How District 20 plans to use artificial intelligence in the upcoming school year
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Academy School District 20 says they are trying to get ahead of artificial intelligence. With lots of possibilities to empower students' education and take some of the workload off of the teachers, the district is also approaching these uncharted waters with caution.
The parking lot is packed at Academy School District 20 ahead of the 2024-25 school year. Some of the staff members inside the building are part of the district Technology Advisory Committee, also known as DTAC. It's made up of parents, teachers, district leaders, community members, and students. 60 innovative thinkers split into four groups to face artificial intelligence head-on. The group is in place to explore four different pillars of artificial intelligence in education. These are focused on artificial intelligence literacy, professional learning, ethical considerations, and policy integration.
Right now, some teachers are using AI to create their lesson plans.
"You can put in what grade level you're teaching, what is the content area standards, and then some specific things that they want their students to know, and it will generate a lesson plan that they can go through," Director of Digital Integration Services, Lori Hartman explains.
From there, teachers then decide what they want to use from the AI-generated plan. It's part of what they'll be teaching with AI literacy and ethics.
"How can students know that there's bias in AI and how to detect it? And knowing that AI is not a replacement for critical thinking or problem-solving," said Hartman.
The group came up with recommendations that are now on the superintendent's desk. If they’re adopted, the next steps are teachers and tech teams looking at tools for students and having them start using them in their classrooms this fall.
To protect students the district did say they will have filters in place on the student's devices.
"We have to make sure the terms of service, meet the age-appropriate group. And so we put in lots of protections for students and to protect their data," said Hartman.
