Some Minnesota educators have signed onto apps and platforms that use machine-learning algorithms to help translate websites, newsletters and even texts to parents into multiple languages.
The article reports on some high points and low points. It is a way to get information into many languages but without some quality control, you can’t be sure that the correct and full information is being shared. Ther are some plans for improvement…
After winter break, the district plans to roll out an app that will connect teachers to a live interpreter to help interpret conferences, or parent meetings, for example.
“That’s going to be such a resource for us,” said Danilo McCarthy , an English language support specialist for South Washington County schools. He also holds workshops for families on using those new technologies to best communicate with their child’s teacher.
Kourajian, the Mounds View middle school teacher, offered similar training for her fellow teachers on the translation app — called TalkingPoints — that allows her to translate quick messages to and from parents. The district first offered TalkingPoints to its staff in the 2022-23 school year, but it wasn’t immediately embraced by all, Kourajian said.
Usage has jumped this year and more than 23,000 messages have gone to families, most commonly in Spanish, Somali and Arabic. Still, only about 40 percent of staff are using the app.
Many years ago, I taught English in Catalonia, Spain. Lack of translation tools meant teacher, students and parents all learned quickly to communicate when necessary but some help would have been a gift. The old school version of AI was the boss writing down a dozen phrases in Catalan that I could use on report cards.