To truly harness the transformative power of generative AI in education, district leaders must navigate a landscape rich with resources and opportunities. By delving into state and national guidelines, exploring successful case studies, utilizing innovative planning tools, and engaging in professional development, educational leaders can craft robust implementation plans. These plans can then assist in integrating AI seamlessly into their schools and elevate the learning experience to new heights.
Guidelines for AI
AI for Education provides a number of resources including a curated listing of state-level AI guidance for K-12 schools. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s generative AI guidelines are a worthy review regardless of a leader’s geography.
Guidelines and frameworks for the ethical use of AI in education, such as those provided by the Future of Privacy Forum or the National Education Association’s Task Force Report on AI in Education, are available in a number of places. The latter is a decent summary of the broad issues to consider in using AI in schools.
AI Case Studies and Research
Review exemplary program implementation of generative AI where you can find any. The November 2024 issue of AASA’s School Administrator magazine is devoted to AI in schools. One of the articles is a summary of the age appropriate application of AI in Gwinnett County (GA) Public Schools.
Axon Park, a company developing virtual campuses, provides a curated list of AI case studies in education. Oyelabs offers a summary of various roles AI can be harnessed to improve education, and cites use cases. Itransition has a good summary of implementation suggestions and examples of integrating AI into schools. DigitalDefynd shares a list of 25 case studies of AI tools being integrated into schools.
AI Planning Tools
Several good planning guides for schools to use in implementing AI tools, such as the Readiness Checklist for Generative AI, developed collaboratively by Consortium of School Networking (CoSN) and the Council of the Great City Schools. The planning guide from the Michigan Virtual School is another good example to review. AI Governance Group provides a short list of recommendations to consider in implementing AI, in addition to a range of other AI resources as well.
AI Professional Development
When looking for PD, Google provides a Generative AI for Educators course, as does Adobe (read more about both here).
OpenAI offers a guide for teaching with AI, and Common Sense provides a basic course for educators on AI. (Read how Tech & Learning’s Erik Ofgang took OpenAI and Common Sense’s free course for teachers).
AI for Education provides a two-hour AI essentials course for educators. TCEA’s artificial intelligence educator course might be of value for those willing to pay $44 for the course. ISTE’s AI in education resources are a good place to start when looking for partnering for PD opportunities.
Ethical AI Considerations
For information about the ethics of generative AI, Cornell’s Center for Teaching Innovation provides a brief summary of ethical considerations for educators along with a brief resource list. Leon Furze offers an overview article providing nine considerations for ethics and AI. A more scholarly article on AI ethics in K-12 education is available from the National Institute of Health.
One of the most comprehensive lists beyond educational considerations is Choice360’s curated list of AI ethics resources. Choice360 is a subdivision of the American Library Association.
Additional AI Resources
Some general sets of AI resources for educators include Matt Miller’s Ditch that Textbook site, which has a section devoted to AI. Maestra provides a list of the best 15 AI tools for educators. Educational leaders should be familiar with MagicSchool.ai, Eduaide.ai, and similar AI tools for educators and students. You can check out Tech & Learning’s AI Starter Kit for Teachers for many more education-related AI apps, platforms, and tools.
Goblin Tools is a set of tools focused on the needs of neurodiverse users. Colleague.ai is a generative chatbot developed specifically for educators worth reviewing. For additional reading about AI and education, consider the booklist in my Tech & Learning article with an AI reading list.
Educational leaders aiming to effectively integrate generative AI into their schools should consider several key resources. Reviewing current state and national guidelines, examining successful case studies, utilizing available planning tools, and leveraging PD resources are all crucial steps. By incorporating these elements, educational leaders can develop comprehensive district-level implementation plans that harness the full potential of generative AI to enhance the teaching and learning process.
