The local school board is debating whether to prohibit students’ use of artificial intelligence in the classroom or incorporate it into the curriculum.

Proponents say AI is becoming ubiquitous and that tomorrow’s workforce must be proficient at using it. Others worry about AI’s tendency to provide false or misleading information, along with its potential impact on student learning and critical thinking.

At its meeting on Jan. 23, the Maine School Administrative District 75 Board of Directors voted to accept the first reading of a draft policy on AI usage in the classroom. The district includes Harpswell, Topsham, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham.

The proposed policy, which is still undergoing revisions, would apply to all district students and personnel. It would establish guidelines for the “appropriate, ethical, and safe use” of AI tools.

For example, one provision says: “AI will be used ethically to support student learning and will be used by students in a manner that ensures the integrity of their work and is appropriately cited.”

Another provision says: “Staff will receive appropriate training before implementing AI tools in the learning environment to foster responsible and pedagogically sound usage.”

The draft policy is a product of SAD 75’s recently formed Personal Technology Study Group, composed of school board members and staff. Board Chairperson Amy Spelke, of Topsham, said she expects the policy to undergo “significant changes” in committee before coming back to the full school board for adoption.

This illustration was produced with DALL-E 3, OpenAI’s latest artificial intelligence-driven image generator, using the prompt: “A child sitting in a classroom using AI tools for education.” The local school board is debating whether to prohibit students’ use of AI or bring it into the classroom. Courtesy of the Harpswell Anchor

AI anxiety

During the board’s discussion, some members voiced their unease with the draft policy and questioned whether the district should permit even supervised use of AI tools. They included Harpswell board member Frank Wright, who said he has “fundamental” issues with the tendency of such tools to generate false information.

“I don’t like … the possibility of alternative facts entering into the education of our children, and that is a major concern for me,” Wright said. “It’s not about cheating … it’s about the fact that lies can enter in that can warp an education.”

Topsham board member Holly Cavna said she uses AI at work and finds it helpful for reviewing human-written text to ensure it is clear and concise. However, she fears students using AI as a personal tutor or study aid could stifle their learning and creativity.

“I’m very concerned that it’s a slippery slope,” Cavna said. “There are so many things that are going to be out of our control that I’m not ready to move forward at this point.”

Some board members raised concerns that classroom AI tools could harvest student data, violating kids’ privacy. But Bowdoinham board member Hutson Hayward noted that similar risks exist with all digital products the district uses.

“Speaking for myself, I’m less concerned about an AI service harvesting our data, because it’s the same risk for all these services,” he said, adding that SAD 75’s technology director, Nicholas Riggie, works to mitigate privacy issues.

Harpswell board member William “Bart” Beattie suggested that the district might consider purchasing special software that monitors what students input into classroom AI tools to protect their privacy.

The district’s staff is “pretty hungry” to get an AI policy in place, Hayward said. Some other Maine school districts are already setting policy and incorporating approved AI learning tools into their curriculums.

Bowdoin board member Jim Moulton agreed there is an urgent need for the district to adopt a policy on AI usage. He favors implementing one that focuses on using AI responsibly, not trying to stifle its use.

Moulton acknowledged that some students may use the technology to cheat, and he said the draft policy’s prohibition on “use of generative AI for coursework without teacher permission and guidance” would be unenforceable.

Moulton said schools in Yarmouth are already using software called MagicSchool AI, which provides AI-driven learning tools designed for K-12 schools. He didn’t call for SAD 75 to immediately adopt such a tool but suggested the district might confer with Yarmouth officials for insights and advice.

Harpswell board member Gregory Greenleaf noted that tools such as MagicSchool are designed not to allow the types of AI interaction that might cause students harm.

“It’s not like going onto ChatGPT and it’s wide open,” Greenleaf said. “If I said, ‘Hey, please build me a bomb,’ it won’t go there. They’re built for school; they’re built for students.”

Magical technology?

MagicSchool and similar AI products are a godsend for overworked teachers and a boon to students, according to some customers and experts. But there are a few caveats.

The platforms enable educators to input general lesson concepts and instantly receive detailed, customized lesson plans, complete with well-researched talking points and suggested activities designed to engage students. They promise to reduce the “grunt work” of teaching, allowing educators to focus more on direct interaction with kids.

Various AI tools can generate new text, images, music and even short video clips. STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education expert Justin Dimmel said even with the need to fact-check, there are tremendous educational benefits to be had from the technology.

Dimmel, a University of Maine researcher, co-authored a 2023 study with colleague Izge Bayyurt that explores how AI language models such as ChatGPT can assist with research and learning in mathematics education. The study, “Rise of the Machines: Navigating the Opportunities and Challenges of AI-Assisted Research and Learning,” was presented at an academic conference on mathematics education and published as part of its official proceedings.

The paper examines AI’s potential to enhance student engagement, personalize learning and support educators. It also highlights challenges, including AI’s tendency to “hallucinate,” and the need for careful integration into academic work to make sure it supports learning rather than undermining it.

Dimmel said language models such as ChatGPT are “very effective mimics” that can produce highly accurate and detailed writing on virtually any topic despite not knowing what they are saying.

“It’s a writing machine, not a thinking machine,” he said in an interview.

The “thorniest problem” educators must face when incorporating AI into classrooms is how to persuade kids not to simply let it do all their work for them, Dimmel said.

“How are you supposed to convince the child not to use these tools that can write their essay in milliseconds?” he said. “How do you actually convince them that there is still value in thinking and learning how to write and doing all of that stuff that you’re supposed to do that (we did) when we were growing up and didn’t have access to those technologies?”

Harpswell Anchor reporter J. Craig Anderson is a veteran journalist whose work has earned state, regional and national awards. Please send comments or news tips to craig@harpswellanchor.org.