Dr. Maggie Mosher’s first experience with artificial intelligence came in the 1990s.
“Our school put students who didn’t fit their mold with computers, and the computers would try to individualize our education,” she says. “I always thought that was a horrible way to teach students because it took away the student-teacher relationship.”
A decade later, Maggie became a teacher herself. She has taught in special education, preschool through university level in Catholic, public, and charter schools for over two decades. These teaching roles, combined with her experience as an administrator, gave her a wealth of perspective on the state of education, where “burnout rates among teachers are higher than ever.”
So, when AI began to creep into schools, she saw an opportunity to ease the teacher’s burden through AI tools. She now travels the world, helping educators understand the technology’s capabilities and safeguards.
“The reason I do so much training in artificial intelligence isn’t because I love AI,” she says. “It’s because I love the role of the educator.”
Maggie also sees the benefits of AI as a tool for amplifying student voice and improving communication and collaboration, especially for those with autism or struggling with social deficits. This is the intent behind VOISS, a virtual reality game she and colleagues at the University of Kansas developed. The game teaches social skills through simulated situations.
“These are skills we need for the rest of our life, but they’re not directly taught in schools. And if not directly taught, some students can’t learn them,” she says.
Maggie, a lifelong learner and teacher, earned her PhD in special education: instructional design, technology, and innovation at the University of Kansas. She credits Franciscan University’s Dr. Dianne Keenan, Jane Stoner, Dr. John York, and Dr. Mary Katherine McVey for the foundations she received to thrive as an educator.
“They taught me how to take the time in a classroom with so many students” and “to understand where God is working in their lives.”
Maggie’s advice for new teachers comes from her former pen pal, St. Teresa of Calcutta, whom she met when she was 6 years old. While Maggie was discerning a vocation, she turned to the future saint, who said, “If right now you’re walking in darkness, it’s because God is allowing the darkness so that one day the light will shine without limits.”
Dr. Maggie Mosher’s light has shone on the many thousands of students and teachers she has taught throughout the years—and continues to burn brightly.
