TULSA, Okla. — As students across northeast Oklahoma start the new school year, administrators are tackling new technology. Artificial Intelligence provides both benefits and concerns for the classroom.
“It is very hard to keep up with artificial intelligence we are seeing today. In fact, I think there will be more and more professional development, more and more training for us to stay ahead of that,” said Dr. Jarod Mendenhall, Superintendent at Muskogee Public Schools.
Dr. Jarod Mendenhall is one of nearly a dozen area school leaders we talked with about how AI is showing up in local districts. Dr. Mendenhall says they’re still exploring how to use it in Muskogee.
Dr. Stacey Butterfield, the superintendent at Jenks Public Schools, says they’re focused on digital citizenship for their students.
“With ChatGPT, our focus is helping out students understand how it can be used responsibility,” said Dr. Stacey Butterfield. “Knowing that when they graduate from high school, it’s going to one part of college, some type of workforce training, or if they go straight into the workforce. We want them to be prepared to use it responsibly.”
Dr. Brett McKinney, a computer science professor at the University of Tulsa, explained the history behind AI and how educators can balance the concerns and benefits of the technology.
“It’s been around for a long time in the research areas, and it’s only recently been more in the public consciousness with things like ChatGPT,” said Dr. McKinney. “ChatGPT can be used as a positive tool for learning but it can also short-circuit the learning process.”
He says educators continue to have conversations about how to harness the technology and teach students to use it ethically.
“That’s the main concern, I think, is balancing learning and also taking advantage of this tool as a learning tool,” said Dr. McKinney.
Many educators are laser-focused on ChatGPT. It’s a natural language processing tool powered by AI that can answer questions, write essays, and compose emails. Some local districts, like Owasso, are making sure students can’t access it at school.
“So right now. we’ve got ChatGPT locked down for now,” said Owasso Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Margaret Coates.
Dr. Coates says they have a group of school leaders exploring and learning as much as they can.
“We are taking that very very slowly,” said Dr. Coates.
For Dr. McKinney, he says AI isn’t going anywhere and it presents a unique opportunity to elevate students.
“It’s an opportunity to have them develop higher level skills and thinking at a higher level and letting the machine do things that the machine is good at,” said Dr. McKinney.
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