AI use in schools and classrooms is booming as educators grapple with guidelines
AI use in the classroom is growing fast, even as educators are still grappling with what guidelines to set and enforce.
The Center for Democracy and Technology reported 85% of teachers and 86% of students used AI in the 2024-2025 school year; 54% of students reported using AI weekly, and 25% said they use it every day.
Amanda Bickerstaff, founder and CEO of AI for Education, joined CBS News Chicago to discuss some of the hottest topics around AI in the classroom, including whether it weakens important skill development in writing and reading comprehension and whether it's used for cheating.
She also weighs in on how AI can help teachers with productivity, and how school districts develop AI policies and guidelines.
AI for Education offers free online literacy courses for students and a guide for parents on their website.
Chicago Public Schools has its own set of guidelines and policies around AI, including to address the issue of cheating. CPS says teachers can use generative AI detection software to identify potential plagiarism and spot a student's AI-generated work.
But the same guidance warns teachers to use it with caution, because the guide says generative AI can produce false positives, incorrectly flag student work and disproportionately affect English-learners due to language differences.
CPS also says if teachers rely too much on this AI tool, it could lead to unfounded accusations against students.
Copyleaks is another AI detection software that is available to educators, and company founder and CEO Alon Yamin joined CBS News Chicago to speak about how her company works to prevent plagiarism, the different ways schools use AI detection software, how classrooms are adapting, and a recent lawsuit against Adelphi University in New York from a student who said he was falsely accused of using AI to plagiarize work. A court found Monday he did not use AI to cheat.