Shawn Braxton, executive director of IT Customer Excellence for the district, says digital tools can help when one-on-one time is limited.
CLEVELAND – Artificial intelligence is now part of the learning day in the classrooms of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Leaders say the technology is intended to enhance education and provide students with additional support.
Shawn Braxton, executive director of IT Customer Excellence for the district, says digital tools can help when one-on-one time is limited.
“I look at it as an opportunity to take the technology that we can use now and really do things that we can’t do because we don’t have enough people to do one-on-one instruction with a student,” Braxton said.
Teachers can tailor the programs to each student’s reading level, allowing them to continue independently while the lesson continues.
“The technology now gives us the ability to assign resources to students that a teacher can actually assign at that student’s lexile level and really help them grow at their own pace without holding the entire class back,” he said.
Braxton notes that there are tools to ensure students aren’t using AI to simply get the answers to their assignments.
“I think the misconception is that some of these AI tools are set up to reduce students’ ability to think,” he said. “With some of the tools we have personally deployed, they help students move through the process.”
The safety of students and employees is also a point of attention for the district. Some platforms, including ChatGPT, are blocked on student devices. Companies must also agree to protect district data before their tools are approved.
“Every tool we use, we have an agreement with the developer to ensure that our data is protected and that it remains our data. There is no sale of that data or transfer of it to any party outside of the organization we work with or the technology developer,” Braxton said.
The district created its artificial intelligence policy in October and is now updating it according to state guidelines. Braxton says the revised version will soon be presented to district leadership for approval.
Overall, Braxton believes the technology will benefit students and their families.
“I see right now that artificial intelligence is another area where students will work in employment opportunities they never imagined,” he said.
