with AI. It’s going to be a journey, and I’m excited to take you along with us.

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How can you get involved with Arbor AI?

1. See what’s live, and what we’re testing next in Arbor Labs 
2. Sign up to Arbor Labs via your Arbor MIS
3. Register for our free online Big AI Summit on the 25th-27th March and get practical tips from AI experts, school leaders and the Arbor Product Team, which you can implement in your school