DENVER — The nonprofit Colorado Education Initiative launched its Roadmap for AI in K-12 Education Tuesday, to help schools and educators create policies surrounding artificial intelligence.
Last year, CEI created a steering committee to come up with guidelines. The committee included education leaders from around the state, as well as people with expertise in computer science and technology.
CEI’s vice president of statewide partnerships Karen Quanbeck said a student advisory panel also contributed to the roadmap.
“They spoke (about) using AI to cheat, and they almost laughed at that,” Quanbeck said.
Instead, she said students are using AI to study for exams or gain deeper knowledge of concepts. Teachers are also using AI in ways that allow for more individualized instruction.
“Instead of hunting down texts or content resources that are at all different reading levels, you can utilize AI to provide content in the different reading levels,” Quanbeck said.
She acknowledged that with many teachers and students already using AI tools, it’s important to make sure they can be equally accessed, especially in smaller school districts.
Other recommendations from the steering committee include allowing teachers professional development time to learn AI tools, communicating with families about how AI is being used in the classroom, and regularly updating policies to keep up with the evolving technology.
“The pace of change is more significant than what we have seen in really any other recent technology, especially in the land of education,” Quanbeck said.
The roadmap is meant to provide guidance for schools, but CEI is also recommending that state leaders consider adopting AI literacy standards.