How can we prepare students for a world increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence? If you are in the field of education, it is likely that you are dealing with AI in one way or another. “AI preparation” has become a key concentration area for avant-garde educators. This approach goes beyond the teaching of students to use AI tools; It aims to develop a complete set of skills that will allow students to understand, to critically assess and to engage ethically with AI technologies. As AI becomes more omnipresent, educators recognize that these skills are not only for future computer scientists or technology professionals. They are rather essential for all Students as they are preparing for higher education, careers and citizenship in a world infused by AI.
Recently, Edsurge spoke with Holloway Salliethe director of artificial intelligence and IT for Gwinnett County Public Schools. Holloway is at the forefront of artificial intelligence and computer education in one of the largest school districts in Georgia. His position was created to support two major efforts on a district scale: the computer program for all programs and a pilot program for the ambitious IA-Future.
Edsurge: What does that mean for a student to be ready for AI?
Holloway: When we talk about preparation for AI, in its heart, we hope to develop skills in students so that they can be users, developers and ethical and responsible IA responsible. We focus on the preparation for the workforce of our students: what does their future look like? If they spend 13 years with us, do we really prepare them for this future? Since the growth of the generating AI, we have made some updates of our framework, but they have been minimal because we strive to focus on the skills of students and not Attach it to specific technologies.
Why is it important that students are ready?
At Gwinnett, we have a story of preparation for students in their future in an innovative and significant way. We knew that we opened a new school due to population growth. Whenever you start a program or a school from zero, there is an opportunity to innovate and try something different. This is what led us honestly on this road. We thought, “If we have the opportunity, what is the next iteration?” What should we really consider?
After 13 years with us, if students have to enter a recycling program because they have not had access or do not train with certain technologies of their next phase, we have rendered them a bad service. There is an apprehension and a risk perceived around the conversation of AI in the education of kindergarten to the 12th year and what it means for our students, but honestly, I think that the greatest risk does not explore it.
What false ideas have you faced with the framework of the preparation of the AI?
One of the biggest false ideas that people have when they hear about our work is that we use a lot of AI. Honestly, this is not the case. We try to remove the curtain on AI and demystify it for our students. We want them to first identify the use of AI and have, at least, a general understanding of its operation. You cannot make informed decisions if you don’t know how it works.
We also really dig to be criticized for AI. We encourage students to question the tool agenda, data storage, confidentiality implications, origins and potential consequences. We really try to teach them to question, prick holes and understand.
As students ripen, we present them to the AI tools but through the objective of: What is the right way to use it? What are the ethical implications? Does that benefit us? Is there a better way to proceed?
We are not just children to connect and use AI tools. Students examine AI through a critical and optimistic lens, examine what they could do for the population and what they need to ensure that they are responsible and ethical.
What was the management process of the framework?
We have developed the framework with the help of various people across the country. We started with industry and post -secondary partners, asking: “You see AI in the application; We want to learn from you. Some were local professionals, but we also had the interest of more eminent companies like Google, Apple, HP, Microsoft and Intel. Being in Georgia, we involved the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech, as well as our local community college, Georgia Gwinnett College. We also received comments from people in institutions like MIT and Stanford. These groups helped us create initial thinking.
As we developed the framework, others contributed to comments and helped iterations. Once we had a solid base, we took him to our advisory advice, which included the parents. After establishing our reflection and how to decompose it in the grade bands, we asked for a vast contribution from teachers. The teachers helped us determine what the implementation would look like and if we were on the right track.
The framework includes technical components such as programming, data science, AI tools and robotics. But the emphasis is also placed on what we call “human skills” – ethics, creative problem resolution, design reflection and user experience. We focus on reflection on others – not just how something affects me, but what it could do for someone else, good or bad.
We have a K-12 continuum which breaks down what it looks like each group of grade. Kindergarten conversations are different from those of high school. Our lessons always use the same standards. We cover the four normal basic subjects and all the courses to choose from, including fine arts, but they are taught through the objective of our framework. Teachers establish links between what they teach, the standards and the framework to provide this real perspective and help students develop skills related to AI.
What advice would you give to other school districts that seek to develop similar initiatives?
At first, you really need support for leadership and capacity, resources and culture to innovate. Having partnerships is also enormous. They were essential to take off this, especially when we created a three -course career path for high school students, which has become quite technical. These partnerships were essential to help us think about this.
The internal collaboration is also vital, whether transversal or from school to district. We have involved everyone, from superintendents to class teachers in this development, which has helped create membership at all levels.
It is essential to understand why you are doing this and what you are trying to resolve. What does your community specifically need? Many versions could be good, depending on your situation.
When the conditions were good, we took measures to build, iterate, get comments and try things. We have collaborated in close collaboration with directors and teachers, moving from the demonstration of lessons to the co-flavity and the support of the content created by the teachers.
Being ready to enter and be vulnerable with them made a big difference. We would say: “No one has ever done this before. There is no study program that we can call. We create this together. It doesn’t matter if we make mistakes, but we will try together. This approach was crucial to progress towards implementation, membership and, possibly, success.
