NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro Nashville Public Schools is starting the school year with a new artificial intelligence policy.
A new law in Tennessee requires all school boards to adopt policies regarding how students and faculty can use artificial intelligence.
The policy allows students and teachers to use the graphic design tool Canva, and also allows teachers to use Microsoft Copilot, which MNPS says is safer than other AI software, while still using ChatGPT.
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The guidelines also emphasize transparency, requiring school principals to review their AI policies annually, provide updated information to student families about which programs are available, and post a list of approved AI programs on their school websites.
The rules also allow faculty and staff to request the use of AI programs that they believe would benefit their students.
“I think these policies are a really good step in the right direction to adapt and grow with changing technology,” said Renee Karns, a high school teacher at MNPS.
Kearns said if schools choose to ignore artificial intelligence, he would be more concerned about the future of education in the age of artificial intelligence. “I think the capabilities are really incredible. Just like when the calculator was invented, people were really scared that it would take away kids’ basic math knowledge. But without the calculator, you wouldn’t have calculus.”
She said artificial intelligence has already changed the way she assigns tasks to students. [students] It’s like, ‘Here’s a tool, and the only way to abuse it is to write everything by hand, and I know you don’t want to do that.'”
She said that at the beginning of the year, she had her students write many of their assignments by hand so she could better understand their opinions and writing style.
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Kearns explained that this strategy would make it easier to detect if a student was using ChatGPT or another program to cheat on a digital assignment.
But Karns would like to see MNPS continue to embrace AI, give teachers access to programs that can help detect plagiarism, and further educate teachers and staff on AI best practices so students can be better prepared for the future.
