BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio — With the surge of artificial intelligence in the workforce, schools are beginning to use it for education.
During an innovative in-service training day at Bellaire Schools on Thursday, teachers became students to learn about new technologies being implemented in the classrooms.
The training focused on the use of AI in classrooms and virtual reality – both expected to increase student engagement.
“One of the things that’s been a challenge for all schools across the state, probably across the country, has been student attendance,” Bellaire Schools Superintendent Derrick McAfee said. “Attendance has been a struggle. So, it is up to us to create an engaging environment the kids want to be a part of.”
A presentation on the use of free generative AI tools showed teachers how to build presentations, letters, announcements and personalized lesson plans. The goal is not to replace teachers, but to augment instruction in the classroom.
“CEOs are not closing doors, they’re opening doors to AI’s capabilities,” said Wendy Hanasky, consultant, East Central Ohio ESC. “So us as educators need to know what’s going on in our world. How can we best prepare these students so they can be those successful candidates and get those jobs.”
“AI isn’t going away,” Bellaire High School STEM teacher Nathan Steele said. “It’s here to stay. So, we need to be able to use it effectively. It’s not a tool that’s going to replace the job as a teacher, it’s just there to help improve our jobs with less undifferentiation, creating engaging activities for the students and all those kinds of things.”
As for student integrity with assignments, Hanasky sees it as the responsibility of teachers and schools to educate and enforce the proper uses of the technology.
“We show them how to use AI tools as a collaborator,” Hanasky said. “So they work with them on what a topic could be for an essay, what’s an opening paragraph look like with a hook, but they’re using the tools back and forth. It’s not doing that essay as a whole but using it as a companion to get through that process.”
Teachers were amazed to experience virtual reality. Each building in the district already has VR labs. And the school has seen students animated and engaged in learning with the equipment.
“It’s something that’s useful in every subject,” McAfee said. “We could say in geography, instead of talking about a place, you actually go to that place. In biology, instead of talking about a cell, you are inside the cell looking at the different parts. There are many different facets in how we can use VR across the district.”
The goal of this technology is to better the learning experience for the students and prepare them for careers.
