<\/p>\n
Julie Simpson reviews AI use during a STEM Family Night at Eastern Elementary.<\/p>\n
SCOTT DAVIS\/ADAMS MULTIMEDIA<\/p>\n
North Carolina in 2024 became one of the first states in the country to issue official guidance to schools on the use of artificial intelligence. Today, 34 states have guidelines or policies on AI in education, which Allied Market Research predicts will grow over the next six years to a more than $85 billion industry, with much of that growth expected to come from K-12 education.<\/p>\n
Jos\u00e9 Garcia, director of K12 curriculum and STEM education for Greene County Schools, has seen evidence of that growth in local schools, where technology that was essentially unheard of a few years ago is now being used to help students brainstorm for projects, develop essays or get past roadblocks in math.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that just popped on the scene, and it really took off,\u201d Garcia said of generative AI, a type of artificial intelligence that creates content based on input from users. \u201cAs more people started to use it, that\u2019s when it really exploded. It\u2019s still playing itself out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julie Simpson, interim chief technology officer for Pitt County Schools, saw demand for and adoption of the technology come quickly after the coronavirus pandemic, when school closures prompted a swift transition to online learning. The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 thrust AI even more into the mainstream.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is something that\u2019s kind of boomed,\u201d Simpson said, \u201cand we\u2019ve had to work to adapt not only our student skills, but also our teacher skills for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the rapid growth of the technology, schools throughout the region appear to be taking a measured approach, proceeding with caution into the unfamiliar landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs with any new technology, safety and ethics guide every decision we make,\u201d Lindsay Skidmore, digital innovation director for Duplin County Schools, said, explaining that student privacy and data protection are among top priorities.<\/p>\n
The N.C. Department of Public Instruction addressed similar concerns when it became the fourth education department in the nation to issue guidance to its schools on the use of this evolving technology. Its guidance emphasizes AI literacy at every grade level along with responsible implementation of this new tool for learning.<\/p>\n
Why this effort to navigate AI in schools instead of taking a wait and see approach? Garcia said it\u2019s lessons learned from working to adapt to other technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was still in the classroom when the smartphone kind of took off,\u201d he said. \u201cWe did not get ahead of that, and we\u2019re still trying to get ahead of that. That\u2019s one of those technologies that just got away from us. We were not ready for it, and through those lessons learned, for this one we definitely were a little bit more prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
In some areas, Greene County Schools has been a technology trailblazer. A rural district with fewer than 3,000 students, it embraced one-to-one technology in 2004, more than 15 years before COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns forced other districts to do the same. Garcia said some of the concerns people have about AI were the same ones they expressed about laptop use.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A girl raises her hand to participate in an interactive AI presentation during the STEM Family Night.<\/p>\n
SCOTT DAVIS\/ADAMS MULTIMEDIA<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago when we were going to the one-to-one devices, I remember the conversation was, \u2018That\u2019s going to impact students\u2019 writing\u2019 \u2026 outcomes that people thought were going to be negative. That wasn\u2019t the case,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we\u2019re just sometimes unsure ourselves because it\u2019s new to us and we\u2019re not sure how to use it. It takes time to build that capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n
In area school districts, that building process began with teaching the teachers. Pitt County Schools brought a group of 50 educators together during the summer of 2024 for an AI \u201cboot camp,\u201d where they learned about the technology and issues regarding its use. These \u201cAI Champions\u201d in each school are leading the integration of the technology into the classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of our training to teachers is about teaching students in that K-5 realm,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cWe provide professional development on how they could teach students to know what\u2019s real and not real, how to identify fake images and things like that. That\u2019s AI literacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
In elementary grades, AI access is teacher driven, and there is no student interaction with chatbots. Some AI technologies contain terms of service that prohibit use by ages under 13 or require parental permission.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs they get older, our professional development that we provide our teachers does change to match what the kids would be interacting and doing,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cThe goal is that they\u2019re using it to support their learning. It\u2019s a tool to enhance what they already know, not necessarily replace what they know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duplin County Schools has integrated specialized platforms that use AI tools to deliver targeted, individualized support. For example, Skidmore said Edmentum\u2019s Exact Path provides adaptive learning in core subjects. The platform identifies each student\u2019s strengths and skill gaps, creating personalized learning paths. In mathematics, the AI assistant within the Envision SAVVAS platform offers help when students encounter challenging math problems but stops short of giving away answers, Skidmore said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI makes differentiated instruction more manageable and effective in today\u2019s classrooms,\u201d she said. \u201cBy providing real-time insights and adaptable resources, these tools help teachers quickly tailor lessons to meet students where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amira Reading Suite, used in grades K\u20133, listens as students read aloud, analyzes their progress in real time, and offers coaching. At the high school level, Amira\u2019s biliteracy features support English as a Second Language students.<\/p>\n
