How Duval County Public Schools is using AI in the classroom
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County Public Schools is revealing how teachers are utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom to streamline everyday tasks like creating test questions, lessons, presentations and more.
In a release shared Wednesday, the school district said it’s working to give teachers more training on AI resources and even plans to launch its own “AI Institute,” designed to help teachers grow their understanding through hands-on experience.
DCPS Director of Technology Innovation Holly Lanham said the district’s focus is on how AI can be used to help teachers.
“I do believe that this is something our district is going to lean into instead of trying to push away from,” said Lanham. “Why not help (our teachers) learn ways to use it ethically and safely?”
She said teachers were first introduced to Copilot, Microsoft’s version of ChatGPT, and then began training on AI resources built into programs and apps they were already using.
Another AI feature teachers use is “PowerBuddy,” an add-on to a program the district uses to administer tests and analyze data. Using the AI tool, teachers can prompt the program to produce test questions and passages based on benchmarks.
While using these tools, the district says teachers can make the program alter tests by difficulty, reading levels, language and more.
“Teachers want new tests, they want new passages,” said Chief of Schools Scott Schneider. “We thought it would be super helpful in saving time to have benchmark-based tests that were already generated for you that you could edit.”
The district says PowerBuddy also uses guidelines and ethical standards like data security, privacy, user controls and age-appropriate filters.
Schneider said more than 45,000 items have been generated only a few months into the program.
MagicSchool AI, another tool teachers are using, can build lesson plans. The online design platform Canva’s AI tool Magic Suite can assist teachers with drafting presentations, among other things.
“While no program or AI tool can ever replace a great teacher, we cannot overlook its potential to reduce workload, serve as a supplemental resource, and create new opportunities for students to develop critical thinking skills,” said Schneider.
One Duval County educator is using AI as a learning opportunity for students.
Sandalwood High School Web Design Instructor Brannon Lutz is teaching an artificial intelligence foundation course called “AI in the World.”
The class teaches students about the history of AI, looking at the risks and advancements that can come from the new technology. The assignments in the course range from creating AI images to using the tool to examine bias.
Students also have the opportunity to earn an Information Technology Specialist (ITS) in Artificial Intelligence certification.
“There are plenty of uses for it, like automation, self-driving cars,” Ruiz said. “But there’s just also a ton of concerns that we need to make sure we’re watching out for.”
