What the Heck Do We Do Next? Part 1
"Embracing AI in Education: One School’s Journey," Guest Post by Brenda Brusegard
Nick’s Introduction
I’m excited to introduce the first post in a new series called What the Heck Do We Do Next? This series stems from an urgent need to address the growing divide in education around AI integration and implementation. As AI rapidly transforms the classroom landscape, educators are left asking fundamental questions:
Should we keep pushing forward, integrating AI more deeply into our classrooms, despite the trajectory being driven by tech companies that may not fully understand or address the ethical and practical complexities?
Should we attempt to rewind the clock and run our schools as if these technologies do not exist, and hope our traditional methods are able to still engage students and authentically assess their knowledge and skills?
Or, should we pause and wait for more reliable research and better tools before committing to either pathway wholeheartedly?
In other words, what the heck do we do next?
I’ve seen this division firsthand in my own classroom, and while I’ll continue to share insights from those experiences, I don’t presume to speak for education as a whole.
That’s why, to better serve our Educating AI community—which now includes a diverse network of educators, administrators, and researchers—I’ll be inviting a range of voices to contribute to this ongoing conversation. By bringing in perspectives from K-12 and university educators, tech administrators, and school leaders, we’ll explore the tentative steps, missteps, and potential breakthroughs in AI’s role in education. Together, we aim to create a space where real-world experiences can inform how we think about, implement, and potentially reshape education in light of AI.
Today, I’m thrilled to kick off the series with an article by my recent connection, Brenda Brusgard, who shares her journey from librarian to tech administrator during the AI crisis of 2023. Her school’s innovative use of PowerNotes—a tool that monitors text origins—offers valuable lessons on transparency and integrity in AI use.
Open Invitation to Collaborate with Educating AI
Feel free to reach out with a contribution idea for the What the Heck Do We Do Next? series if the spirit moves you!
I’m also working on a longer article about AI tech access, safety, and equity. If you're a current head of school, principal, or tech administrator and wouldn't mind a 20-30 minute interview, let me know. This is another community-driven initiative that will evolve into a shared resource to help others integrate AI tools safely and shape policies accordingly. Send me a DM or an email: potkalitsky@gmail.com.
Join the Pragmatic AI Community, an Extension of the Educating AI Network
Before diving in, I encourage you to check out the Pragmatic AI Community for free resources, webinars, and training modules designed to bring real-world AI solutions to your classrooms. Joining comes with a free guide, Mastering AI-Powered Writing, and two cornerstone courses to accelerate AI literacy.
Click here to explore and share with your networks—our community thrives on your engagement!
And now for Brenda’s contribution!!!
Embracing AI in Education: One School’s Journey
As a librarian and former science teacher, I've always been passionate about integrating technology into education. Over the past couple of years, my school has embarked on a journey to understand and responsibly integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into our educational practices. I invite you to take a look at our experiences, challenges, and the lessons we’ve learned along the way.
The Beginning: Navigating the Unknown
Our journey with AI began in January 2023, when we found ourselves in what can only be described as survival mode. The rapid advancements in AI, particularly with tools like ChatGPT, brought excitement and apprehension. We were struggling with a fundamental question: How can AI be used ethically and effectively in our classrooms?
Initially, our stance was cautious. We decided that students should not use AI tools, reflecting the widespread concerns about academic integrity. However, this position evolved as we began to better understand the potential of AI. By March 2023, we needed to update our statement on AI use because the International Baccalaureate (which my school was a member of) came out with a statement that said the use of AI tools was allowed as long as students gave acknowledgment. We updated our policy to allow AI use with proper citation. However, at the time, ChatGPT could not be used by students under 18 years old.
Experimentation and Adaptation: Finding Our Footing
As 2023 progressed, our school’s relationship with AI continued to evolve. By April, we updated our position again, allowing AI use with citations, as long as students ages 13 and older had parental permission. However, the journey wasn’t without its challenges. Teachers struggled with the ethical implications of AI use, and the time-consuming nature of investigating AI-generated work led to frustration.
If a teacher suspected AI misuse, there were many steps involved. These steps included: asking for editing rights on a Google Doc so that Draftback could be run in order to see how and when the document was edited. The teacher had to analyze the document creation: were large chunks of text dropped in? Was the document created at the last minute? Did the typing seem robotic? All of the analysis was done “by hand”. No red flags or easy to see graphs were created to speed up the process, and this was all done individually.
If a teacher saw some red flags, it was time to discuss it with the student. We encouraged teachers not to accuse the student of AI misuse because this will cause the student to shut down. Instead, we encouraged an open conversation about the work turned in. Asking clarifying questions about their work and where their ideas came from and having them explain the ideas in the paper. If the student didn’t have answers, it became clear that it wasn’t their work.
