This is how South Florida schools are using AI in the classroom

Artificial Intelligence seems to be the term of the year, but it’s been around for longer than you think and is incorporated in many of the things we already do or have.

AI is already being used in in classrooms across the state, so we took a deep dive into how it could shape the future of learning.

At Boyd Anderson High School, students aren’t reading in silence. Instead, it’s a cacophony as students read aloud.

They are using an artificial intelligence technology called Immersive Reader.

Nandrane Fairclough, the Principal Interim at Boyd Anderson, says it helps them read in a way that’s comfortable to them. The program’s AI bot then points out where the student needs improvement.

“They are able to read aloud, record themselves, go back and listen to omissions, insertions, mispronounced words, and now they are accountable for their learning,” explained Fairclough.

She said that, year after year, only 18% of the students at the school are on grade level. She claims that this program has been a helping hand in changing that.

“It allows the students to see the errors they are making, it allows the teachers to see the errors they are making, and then based on the needs, and based on the personalized needs of the students they are able to tailor support so that they no longer have to make those mistakes continuously and close the academic gaps for them.”

The AI program acts as a sort of one-on-one tutor. It allows the teacher to have more time to focus on the gaps that the majority of her students are facing. And teachers identify those gaps thanks to the data this program provides.

“Through AI I can definitely measure what you know, what you don’t know, and have I increased your achievement by the time you leave?” said James Griffin, the Principal of Boyd Anderson.

“Because I have a teacher for every individual student. So now there are no more tricks in the game and I can simplify what that looks like and make sure I can improve your chances of reaching your ultimate dreams.”

AI TRAINING

Griffin said he spent the summer taking an AI course, learning about the benefits to both teachers and students.

He decided to implement various AI programs to help elevate their student body and staff, and the school rating.

“The school has struggled for 18 years, and this year we give the ability for the school to be the first B school in the history of the school, and a lot of it has to do with simple personalized education, giving teachers their time back, and the better the school will be.”

While the program has helped in the classroom, it’s also helped teachers on the back end.

Adjunct Professor Sloan Robbins has done AI training recommended by the Broward County School District.

Now he and other teachers utilize Microsoft Copilot, similar to ChatGPT to help teachers pull data, make lesson plans, and schedules.

“It’s very helpful to have a, like talking to a colleague that just knows everything. So, Copilot is really just that, allowing you to have a personal assistant who takes care of things for you.”

And it’s not just AI programs, but curriculum as well.

The University of Florida says they were one of the first institutions to create a framework for how AI should be taught in K-12 classrooms across the state.

They created four different courses on artificial intelligence, ensured state standards were met, provided opportunities for additional certificates, and established standards for teachers wishing to teach AI in the state of Florida.

UF’s courses were first piloted by public schools in Osceola, Orange and Broward County.

But today other counties across the state are also teaching AI classes.

MAGNET CLASS

Like a magnet class that started last year at Southwest High School in Miami-Dade County.

“It’s been really fun it’s been a little challenging, just to learn all of this code and see how I can implement AI into all of the tables and programs I have been using,” said a student named Owen.

These students take AI courses every year.

Building applications and games that utilize the program are also part of the course.

AI teacher, Rudy Perez, says learning about AI is important for these student’s future.

“No matter what field they want to go into AI is being incorporated into everything. If they want to go into the medical field, how can they use AI to look at x-rays?”

“How can they go ahead and use it to diagnose results and see what exactly the person has? If they want to go in the tech field, how can they use it to help them make apps?”

But as Lead Teacher Vicky Lazo shared, it is knowledge that comes with responsibility.

“I have to say these kids are moving into a world that I can’t even imagine yet. So we are trying to make them aware of how the technology works, with the understanding that as we train and train the machines, new things are coming up that we didn’t know of,” she said.

“It’s a tool, it needs to be used, and they need to learn how to use it to their benefit, to their advantage in a responsible way. They need to be aware of bias and be able to filter through and use a big enough data base to make sure their answers are really useful.”

