Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how some Colorado students learn. Is your school on the cutting edge?

 

Plus: Your weekly list of arts and culture events. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Add newsletters@cpr.org to your contacts. By Lauren Antonoff Hart lantonoffhart@cpr.org Happy Thursday, Lookout-ers. I hope you're out there enjoying the longer days and warmer weather. As I write this, I'm listening to a bird conversation. One is chirping in my back yard and another is responding in my front yard. It's delightful. Paying attention to the natural world always helps me feel grounded. It's easy to worry about big things, like the cost of living in Colorado. And small things, like the infuriating ski traffic on I-70. But sometimes, there's nothing left to do except open the windows and enjoy the sounds of springtime. Now, on to the news. ​​​​​​ If you got The Lookout from a friend, sign up to get your own. Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how some Colorado students learn. Is your school on the cutting edge? Model figurines and cars are part of sophomore Victor Osymyan’s demonstration of an image recognition program using AI at the St. Vrain Valley School District’s Innovation Center on March 5, 2024. (Jenny Brundin/CPR News) When artificial intelligence came on the scene, Colorado’s school districts tended to fall into three buckets. Some immediately banned any use of it. The vast majority seemed interested — but too bogged down in other challenges.  A couple of districts blasted out of the gates trying to teach their students about AI — like St. Vrain. Teenagers already tend to know more about AI than adults, even if just for things like altering their image to look like a cute animal. Students are getting the message online that this technology will change the way we live and the world of work.  “And then they walk into school and we tell them, ‘Whatever you do, don't use this,’” said Rebecca Holmes, CEO and president of the Colorado Education Initiative, which has created a task force to help districts incorporate AI. “It’s just cognitive dissonance to the teenage brain. It’s the kind of eye roll from teenagers that we should really pay attention to because they're right.” Read the full story here. CPR needs you in order to provide the timely, fact-based news you read in the Lookout each morning. Show your commitment to independent journalism by making a donation today.   DONATE