To support our teachers, we explored various tools to help integrate AI into our educational practices. We subscribed to Turnitin’s AI detection tool, but it seemed to cause more problems than it solved. How much AI was acceptable? Could we trust the AI detection results? What do we do if we need to investigate a student’s work?
We began pilot projects. One platform was Flint K12 for AI tutoring. Teachers could create assignments inside of the Flint platform, and the students would have discussions with an AI bot. An example of an assignment was one teacher who uploaded a restaurant menu in Spanish. The students needed to order food and go through a whole meal of service in Spanish. The teacher decided it was a speaking task (although it could have been a written task). The pilot adoption was slow, with only a few teachers fully embracing the new tools. We learned that pilots of tools that work outside of our LMS will be much harder to get teachers to use. Teachers are busy, and they want tools that integrate and make things easier. They don’t want to think about something outside of the dozens of platforms they are already using.
Turning Point: The PowerNotes+ Pilot
By May 2024, we initiated a pilot project with PowerNotes+, a tool designed to manage research and guide AI use. This marked a significant turning point. Unlike previous tools, PowerNotes+ integrated into existing workflows, offering transparency and accountability in AI usage. It allowed teachers to track how students used AI in their assignments, which greatly reduced the time spent on investigations and increased trust in the process. Students could interact with AI in the platform, and the teachers were able to see these interactions. If the student used any of the outputs while composing their assignment, the teacher could see the original AI output and how the student edited it.
Teachers appreciated that PowerNotes+ helped reduce their workload rather than add to it, which led to wider acceptance. Because the use of AI was transparent, the long hours of investigation went away. The platform's ability to highlight AI-generated content and provide detailed activity logs was particularly useful, making it easier for teachers to ensure that students were contributing their own ideas alongside AI-assisted work.
Teachers also felt more confident because they were able to catch students who were falling behind much faster than waiting until the assignment was due. PowerNotes+ has an insight tool in which the teacher can set goals for students including active work time. It was easy to see how much time students spent on their assignments and if someone was not keeping up with the pace of the rest of the class.
Looking Forward: Building on Our Experience
As we move forward, our focus is on refining our AI policies and expanding the use of successful tools like PowerNotes+ across more grade levels. We’re committed to continuing our training programs for both students and teachers, emphasizing the importance of understanding how AI works and its ethical implications. In addition to monitoring student use, we have also made it clear that teachers also need to be transparent about their use of AI. Did the teacher use AI to create a presentation? Or the lesson plan? Or to give feedback on student work? If AI was used by the teacher, when and how much AI was used? Did the teacher use it for initial feedback and then add to it? If we expect the students to be transparent about their use of AI, we as teachers also need to be transparent.
Our journey with AI has taught us that while the technology is powerful, it’s the thoughtful integration and ongoing support that truly makes a difference in the classroom. We’ve come a long way from the uncertainty of our early days, and we’re excited to see where this path leads us next.
Brenda Brusegard is a Librarian who has spent the last 6 years at Oberoi International School in Mumbai, India.
Check out some of my favorite Substacks:
Terry Underwood’s Learning to Read, Reading to Learn: The most penetrating investigation of the intersections between compositional theory, literacy studies, and AI on the internet!!!
Suzi’s When Life Gives You AI: An cutting-edge exploration of the intersection among computer science, neuroscience, and philosophy
Alejandro Piad Morffis’s Mostly Harmless Ideas: Unmatched investigations into coding, machine learning, computational theory, and practical AI applications
Amrita Roy’s The Pragmatic Optimist: My favorite Substack that focuses on economics and market trends.
Michael Woudenberg’s Polymathic Being: Polymathic wisdom brought to you every Sunday morning with your first cup of coffee
Rob Nelson’s AI Log: Incredibly deep and insightful essay about AI’s impact on higher ed, society, and culture.
Michael Spencer’s AI Supremacy: The most comprehensive and current analysis of AI news and trends, featuring numerous intriguing guest posts
Daniel Bashir’s The Gradient Podcast: The top interviews with leading AI experts, researchers, developers, and linguists.
Daniel Nest’s Why Try AI?: The most amazing updates on AI tools and techniques
Riccardo Vocca’s The Intelligent Friend: An intriguing examination of the diverse ways AI is transforming our lives and the world around us.
Jason Gulya’s The AI Edventure: An important exploration of cutting edge innovations in AI-responsive curriculum and pedagogy.
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This was really nice to see a pragmatic and practical approach to AI integration.