District AI Best Practices

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District mission is to provide an excellent, equitable education in a safe, supporting environment so all students will succeed and contribute to a diverse and changing society. 1

To create a supportive learning environment, students need access to opportunities that are personalized to improve their educational outcomes. AI powered tools have the ability to provide adaptive learning options, individualized feedback, and targeted interventions to foster deeper understanding in an engaging learning experience.

The 2023 World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report predicted that in the next five years, more than 75% of companies are expected to embrace AI technologies, thus transforming business practices and jobs that  will be available and skills required of workers.2 To ensure that students are adequately prepared for the rapidly changing workforce, we need to focus on AI literacy.

This guide aims to empower educators, families, and students by providing information about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and exploring safe ways to use AI tools in the classroom. By working together, we can leverage the power of AI to support student learning and prepare them to be successful contributors to a diverse and ever-changing world. 

 

“Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is a branch of computer science aimed at creating machines that mimic human intelligence. It's used to perform tasks that usually require human thought, like understanding language, recognizing patterns, or making decisions.”3 

AI has been in use since 1950 and impacts nearly every part of our daily lives. A few examples of AI include: chess playing, predictive texting, online shopping, virtual maps for navigation, and blind-spot detection in vehicles. Yet it is the recent innovations in Generative AI (GenAI) that have taken the world by storm.

ISTE 3 

Generative AI is trained on large data sets to analyze patterns between words. When given a prompt, Generative AI is able to compose original pieces of text based on the statistical probability of certain words being together. It is not magic, it’s simply doing math.

Here’s a list of a few ways that educators can use AI to support student learning:

• Personalized instruction

Adaptive programs are powered by AI to deliver learning opportunities to students at their individual level. Ex: Amira and iReady

• Lesson Plan Development

AI can adjust assignments to promote high level thinking.

• Create Materials

AI can generate teaching materials to promote differentiated instruction. 

Ex: Changing the reading level of text to make content accessible to students at a variety of levels, providing scaffolding and/or enrichment.

*Using AI requires compliance with data privacy regulations and ethical use. 

*Critically review all GenAI outputs for bias and accuracy before use.

• Student data privacy is of utmost importance when using digital tools, especially AI.

• Never provide personal or confidential information to AI. Think of it like talking to a stranger and the amount of information you’d share about yourself with them. Any information given to a GenAI model in the prompt or otherwise may be used to train the model.

• Read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and be aware of age restrictions and required permissions.

Data is currency in a digital world, even free services can track you with cookies for ad purposes and may disclose your data to other services. To keep students safe, all digital tools need to be vetted for data privacy compliance.4 Educators should submit a “Supplemental Software Request” work order prior to use.

-The use of AI builds on the foundation of Digital Citizenship. 

World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report  states that “Technology literacy is the third-fastest growing core skill.”2  

To prepare students for future success in the workplace, we need to teach AI literacy. This includes not only how AI works, but also how to use it responsibly. 

The 2023 World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report stated they’re expecting a 44% change of core skills for workers over the next five years.2 This means we need to emphasize transferable skills to prepare the next generation.

Cited

1 FNSBSD Strategic plan / 2020-25 strategic plan. Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. (2019). https://www.k12northstar.org/strategic-plan   

2 The Future of Jobs Report 2023. World Economic Forum. (2023). https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/

3 ISTE. (n.d.). Bringing AI to School: Tips for School Leaders. https://cdn.iste.org/www-root/2023-07/Bringing_AI_to_School-2023_07.pdf

4 FNSBSD Instructional Technology / Software requests. Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. (n.d.-a). https://www.k12northstar.org/Page/8696  

5 Artificial Intelligence and the future of teaching and learning. Office of Educational Technology. (2023, May 24). https://tech.ed.gov/ai-future-of-teaching-and-learning/ 

6 ISTE, (n.d.). I am a Digital Citizen. https://cdn.iste.org/www-root/Blog/iamdigitalcitizen.jpg

Consulted

AI guidance for schools toolkit. AI Guidance for Schools Toolkit. (n.d.-a). https://www.teachai.org/toolkit 

AI Toolkit. Innovate Ohio. (n.d.). https://innovateohio.gov/aitoolkit/toolkit-resources/02-part-2-introduction-to-resources-for-policymakers-teachers-parents  

Artificial Intelligence. Wayne RESA. (n.d.). https://www.resa.net/teaching-learning/instructional-technology/ai  

Gemini [Version 1.0 Ultra]. (2023). Google AI. https://gemini.google.com/faq

Murray City School District. Guidance and View of Artificial Intelligence in Education https://www.canva.com/design/DAFzCZ8qALE/view 

VIEW of AI in Canyons: A Guidebook Designed for Educators, Students, & Families. Canyons School District. (2023). https://www.canyonsdistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Canyons-VIEW-of-Artificial-Intelligence-A-Guidebook.pdf