{"id":861,"date":"2025-01-31T18:31:04","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T18:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/ai\/?p=861"},"modified":"2025-03-06T15:09:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T15:09:19","slug":"from-ch-ai-brews-ai-in-k-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/ai\/2025\/01\/31\/from-ch-ai-brews-ai-in-k-12\/","title":{"rendered":"CH-AI Brews Hot Take: AI in K-12"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is Artificial Intelligence coming for your children\u2019s schools or here to assist?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The director of innovation and fine arts for Hamilton County Schools knows something about that, and he shared his thoughts during an episode of CH-AI Brews, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga student-led podcast for the University\u2019s AI Initiative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy generation\u2019s first interaction with AI comes from The Terminator <\/em>movies, where AI has taken over the world, but our students are ready to cannonball into AI,\u201d said Grant Knowles, also a parent of middle and elementary school students. \u201cAs digital natives, (AI) was something they felt kind of inherently comfortable with, whereas there\u2019s been a little bit uncertainty and discomfort with some of the teachers.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, the Tennessee legislature acted to require K-12 public schools to have a policy in place pertaining to AI. Knowles and his team have \u201ca fully board-approved policy and that goes through the recommendation process from us as the district and then it\u2019s the Hamilton County School Board. They are the folks who then vote on that and pass it, so we do have a fully active, approved AI policy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowles said the Hamilton County Schools Office of Innovation\u2019s design principles serve as a filter in the progression AI has initiated. First, the emphasis is on ensuring the use of AI is equitable.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot just for the students who are getting further ahead, but really looking intentionally and by design to be able to help close gaps, personalize education, mentoring, things like that,\u201d Knowqles said. He added that he believes AI gives education a chance to catch up in areas that don\u2019t get the attention they deserve.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Grant Knowles, Hamilton County Schools Director of Innovation and Fine Arts, left, with UTC’s Daniel Duggin in the podcast studio.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to be really clear: We\u2019re not looking to replace teachers with AI. What we want to do is try to make sure that the teachers get to steer more into their strengths as teachers and less on the administrative piece,\u201d Knowles said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to a concern among some that AI will encourage laziness among students who will harness its creativity more than their own, Knowles said the Office of Innovation seeks \u201cto use AI as a tool to increase creativity and originality, not to replace that.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protecting staff and student data also is a priority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be clear, we\u2019re steering into a lot of things that are already in place, like FERPA (federal education rights and privacy act) rights and things like that,\u201d Knowles said. \u201cWe just want to make sure that no identifying information for students or teachers gets put out into the broader internet and world.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowles said he also aims to incorporate AI in a way that will serve teachers, not limit them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do is get more information to teachers faster so they can respond to student needs in a more personalized way,\u201d enabling more personalization in the classroom, he said. \u201cWe have a whole department that\u2019s dedicated to gap closure, and so they really support a lot of the students who need a little bit of additional instruction.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve steered into an AI-driven tutoring tool that helps provide personalized leveling for students. You can see the teacher acting as a facilitator and that platform allows the teacher to get quick feedback and be able to connect with students on a faster, more personalized level.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plans also include an initiative to create a sense of engagement with the community with AI-led translation, whether through voice-to-voice interaction or with videos. Knowles said this aspect of AI can greatly improve relationships between teachers and students, but only if teachers are equipped with the right AI skills and knowledge.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour job is not going to be replaced by AI; however, the person that can use AI and leverage it really well to be four or five times more effective is a person that\u2019s going to be most competitive,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat I think is the most important piece here is to be mindful as teachers that we need to be lifelong learners as well.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowles said information shared within the school system has taken into account the concern among some about AI-initiated change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe communication we\u2019ve shared from the very first is we want to make sure we\u2019re safeguarding our students. That\u2019s first and foremost for us,\u201d said Knowles, also a former classroom teacher. \u201cI always said to my students in the classroom, \u2018My No. 1 job is to keep you safe, to make sure you\u2019re learning, but safety comes first.\u2019 \u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Listen to the entire CH-AI Brews episode featuring Knowles in conversation with UTC\u2019s Daniel Duggin, a UTC computer science graduate student, on Spotify,<\/a> where you can also follow the series. CH-AI Brews also is on Apple podcasts, and excerpts of season 2 episodes air on WUTC-FM 88.1<\/a> on Mondays.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is Artificial Intelligence coming for your children\u2019s schools or here to assist?   The director of innovation and fine arts for Hamilton County Schools knows something about that, and he shared his thoughts during an episode of CH-AI Brews, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga student-led podcast for the University\u2019s AI Initiative.  \u201cMy generation\u2019s first… <\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2013,"featured_media":862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,19,21],"tags":[34,78,79,46,81,30,135,69,72],"class_list":{"0":"post-861","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-classroom","8":"category-community","9":"category-podcasts","10":"tag-ai","11":"tag-ai-classroom","12":"tag-ai-innovation","13":"tag-ai-skills","14":"tag-ai-teaching","15":"tag-artificial-intelligence","16":"tag-classroom-technology","17":"tag-innovation","18":"tag-podcasting","19":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nCH-AI Brews Hot Take: AI in K-12 - 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