IT in Education and schools

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has captured the attention of the education community. Some educators are enamored with the opportunities to use GenAI to tackle long-standing issues and close opportunity gaps. Others focus on challenges caused by GenAI upending traditional learning structures, as well as concerns about academic integrity and inaccuracies of AI-Generated materials. Whether enthusiastic, circumspect, or somewhere in between, it is crucial for all educators to be equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in an AI-driven world. Most educators agree that students must develop critical AI skills, such as understanding what AI is, how it works, and how to use it to support learning (ISTE, 2024). This creates a particular urgency for Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) that are responsible for preparing next-generation teachers to effectively leverage GenAI and understand the implications for teaching and learning.

In the early days of GenAI, many elementary and secondary schools reacted by attempting to limit access to GenAI tools, often in the name of preventing cheating. However, much has changed in a short period of time. Education leaders now recognize that bans on GenAI are largely ineffective, often restrict access for those who can
least afford the technology, and may prevent students from developing critical skills (Jimenez, 2023). Additionally, survey data from Stanford shows no significant increase in student cheating since GenAI became widely available (Spector, 2023).

As experience with GenAI has grown, school leaders and educators have also become better equipped to assess its benefits and risks, leading to informed guidelines and policies that expand its use. As of 2023, over half of educators said they have used ChatGPT for educational purposes, and more than two-thirds agreed that AI integration would significantly benefit teaching (AmadoSalvatierra et al., 2023).

GenAI offers unprecedented capabilities that could disrupt current educational practices, expanding access to high-fidelity simulations, adaptive tutoring, and more personalized learning. As GenAI continues to evolve, to fully leverage these capabilities, education institutions must address issues of equity, bias, transparency, accuracy, user privacy, and a wide array of ethical questions.

Additionally, assessment practices will need to be updated, new digital literacies acquired, and norms established for appropriate GenAI use. EPPs face particular challenges, as teacher education
faculty must consider GenAI’s impact on their own teaching, as well as the rapidly changing school environments their students will enter. EPPs must work in tandem with their school partners to establish transformational GenAI practices in their programs.