Laura Lai details high school AI pilot selection criteria and rollout timeline
Laura Lai explains the pilot selection process: IRMA compliance, existing tool use in high schools, no gamification properties, no cognitive offloading, three categories of tools, application process for schools, and a target launch around November with a framework to be shared publicly.
No, that's fine.
Okay.
Do you want to jump?
Yeah.
Go ahead.
We hear you, and I'm going to ask one of our colleagues to come up and talk about the modules if you want some elucidation on that.
But I'll just talk about, I think we hear you on the frustration.
And we are working very hard right now on putting together the framework for those pilots that we are going to be more than happy to share.
The timeline right now, hopefully, to have something like that is over the next month.
And we're looking to be able to share that with you.
And have that ready to go soon.
Have you chosen the pilot schools yet?
No.
Okay, have the modules been rolled out?
No.
Okay, will the rubric and will exactly what you're looking for in this technology be rolled out before you start putting AI or more screens in front of our students?
Can we talk a little bit about the process for the criteria that was used around the five pilots so that you can kind of, that might help answer the question in case you would like to take us through?
Yeah, so,
We looked at many of the tools that are being used in
in high schools.
And again, I want to make it clear that broad-based use of artificial intelligence, student-facing generative artificial intelligence in high schools will no longer be allowed.
There are only three ways in which a New York City public school's high school student
could possibly engage with student-facing generative AI going forward.
One is for the AI literacy modules, which you referenced.
One is for the pilots, and the last one are for technology-based career readiness programs like CTE or other professional certification programs,
some of which may have a requirement for a student to use a tool with AI to receive that certification.
Those are the only three.
Sanctioned ways in which high school students going forward can engage with generative AI in classrooms.
With regard to the pilots, we went through a selection process to really identify the tools that would be involved in the pilots.
First, we wanted to make sure the tools were IRMA compliant.
Second, we looked at tool use across our high schools.
We wanted to engage with tools that at least several high schools had already used so that we would know that we had
A base of high schools that would be interested in doing a pilot.
Third, we looked at the tools to make sure that they did not have game-based properties, so we did not want any tools that had those features to them.
We also only wanted tools that allowed students to retain ownership of their thinking and work, so no cognitive offloading, no giving students answers to questions,
only tools that at most would prompt students to do more, to write more, to think more.
As I mentioned, there were three sort of buckets of tools we were looking for.
A tool that supported student writing, a tool that supported math, tools that helped teachers design customized solutions for
different learners in their classrooms, and the last was a project-based learning tool.
We used all of these criteria to identify the five AI tools that we're going to be piloting.
We're going to be rolling out shortly an application every high school.
I mentioned that a number of these tools are already in use in high schools, but we're going to offer the opportunity to be involved in a pilot to any high school.
We're going to...
look at, make sure we have good representation in terms of
geography and demographics, that we also have a commitment from these schools to do the work that's going to be involved in a pilot.
This is not going to be just like signing up for your subscription and turning it on.
This is going to be
Number one, partnering with us on data collection.
Number two, we didn't get into the specifics on this, but every high school student
who is actually involved in using AI at school is going to be required to take a long-form AI literacy class.
So every high school student is going to be required to take the short-form AI literacy class that we can go into a little bit more detail about.
But every high school that does a pilot is going to have to offer their students this 12- to 15-hour AI literacy course.
And then there's going to be some professional development involved as well for their teachers.
So this is a real commitment that schools are going to have to make to be involved in the pilot program.
And again, I just want to make it clear we're working on the high school application that we hope to roll out soon.
We're going to take some time to evaluate those applications to make sure that the schools have that commitment and that they meet the needs of the overall pilot.
process and then we're hopefully going to be able to launch those pilots sometime in the November-ish timeframe.
That's the goal that we have right now.
And as I said before, as soon as we get that framework for the pilot up and going, we're committed to sharing that.
Both with you and with the public to make sure that everyone understands the metrics that we're going to be using.