For the first time ever, South Windsor teachers and students will have access to a new AI (artificial intelligence) platform in school called "Magic School."
It’s a platform that teachers and students in "AI squads" tested during the last school year before rolling it out to everyone this school year.
It is like ChatGPT, but it has stricter privacy standards and allows the teachers to have complete control over which tools students can and can’t use.
“With any emerging technology the first thing I do is I use it to substitute with what I was already doing. But the cool stuff is when it's redefining what we're doing in the classroom,” said Ed Duclos, the tech coach at South Windsor High School.
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When OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT in 2022, school districts across the country tried to shut it down, but not South Windsor, according to Duclos. South Windsor’s tech team and administrators instead started exploring it.
With Magic School, Duclos said, the possibilities are endless. Students could use the student version ‘Magic Student’ as a tutor, to gain a deeper understanding of the material.
Duclos said an example would be, “I just gave you a lot of new information and stuff, and I'm sure a lot of it didn't resonate with you. Some of it, I know you had a question, but you didn't want to ask it in class. I'm going to open up the AI bot tonight, so tutor. And then the student can go back in any time. It's (a) 24/7 assistant. Can you re-teach me this? Or can you actually explain this? Can you give me some ideas? Can you test me on this? I mean, if a student has that one-on-one with an AI bot, then goes back into the classroom, think about the possibilities there,” Duclos said.
Teachers could also use it to help individualize the instruction. Both scenarios could potentially lead to a better educational experience, Duclos said.
This technology is so new though, that it will be incumbent upon the staff and students to continue the conversation and share what they find to be successful.
“One of the things that I have utmost belief in is that we as a staff here are going to be able to figure things out, thoughtful individuals looking at what works and what doesn't work,” said Duclos.
There is of course a concern over AI being misused to create fake content, like deep fakes, or plagiarism. But that is why, Duclos argues, AI should be introduced in a school setting.
“It's the opportunity to teach responsible use and ethical use of these AI tools. That should be in the school system. It shouldn't be out there and students trying to figure it out for themselves,” said Duclos.
