It has been almost two months since the school year started for districts across Ohio, and it's the first year of Ohio's AI policy requirement. Each school district is implementing the policy in its own way.
Hilliard City Schools launched an AI Readiness Framework, which begins introducing what AI is to students in kindergarten and extends all the way to high school. The district has also created guidelines teachers can use to define the level of AI that can be used for assignments.
"It's not necessarily [that] we're requiring all kindergarten students to use AI," said Jim Smalley, Hilliard City Schools' chief technology officer. "It's really just an opportunity to teach literacies within our curriculum to prepare them."
One of the AI guideline levels is "full AI," where students may use AI extensively throughout their work. Smalley said an example of this could be students writing an essay on paper first, then using AI to get feedback and submit a revision.
"The hope is not to teach technology ever in isolation, but to continue to embed it within our curriculum," Smalley said.
Columbus City Schools has not yet created any supplemental programs through the AI policy, however, Christopher Lockhart,
Columbus City Schools' chief information officer, said there are some ways AI has been implemented in the classroom.
Lockhart said teachers are having students compare and contrast their work with AI to analyze the similarities and differences.
"I think it's a great use of it to show that, first of all, AI is not always accurate," Lockhart said. "There is a way to integrate it into our pedagogy and still have students learning and striving and growing in the school year."
Smalley and Lockhart said they are continuing to get feedback from teachers, parents and students on AI use and they recognize that the technology is rapidly evolving.
Lockhart said it is imperative for school districts to limit the exposure of students to the dangers of AI.
"We 're aware of the rapid changes in artificial intelligence, and so that's why we put some things in place to make sure that we're able to be agile and adjust as this disruptive technology continues to disrupt us in so many ways in our lives," Lockhart said.
WOSU also reached out to the Olentangy, Westerville and Dublin school districts, but officials were not available for comment.
