DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo — As artificial intelligence becomes more common, the Douglas County School District (DCSD) is piloting a new AI program in 18 schools this year.
Douglas County teachers will be able to use AI technology to do lesson planning, with the ability to create personalized lesson plans for each student. The AI platform has a built-in safety layer that lets students use the technology with guardrails, while also protecting their data.
Superintendent Erin Kane said schools will use the platform Khanmigo. It comes from the education nonprofit Khan Academy. She said teachers will receive professional development on how to use it. They will also have a feedback loop built in, so the district can learn what's working well and what isn't.
"Because of the labor shortages, businesses have been embracing AI at unprecedented rates, so it’s already out there," said Superintendent Erin Kane. "It’s already part of the everyday life in so many of the businesses around us, and we need to really work with our kids to help them be able to be leaders in that world instead of hiding from this technology."
Kane said AI opens up possibilities for students, allowing them to have things like a personalized tutor or support working through a complicated math problem.
"It also provides a safe way to develop those really, really important writing skills," she said. "Where instead of going out to ChatGPT or something and asking ChatGPT to write your paper, Khanmigo provides a sandbox that will allow our kids to go through the process of writing and report back to the teachers what that process has looked like for each student."
She said there's no choice but to learn to work with AI as its use becomes more common in society.
"I often say that humans will not replace AI, but humans who can leverage AI will replace humans who cannot leverage AI," Kane said. "That tells me everything I need to know about what we need to prepare our kids to be able to do when they graduate from our system and go into this world."
AI also has the potential to save teachers 10 hours a week on administrative tasks, she said.