AI coming to Sequoia classrooms

“We really can’t just focus on what we’ve been doing, we have to try to imagine what the future of our students is going to be like and adapt accordingly,” Reklis said. 

Approximately three years ago, district staff began working on simply understanding what the tool can do in the classroom. Now, after a pilot period showed the program helped free up teacher’s time and attention, and provided learning opportunities and feedback for students, the district is ready to move forward. 

The MagicSchool program can help generate activities and rubrics, quickly alter the complexity of a text for students’ learning differences and produce examples of work to contrast high-quality and incorrect responses, Reklis said. It can also generate jokes. 

Students are able to ask the program to quiz them on relevant content or provide feedback on their writing submissions. Reklis noted that the program will not give students answers or direct advice, but produce prompts for consideration. 

“It's there to guide students through their learning process and does not just tell them an answer, or even give precise editing suggestions. It takes a questioning approach for students,” Reklis said.

After the pilot, teachers said they were excited about the tool enhancing the quality of instruction they could provide “all while saving time and energy to refocus on positive interactions with their students,” Reklis said. 

Now that the district has seen the tool function in a classroom and benefit the space, it will begin working on guidelines and policies to responsibly work with AI. 

A working group will work this upcoming year on the matter. Trustees and staff agreed input should be gathered from experts in the community. Trustee Mary Beth Thompson said the district’s location in Silicon Valley should be taken advantage of. 

“There’s probably quite a few adults in our community who have some technical expertise and opinions,” Thompson said. “I want to make sure that we continue to stay abreast of what’s happening on the ground and in the world besides what’s just happening in the district.” 

Student privacy was also discussed briefly and will likely be a key focus of future policies. 

Trustee Rich Ginn said there’s a “tension” to navigate in regards to how much information the AI program should be able to have on individual students. While increased information may present concerns, a more informed program could mean more individualized and tailored educational support for the unique needs of each student. 

It will be key to learn from other districts that have made further progress on developing their own parameters, he said. 

“I’m excited by the possibility of what technology can do and I think, where are we, we have to be forward adopters,” Ginn said. “Maybe not the leaders, we can learn from others, but be fast followers in adopting.” 

In terms of grading and its role in teaching students, Reklis assured that AI is simply a tool to utilize. 

‘We are not replacing human intelligence, we are empowering and enhancing our learning communities,” Reklis said.