Schools across the country are figuring out how to incorporate artificial intelligence into instruction and operations, as they navigate screen-time concerns, budget shortfalls, and competing academic and student well-being priorities.
In the three years since ChatGPT first gained widespread attention in the K-12 world, there’s been progress in the percentage of teachers who are receiving professional development on AI, as major technology companies and education organizations invest in teacher training and resources.
But many teachers say there’s still a lack of clear direction and guidance from school leaders and policymakers on how they can responsibly and effectively integrate artificial intelligence technologies into their work.
Some school districts are ahead of the curve. During a June 30 panel discussion at the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference held here between June 28 and July 1, two district leaders discussed how their AI implementations are going.
The panelists were: Abbey Behnke, the curriculum integration specialist for the 1,000-student Chilton school district in Wisconsin, and Tricia Phillip-Magee, the director of exceptional student education supplemental services for the 206,000-student Orange County Public Schools in Florida.
Here are key takeaways from their discussion.
Keeping track of all the AI tools being used or piloted in a school system is challenging
There are more than 300,000 possible users for the generative AI tools approved in Orange County, but often only a fraction of those users are actively logging into the apps, said Phillip-Magee. That could mean a couple things, she said: They weren’t logging into the apps using their school-issued email addresses, or they were using tools that weren’t vetted and approved.
Smaller districts have to navigate that challenge, too, said Behnke. Many students, teachers, and administrators will use whatever app or website they find, regardless of its approval status.
Teachers need to know why it’s important to use tools that are vetted and why school districts have agreements with certain companies, Phillip-Magee said. Districts need to ensure the tools are following state and federal student data-privacy laws, have good cybersecurity practices, and are aligned with the curriculum or standards.
It’s also important for district leaders to figure out why educators are using unapproved tools, Behnke said. It could be that the tools cleared by the district are not the tools that would actually be helpful to teachers, she said. Districts should have an open forum and hear from teachers about what tools they’re using and why they’re using them in the first place, she said.
Make sure to get feedback from parents
Talking to parents about AI implementation can be overwhelming.
The Orange County school district has held town hall meetings in different parts of the district, hearing concerns from parents about how teachers and students are using the technology, said Phillip-Magee. One outcome from these conversations is an AI privacy statement that the district is working on, making clear to parents what student information is and isn’t shared in AI platforms, Phillip-Magee said.
In the Chilton district, district leaders are also making sure there are plenty of opportunities for parents to have an open forum to talk about AI concerns, Behnke said. One major concern she has heard and the district is working on addressing is the inconsistencies in policies and guidelines from classroom to classroom.
Be cautious when using AI to support multilingual learners or those with disabilities
Many districts don’t have enough educators and resources to support all their multilingual learners and students with disabilities, so they are examining ways to use AI to lighten educators’ workloads, the panelists said.
As more AI tools claim to make it easier for teachers to personalize instruction or to generate individualized education programs or Section 504 plans, educators still need to be the “gatekeepers” to students’ learning, Phillip-Magee said. AI-generated IEPs or 504 plans could also cause legal problems for the districts if they are not properly reviewed, because of concerns around privacy and meeting the accommodations that the tool generated, she said.
AI tools should mostly be used to supplement the already approved and vetted high-quality instructional materials that the district provides, Behnke said. Teachers should also be mindful of not using the technology in a way that allows students to offload their critical thinking, she said.
Provide training for teachers
For smaller districts, it may be challenging to have districtwide professional development on all the different AI tools that are available, Behnke said.
But it is important to make sure that educators are aware of any guidelines or policies so that they have the freedom to explore on their own, she said. Districts should also provide opportunities for teachers to share their learnings with peers throughout the school year, she said.
The Orange County school district is providing an online course for teachers to take at their own pace and at their own level to learn more about AI, Phillip-Magee said.
“Teachers are catching up to the students,” Phillip-Magee said. As schools prepare students for jobs of the future, “we should not be behind the eight ball with this. We should really be a little bit ahead of what’s happening outside in the world.”
