Schools adopting AI could see benefits (and more work)
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Schools are adding the "show your work" model to AI assignments, with new technology to track learning and prevent cheating.
Why it matters: Banning AI won't stop kids from using it, districts and experts say, but there are ways it can assist learning and track progress.
- In some cases, AI could result in more work for students and teachers who have to show and check work that was previously unassisted.
The big picture: Districts have been going digital for years, shifting to individual devices, online assignments and automated grading.
- Those devices, and the platforms districts rely on, are becoming integrated with the biggest names in AI.
State of play: Canvas, a learning management system used by more than 8,000 school clients, is testing tools that would have students do writing assignments aided by AI, tracking their inputs to test for "cognitive struggle" — aka problem solving.
- The platform already integrates with Google Workspace, which includes Google's Gemini, and Turnitin, a plagiarism detection tool that now has writing aids.
Between the lines: Anthropic's Claude is implementing an invisible watermark in its text, leaving a universal trail of breadcrumbs meant to prevent cheating.
- The in-house detection tool is still under development, although other AI detection tools already exist.
- Claude is rolling out additional Canvas integrations, pushing into the education field dominated by Gemini and Microsoft's Copilot.
What they're saying: It's less about "straight-up detection" and more about "how can we use AI to see a student's process?" says Melissa Loble, chief academic officer at Canvas' parent company, Instructure.
- She says AI prompts allow teachers to see a student's thoughts in a new way.
Reality check: Requiring students to show their aided thought process on written assignments will likely put a greater burden on teachers, who would have to read students' AI prompts in addition to their papers.
- Loble says Canvas is testing AI tools that will help teachers parse these prompts — essentially using AI to solve a problem caused by AI.
Yes, but: Integrating AI is up to the state, the district and sometimes the individual classroom, with some teachers choosing a more analog approach.
Zoom in: Metro districts including KCK, Park Hill and Ray-Pec have published plans on how AI should be implemented in classrooms.
Zoom out: The U.S. Department of Education said this month that new educational technologies should have "demonstrated learning outcomes and instructional value."
What we're watching: Whether the U.S. will come up with stricter AI education rules following the EU's AI Act, which required transparency measures starting in August.