But it’s a responsibility that has some parents wary.

According to a study done by Pew Research Center, a quarter of public K-12 teachers believe AI does more harm than good, 6% say there’s more benefit than harm, and about 32% say it’s a mix of both.

It’s similar to what superintendent Howard Hepburn of Broward County Schools has seen.

In 2023, Broward County Schools banned the use of ChatGPT, a chatbot that uses human-like dialogue to help you write and brainstorm.

They also banned social media sites like Facebook and Instagram on district owned devices.

That ban remains in place today.

But the technology they don’t allow, according to the district, is different from the educational tools and programs that incorporate AI components.

“It’s very demanding for a teacher to go into a classroom and really address the needs of all kids in the archaic way we have done in the past with paper, and books. By leveraging technology, teachers can get data at their fingertips that’s unique to the needs of that kid, and really orchestrate how they can provide a different level of instruction to help meet the needs of that child so that they can accelerate, and they can exceed their potential in the classroom,” Hepburn said.

THE PARENTS

But how are the parents feeling?

“It’s mixed reviews too, there’s always a concern about the ethical use of any technology especially artificial intelligence. Plagiarism or AI doing the work for you,” said Hepburn.

According to a survey done by Statista in 2023, 14% of school parents were extremely concerned, 22% very concerned and 30% somewhat concerned about the effects of AI on their child’s learning.

But not all parents feel that way.

“There’s so much potential for this and I think a lot of times we get stuck on the conversation of our kids going to use this to cheat, and our kids going to be using this to write essays and stuff, but I think once you start using the technology and stuff and once you are using the tools there is actually a huge opportunity for it to ignite creativity and for it to make kids more creative and help with ideation and things like that,” explained Tamara Walsh.

Walsh has been in the tech industry since 2017. The mother of three, started her own company, AI Empowerment Now, this year, with the goal to be a resource for other parents who have questions about the technology and its uses, and how they can be educators to their children.

“So just talking to the kids and saying look this isn’t magic, these are algorithms that are predicting the next word or the next token and just explaining to them how easy it is to create,” Walsh said

“I showed my daughter a 2 minute video, a film of me talking. It can easily create an avatar that looks exactly like me I can show you too, and it speaks all these languages, and it isn’t me. And it’s so easy to make. And kids need to know that just because it’s an image or a video doesn’t mean that it’s real. And it’s just so important to start educating the kids now.”

Marlee Strawn feels the same way and says that her son "will not know a world without AI. He talks to Alexa; he gets recommendations on YouTube about videos he can watch. His world is going to know nothing different than a world that is centered around AI.”

Strawn is a former educator and mother, and 18 months ago she decided to create her own AI technology and platform that schools can use in the classroom called Scholar Education.

There’s Professor Bruce who helps the teachers with everyday tasks like lesson plans and learning objectives. And there’s Baxter Bot, the students AI assistant who provides academic support and is tailored to meet the child’s needs and accommodations.

The two work together to give data driven insights, to help the teachers teach and students learn.

But there are also guardrails in place. The program tracks transcripts of conversations and notifies the teacher of anything concerning, not just of cheating, but social emotional concerns.

“There’s also this consideration that students sometimes feel more comfortable talking to tech tools than they do to humans. And Baxter Bot is a fun personality, our students love him. And we wanted to make sure that if our students communicated anything that was a social emotional or wellbeing concern that would be reported to the teacher automatically,” explained Strawn.

Currently Strawn’s program is being utilized in schools in Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

But the move to have AI programs and classes in schools is growing. This year the state passed a bill that would increase funding to support AI in education. So far, no grants have been awarded, or program has been selected.

But the new bill serves as an indicator that artificial intelligence is here to stay.

“In the state of Florida, students had to take at least one technology class to graduate. And that was to ensure that we are sending kids off into the world with skills they will need to be in the workforce. It’s a similar thing. We are going to need to address AI literacy, at the school level so that the student knows how to use it, safe ways to use it, and the best ways to use it. Because they are just not going to know a world without it,” Strawn said.