George Philhower, EH superintendent
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Imagine a learning tool where teachers put student information into a computer system that gives them feedback to help the educator see where the student needs help and to also show ways to offer assistance.
Artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom? The learning process appears to be moving in that direction.
Officials with Eastern Hancock schools say they are willing to give AI a try. The corporation was among several school districts across the state that were awarded an AI-Powered Platform Pilot Grant — something they plan to utilize as soon as this school year.
Superintendent George Philhower noted they’d be silly to not take advantage of what AI has to offer and to start slowly implementing it into areas where it can help educators and students.
“AI is a thing we’re all learning more and more about,” Philhower said. “Different industries are taking different approaches with it, and we think it can help teachers by maybe taking a little bit off their plates.”
The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) invited any accredited school corporation or school organization to apply for a one-time competitive grant opportunity to fund a pilot program with an AI-powered platform of their choosing. The opportunity supports a one-year implementation.
Officials with Eastern Hancock have partnered with a company called SchoolJoy, which specializes in implementing AI into the classroom to help manage the learning experience. The program will also help educators gain data on things like what students sign up for in clubs or extracurricular activities so officials can use the information for school improvement purposes.
“It’s a platform that can kind of serve like a student’s portfolio,” Philhower said. “The student will enter things — sort of keep a resume of their time with us at the high school.”
Philhower noted all the information entered into Schooljoy is private and will not be shared with anyone but the educators.
“It means educators will have access to all the student’s data, which includes their areas of strength and interests,” Philhower said. “They can then take that information and use it to help plan lessons, and that’s pretty cool.”
There are various AI platforms that utilize large language models educators are exploring for use in K-12 learning environments. The platforms can provide a variety of support to both students and teachers.
“I know there are a lot of people, and we are included, who do have concerns about AI, but it was nice that the Department of Education had this grant because it made us go through and think about the steps, including safety requirements in order to use AI,” Philhower said.
The competitive grant opportunity will fund the subscription fees and professional development support for student high-dosage tutoring and reducing teacher workload through the use of an AI platform.
The vision for the opportunity, according to the IDOE, is to focus on a cohort of teachers and students in the integration of an AI platform. It might be used to support a specific building, grade level, subject area or student population. Schools are encouraged to focus on student needs in response to academic impact data.
Eastern Hancock is working with a handful of teachers and a handful of students at the high school who will be using the AI-assisted program so they can start to learn more about how it all works.
“We will have some students who log into this sometime this month,” Philhower said. “But we’re in no hurry. For us, it’s about making sure our teachers have every tool imaginable at their disposal to help them do the job they want to do.”
Reports indicate, if not properly managed, AI can lead to a loss of human connection and personalized attention for students. However, it is also noted by regularly assessing student engagement and learning outcomes, teachers can help to ensure AI is developed and deployed in a way that enhances education.
“We feel like AI can help our teachers sort of sort through all the data they have on students right now,” Philhower said. “Imagine a teacher with 120 kids trying to manage all the best information on each students, and you’ll see that’s a lot of information.”
Philhower noted all students are different and any tool that will help them customize a plan for each student is a positive thing.
“We want to make sure kids are enjoying the school experience, and one way to do that is to get as much information, interests and strengths as we can,” he said.
