The Connecticut Department of Education is partnering with a tech company to bring artificial intelligence classrooms this upcoming school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With AI tools such as ChatGPT bursting onto the scene, state education officials have decided to embrace the technology by partnering with Varsity Tutors, an online tutoring platform that has been serving school districts around the country for the past few years. The partnership aims to help combat learning loss caused by the coronavirus pandemic and bring tutoring assistance to students struggling academically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a number of concurrent challenges that schools are facing,\u201d said Anthony Salcito, chief institution business officer of Varsity Tutors. \u201cOne, there\u2019s tremendous pressure on teachers with teacher burnout, teacher retention, and teacher shortages that\u2019s causing school district leaders, principals to struggle to find staff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnother reality is that\u2026.the importance of individualizing instruction and learning is becoming critical,\u201d he added. \u201cParents are demanding support for their child wherever they are at the learning environment, and that puts even added stress for teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Salcito said the program will feature the use of artificial intelligence in its tutoring system to ensure that students are connected with the best tutor who can cater to their specifics needs. He also said they intend to use what is known as \u201cgenerative AI\u201d to design lesson plans for tutors. This type of specialization through AI aims to bring a change from the conventional teaching and learning model. It is meant to bring more equity to tutoring by connecting students and families who cannot access the additional help with tutors in a convenient and affordable way, something that Salcito describes as a \u201ctremendous investment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Salcito said states such Indiana, Ohio, Texas, Florida, and California have implemented similar programs in their school districts. He said Varsity Tutors has seen higher than 200% improvement during a school year with the additional tutoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat you\u2019re doing with tutoring is often providing access to someone to help a student course-correct, help students have greater clarity and answering questions to get clarity on something that their educators shared,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you\u2019re building confidence that learners don\u2019t fall behind, but it takes the village of the learning environments to support student instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Varsity Tutors has already begun doing the work in Waterbury, Salcito said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michelle Eckler, supervisor for technology at Waterbury Public Schools, was optimistic about incorporating the technology into the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are embracing it [AI],\u201d she said. \u201cOur goal is to use it as a teaching and learning tool. We trained all our administrators last week on a basic understanding of what it is and what it does. Our teachers are going to be trained\u2026through a districtwide professional learning about it as well. And then we are in the process of looking at how we\u2019re going to be able to give students more understanding of what it is and the power of it, and how they can use it for positive things versus just using it as a way to get out of doing something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the \u201980s when the internet first became that big thing, people were afraid of the internet,\u201d she added. \u201cWikipedia came out and everybody was so afraid of Wikipedia. Now, we send people to Wikipedia as a first place to start their research process before they go and look for other places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think the use of artificial intelligence in all its forms is like both of those and that right now, it\u2019s newer and it\u2019s still emerging. People tend to be afraid of things when they\u2019re new and emerging, but it\u2019s going to become part of what our students are going to experience when they leave public school and go into the work world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Panya Khattar, a junior at Avon High School, also believes that artificial intelligence should play an instrumental role in the teaching and learning process in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAI helps liberate humans from repetitive tasks, improving society. The American educational system is outdated, making it a hindrance rather than an ally,\u201d she wrote in an op-ed in the Hartford Courant this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Panya said she believes that AI would not only help students by creating innovative solutions to their problems, but will help reduce the workload on teachers, thus creating a better classroom environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you teach them [students] how to use it ethically since things are advancing, people will adapt to it better,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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