(TNS) — Starting next school year, artificial intelligence will be integrated into students’ classroom learning.
Leadership of the district’s information technology department outlined to the School Board on Wednesday the next phase of a yearslong plan to mesh AI into classroom instruction. That plan says by the start of the school year, AI will be explored for classroom use. By the start of the year’s second semester, it is to be implemented — with teacher guidance.
“The goal is not unrestricted use,” said Jesse Zamora, senior director of Norfolk schools’ information technology department. “It is to teach students to use AI transparently and responsibly as a support for learning and critical thinking — not as a replacement for their own work.”
He said after the meeting that the plan is a high-level roadmap and aspects of the timeline are fluid. He hopes that students can start using AI in the fall.
Zamora is optimistic about the technology. Responsible usage of AI, he said, is emerging as a competitive skill beyond school.
He said students will use AI through MagicSchool, a platform that specializes in educational applications. The Denver-based company’s model allows teachers to set boundaries for guided student experiences and provides tools that aim to save educators hours of work each week.
For example, teachers could use the platform to build a lesson specifically with the state’s Standards of Learning in mind, Zamora said. Students who take a quiz through MagicSchool, he added, could get AI-assisted feedback on incorrect answers.
“Students will learn responsible use and expectations, academic integrity, how to protect personal information and how to question AI generated content for accuracy, bias and reliability,” he said.
It hasn’t been decided which grade levels will get access to the AI tools. Zamora said a 50-or-so member committee was formed to steer the conversation on the district’s AI governance. The consensus, for now, is middle and high school grades.
Teachers will be required to learn the basics of AI classroom ethics. Some members of the board voiced concerns about the policing of irresponsible AI usage and the environmental impact of the technology. They said those concerns, which stem from student feedback, should be considered in policy implementation.
“If we don’t prepare out students for AI, we could be doing them a disservice in the workforce and just in life in general,” Zamora said.
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