"We cannot afford to slow down—AI is here to stay."

Chris Reykdal, the superintendent of schools for the state of Washington, stated as much in the introduction to the artificial intelligence guidelines for K–12 classrooms.

It's a viewpoint that other instructors also hold. Teachers stated in open-ended replies to surveys done in the spring and fall of last year by the EdWeek Research Center that artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay and that schools should embrace it and learn how to use it.

However, despite the fact that more educators are experimenting with the technology, most of them claim to have never utilized AI tools, according to a poll done last autumn by the EdWeek Research Center. Thirty-three percent of teachers cite the lack of a district policy on acceptable technology use as one of the main causes of this opposition.

"We require a policy that establishes standards for its moral application in our district," a Connecticut high school English teacher stated in the open-ended area.

According to Glenn Kleiman, a member of the advisory committees for both the Consortium for School Networking's innovation project and the TeachAI program, "schools are very hungry for guidance" on how to develop AI use policy. However, superintendents "generally feel like they're at step 0.1 in figuring it out," based on Kleiman's talks with them.

It's not always necessary for district leaders to invent the wheel. According to Min Sun, an associate professor at the University of Washington's College of Education and a member of the state's AI advisory group, the laws that currently govern the deployment of educational technology will also apply to AI-powered tools. However, "this wave of education technology development also has some uniquenesses... that may need some additional sort of guidelines specifically about AI technology," the speaker added.

District administrators can use the deployment of AI with the support of education coalitions and organizations like TeachAI, CoSN, and the Council of the Great City Schools, who have paved the road with their guidelines. At least five states have also developed AI guidelines for schools in the past few months: California, Oregon, North Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia.

There are several basic tactics that all districts should take into consideration when deciding how to adopt AI, even if each district will need to take its own context into account.

From those state and organization guidelines, the following eight strategies were selected:

Align AI Use With the Goals, Vision, and Mission

District leaders should consider their district's mission and vision and determine how the technology may support the achievement of those objectives before deciding to deploy AI. Through personalizing curriculum, encouraging creativity, and preparing students for future careers, it can improve student learning. Through professional development, assessment analysis, differentiation, and content creation, AI may help teachers. Also, it can improve the effectiveness of school administration and operations.

But there's a risk associated with every advantage. AI use, for example, may result in data privacy breaches, bullying, plagiarism, false information, and unequal access. It may also reduce teacher and student autonomy. Experts advise districts not to let these concerns stop them from utilizing AI. However, being aware of the hazards makes reducing them simpler.

Related Article: What Is Social Emotional Learning (SEL): Why It Matters And How It Benefits.

Increase Student Exposure To AI

TeachAI defines AI literacy as the knowledge, abilities, and attitudes related to the principles, concepts, and applications of artificial intelligence, as well as the practical use of the technology. This should also involve having a firm grasp of its limitations and the moral issues surrounding its use. By incorporating AI literacy into the curriculum, it will guarantee that the majority of students are prepared to use AI technologies in a responsible and productive manner. Because children are frequently experimenting with these new digital tools much before their teachers do, this degree of AI literacy is very critical.

Offer Opportunities For Professional Growth

Not just students need to understand artificial intelligence. Additionally, district employees, such as teachers, must understand AI's workings and responsible applications. Teachers must not only understand the potential and constraints of artificial intelligence (AI) but also be equipped with concrete, workable examples of how to apply AI in the classroom. Moreover, districts should design a professional development plan that includes AI literacy as part of more comprehensive literacy and equity training so that educators don't feel like they're adding yet another laborious responsibility to their already full plate.

List Permitted And Forbidden Applications Of AI

It may be necessary for districts to revise certain policies, like those pertaining to permissible use and academic integrity, in order to account for the responsible and safe use of AI tools. In their guidelines, district administrators want to specify who would be in charge of establishing limits for appropriate use in assignments and classrooms. Teachers and students should understand when and how to use AI in their work, as well as the repercussions of not using the tools appropriately.

Carefully Inspect AI Tools

It's critical to thoroughly assess any AI tool before enabling staff and children to use it in order to safeguard any sensitive information that districts may retain. Districts must ensure that they are aware of the information that AI tools collect, how businesses use them, and what security measures are in place to protect user privacy, just like they do with other edtech tools. Districts should also learn about the development process for AI tools and the data sources that were utilized to train the models.

Evaluate How AI Tools Are Affecting

It is imperative for districts to devise protocols for overseeing and assessing the utilization of AI tools to guarantee their sustained alignment with evolving legal requirements. Additionally, districts have to make sure that they are asking parents, teachers, and other staff members for input on their AI guidelines, and they should update the guidelines as necessary.