MANSFIELD, Ohio — In a Mansfield classroom, early technological adaptation is welcome.
“It was important to me to dive into this, explore, see what it could do, what potential does it have,” explains Dan Jones, a middle school social studies teacher at the Richland School of Academic Arts.
Jones is at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) in the teaching process.
“When I first started working with AI in December of 2022, I knew it was going to change the entire landscape of the classroom,” Jones says.
Nearly two years later, Jones uses a digital platform, designed to resemble Netflix, to present lectures and content to his 7th and 8th graders. He also implemented a chatbot powered by educational tech company SchoolAI, specifically tailored for students.
“One of the things that makes SchoolAI different is that it reintroduces critical thinking into the AI process,” he explains.
Jones is part of the 18% of K-12 educators in the U.S. that research organization RAND found uses AI for teaching. He says the SchoolAI chatbot doesn’t just provide answers but gets students to respond too.
“It asks probing questions to get students to be reflective and to explore more deeply the content that's being covered,” he adds.
Seventh-grader Keymonty Brooks appreciates the responsiveness of SchoolAI, noting its non-judgmental approach and speed.
“It wouldn’t take as much time as a teacher would to answer your question,” Brooks says. “It won’t make fun of you if you misspell something.”
Jones says because the software gives him a level of control over the chatbot’s functionality, allowing him to program prompts, it ensures the AI does not do the work for students.
“All of a sudden, it takes the anxiety from the teacher's side of, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re just going to cheat,’” Jones explains. “It’s not going to write on their behalf. It will help them brainstorm, process information, and guide them through the writing process.”
Twelve-year-old Levi Rabquer used the chatbot to refine the summary paragraph he wrote for Jones’ course.
“I think it’s really cool that you’re talking to someone that’s not real,” Rabquer says. “It’s not a real person, it’s just online, everything. All you have to do is ask it a question and it could automatically give you multiple answers that you can pick from.”
As a published author who writes about AI in the classroom, Jones does not see AI replacing teachers on the horizon.
“A teacher is able to empathize and understand and give grace to a student who needs it. AI's not able to replicate that,” he shares. “A teacher doesn't have to worry that they're going to get replaced by AI, they might get replaced by someone who uses AI.”
But that may not happen soon. According to the 2024 Voice of the Superintendent Survey released earlier this year by education company EAB, 97% of school leaders surveyed across 39 states say that schools have an obligation to teach students how to use AI effectively and responsibly. However, only 37% have a plan to do so.
At the Richland School of Academic Arts, only eight of their teachers are using the SchoolAI program. As he recruits more of his colleagues into the artificial intelligence space, Jones says the school has established an AI policy that requires students to acknowledge when they have used the technology.
“Acknowledge when you have used it,” Jones says. “It’s not cheating unless you don’t claim it, and you claim its work as your own.”