Garcia said some of the AI-based learning platforms such as Magic School are capable of providing instruction in dozens of different languages, a tremendous help for students arriving from other countries and having to complete grade-level coursework while working to learn English. Other mathematics learning aides customize problems based on a student\u2019s hobbies or provide extra practice in areas where it is evident that the student has not mastered a skill.<\/p>\n
In the classroom, Garcia said, older students can share ideas in AI and receive feedback while they wait for their turn to talk with a teacher.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Students raise their hands to participate in an interactive AI presentation during a STEM Family Night at Eastern Elementary.<\/p>\n
SCOTT DAVIS\/ADAMS MULTIMEDIA<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things where you almost have a personalized mentor,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like having somebody you can talk through that process to help you with your projects and tasks and activities. But it\u2019s never going to replace a teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter what the technology is, I can tell you this: The most powerful tool in a classroom, in a school, is the teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n
While K-12 educators seek to find a balance between competence and over-reliance on technology, the state\u2019s community colleges also are working on ways to best navigate the changes that AI is bringing to education.<\/p>\n
Bruce E. Panneton, vice president of instruction and chief academic officer for Edgecombe Community College, was among educators who helped the N.C. Community College Success Center develop an AI handbook to be used across the state\u2019s community college system.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to think we\u2019re kind of ahead of the curve,\u201d Panneton said, \u201cespecially considering that a number of people I work with at the system office are presenting at large conferences in other states.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the community college level, the handbook is not so much a rule book as a recipe for getting started, he said, explaining that educators differ in terms of how much AI technology they want to use in their classrooms. Edgecombe has provided options for instructors to embrace or prohibit AI use in the courses they teach.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to figure out how to adapt your assignments to that whole new world is complicated,\u201d Panneton said. \u201cOur faculty are trying to work through it because a lot of industries want to leverage AI too to increase efficiency. If we can give our students that basic competency on proper and ethical use of those large language models, it could give them a leg up in trying to find jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
ECC is one of five community colleges that were selected to participate in a Perkins-funded grant to incorporate generative into community college career and technical education programs. Instructors in applied engineering, business, criminal justice, emergency medical science and nursing are all participating, along with Panneton.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to figure out ways of making it work and help better prepare students for what is quickly becoming the new normal,\u201d said Panneton, who described language models, advanced AI systems designed to understand and generate human-like text, as \u201cthe calculator of this academic generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The state\u2019s community college system has even developed an AI degree program, but he said the adoption process takes some time. Panneton anticipates many community colleges will offer AI courses and workshops to help educate people in their communities about this technology, but the first priority is training faculty in ethical and effective use.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be very helpful but it can also go off the rails in a hurry,\u201d Panneton said. \u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily a dangerous tool as long as you\u2019re thoughtful in how you use it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to figure out ways of leveraging because it\u2019s not going away,\u201d he said. \u201cWe either try to keep up as an educational institution or we\u2019re doing our students a disservice and falling behind and making them less career ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eastern Elementary in Greenville holds a STEM Family Night where artificial intelligence is a popular topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Julie Simpson reviews AI use during a STEM Family Night at Eastern Elementary. SCOTT DAVIS\/ADAMS MULTIMEDIA North Carolina…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1813,24,25,6799,6800,580,6798,2878,6795,6790,76,6791,6801,4916,6797,206,599,6794,75,104,6796,3708,301,134,2169,6792,6793],"class_list":{"0":"post-7675","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ai","8":"tag-adaptive-learning","9":"tag-ai","10":"tag-artificial-intelligence","11":"tag-behavior-modification","12":"tag-branches-of-science","13":"tag-chatgpt","14":"tag-cognition","15":"tag-communication","16":"tag-differentiated-instruction","17":"tag-driving","18":"tag-education","19":"tag-emergency-medical-services","20":"tag-english-as-a-second-or-foreign-language","21":"tag-greenville","22":"tag-human-communication","23":"tag-intelligence","24":"tag-learning","25":"tag-literacy","26":"tag-north-carolina","27":"tag-personalized-learning","28":"tag-reading","29":"tag-school","30":"tag-teacher","31":"tag-technology","32":"tag-traffic","33":"tag-vehicle-registration-plate","34":"tag-vehicles"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}