How AI and education are used in the Jordan School District
Jul 31, 2024, 4:00 PM
Utah teachers in the Jordan School District say they welcome the combination of AI and education. (Michael Dwyer, Associated Press)
(Michael Dwyer, Associated Press)
SALT LAKE CITY — In any 24-hour period you can find dozens of news stories about AI, artificial intelligence. For example the New York Times published a story about AI upending white-collar jobs today. Yahoo Finance wrote about an AI stock plunge. And Fox Business News published a story about AI refusing to answer questions about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
The article you’re about to read is about how AI is revolutionizing education for the better.
“We have embraced using artificial intelligence as part of our classroom,” said Jared Covili, administrator over digital teaching and learning at the Jordan School District.
“Where some schools are a little nervous to allow students and teachers to use tools like that, we really strive to be innovative. We try to use tools to help kids and teachers with what we see as the future of education in the world.”
How do teachers use AI?
Utah teachers use AI tools for so much more than lesson plans education officials say. “When we first talked about allowing our teachers to use AI, we saw it as a tool they would use to help them create materials or lessons,” Covili said.
Related: BYU study looks at student AI usage
“Once we put [AI] in the hands of teachers, we were amazed at how much they’re using it to influence the assessment of their students’ understanding.”
AI chatroom
For example, a teacher could create an AI chatroom. Students could go in and the AI could help assess where the students are in the lessons.
“There would be a series of questions where the student and the AI are actually talking to each other,” Covili said. “The AI can quickly determine where the students are with the concepts that have been learned. What kinds of things the students are understanding and not understanding.”
Think of it like having an endless number of teacher’s assistants.
“It frees the teacher up to be able to work with the kids who are struggling, while the kids who are successful are getting that feedback that they’re going in the right direction,” Covili said.
AI as peer tutor
The Jordan School District sees AI as a peer tutor. “It’s not designed for the AI to tell the kids what they need to know,” Covili said. “It’s more of a conversation partner that gives the kids a chance to explore. [To] work through things with both AI and the teacher.
“It gives more kids an opportunity to get feedback sooner, “so they don’t struggle in silence,” he said.
AI in education: ‘it’s working!’
The Jordan District just won a prestigious award for their innovation in incorporating AI into the learning environment.
Each year, the International Society for Technology in Education awards three school districts from across the world with its Distinguished District Award. Jordan School District was nominated and won one of the three coveted spots.
The use of AI in the classroom is paying off in a variety of ways, especially with kids who might otherwise struggle.
“Everyone of us has limitations,” Covili said. “We only know what we know. But AI can speak every language. It can differentiate reading levels and understanding. It can do a lot of things to help our multi-language learner students be successful.
“We’ve had so many kids over the years sitting in class just smiling. Not really understanding what’s going on. Now with AI tools, we can make them active participants from day one.”
What about cheating?
Most of the conversation around AI in education centers around students using it to cheat.
“You can’t stop kids who are determined to cheat,” Covili said. “Cheating has not gone up in the last couple of years with AI.
Cheating rates are still where they’ve been for the last several decades. The kids who want to cheat have always found a way to cheat.”
What the Jordan District has tried to do is bring AI into the process early so students know it’s part of their writing. “We want text-based assignments to be collaborating with AI rather than ‘AI write my paper for me,'” Covili said.
“If you say AI is banned, you put the kids in an awkward position where they still need some help. They’re going to turn to AI, but now it’s going against what the assignment is. Whereas if AI is part of the assignment, it gives us license to use it effectively instead of letting it take over.”
