Aug. 21—JEFFERSON — The Ashtabula County Technical and Career Campus (A-Tech) co-hosted a session with Kotran and aiEDU for staff to learn how to use Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Bard. Staff from other county schools also attended including Conneaut, Grand Valley, Jefferson, Pymatuning Valley, and the Educational Service Center.
“It’s bigger than the internet,” said Alex Kotran, CEO and co-founder of aiEDU, a non-profit that creates equitable learning experiences that build foundational AI literacy.
Kotran demonstrated how teachers can use the tools to develop lesson plans, and analyze content standards to meet the needs of specific groups of students. Marsha Croft, who teaches A-Tech’s computer science program at PV Middle School was impressed.
“When asking AI to do a task for your classroom, you can give it context, such as what grade you teach, the demographics of the grade, the length of the period, how many days you want the lesson to cover. You can ask it to differentiate and enrich lesson plans and tests. It is like having a hired classroom assistant,” she said.
Conneaut Middle School principal Jim Kennedy believes AI will have a positive impact on Education. “As educators we need to be prepared for the changes that AI is going to have on education. We need to prepare our students for the changing world and what careers will look like with the use of AI,” he said.
Kotran, who has appeared on CNBC, points out that while we are just getting started with the capabilities of AI, it won’t replace the human interaction that a teacher can provide.
“It’s not going to automate a teacher out of a job,” he said. “You have to be at the wheel.”
A-Tech superintendent Scott Wludyga saw Kotran at a forum this summer hosted by Lt Governor Jon Husted and OhioX and invited him to present at A-Tech. “Kotran is known across the nation for his work in AI and Education. We appreciate him sharing his expertise with us. We are striving to prepare our students for the future, and AI is an important tool they will need to succeed,” he said.
