PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — While some teachers and school districts are pushing back against AI tools, others are using them to teach students.
Technology continues to expand and adapt, changing the way we go about our everyday lives.
“This technology is going to affect every field of study. There's no scientific or artistic field of human endeavor that is not going to be affected," John Licato, a computer science professor at the University of South Florida, said.
Licato said AI is slowly but surely being implemented into our everyday lives, so educators have the choice to embrace it or ban it.
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Joanne Glenn, the principal at Pasco County’s newest school, Angeline Academy of Innovation, said AI is the bleeding edge of innovation, and she wants her students to learn from it.
“We’ve made the decision to be curious and investigate and embrace AI because we feel it is our job to prepare our students for careers and post-secondary study," Glenn said.
She said they're building a pathway of courses to teach artificial intelligence. Glenn also explained that Pasco County will use AI tools in other avenues of study as well.
“I still believe that the human element is necessary to technology, at least right now, is only as smart as the people pushing the buttons. We're going to train our students to be able to use that technology the right way,” Glenn said.
While many are embracing AI tools, others are hung up on ChatGPT, an automated chat box that some students have used to cheat on assignments. The way it works is you can plug a prompt into the chatbox, and within seconds ChatGPT generates a full and competent response.
While Licato is on the side of embracing the tools, he said he thinks there are some settings where ChatGPT should be avoided.
“There are some limited environments where you do need to completely ban it, so you know, some intro writing courses,” Licato said.
However, Principal Glenn said they will teach students how to use ChatGPT the right way and use it to enhance learning.
“We feel the conversation around banning those tools feels a little tone-deaf. We want to make sure our students understand how and when it's appropriate,” Glenn said.
The Hillsborough County School District said ChatGPT is banned on their school devices. Other local districts didn't respond to our request for comment.