Rochester CUSD has introduced its own form of AI, designed specifically for educators.

ROCHESTER, Ill. (WAND) - Artificial Intelligence is becoming more and more popular, and school districts are facing the choice to embrace it or remove it from schools.

Rochester CUSD 7th-12th-grade instructional coach Traci Johnson said teachers know many students are using artificial intelligence to cheat on assignments. They are trying to tackle this issue by introducing their own form of AI, designed specifically for educators. 

"We have to teach students the responsibility of thinking for yourself and make sure you are checking your sources no matter what the source is," Johnson said. "Instead of ignoring those and burying our heads in the sand, we are taking it head-on, we're being proactive, we're trying to teach them to be responsible." 

The district uses a program called Magic School AI. Unlike other AI models, Magic School keeps its data within a system. This means student responses or interactions are not being used to train or adjust future AI models. This also ensures the system is compliant with laws for student data. 

Teachers can use the program to design bots for certain projects or interactions. For example, one teacher at the district designed a bot that will help students look at the best evidence to pull from important documents to prove a point they are trying to make. 

By using AI, the kids get instant feedback and a personalized learning experience. Johnson said if a teacher were providing that alone, it would take days to support the students in that way. As AI continues to develop, the district will adjust its use of the technology. 

"We're going to have to be adaptive as we continue to move forward in the future, but with strong boundaries for its use and understanding of when it's appropriate and when it's not appropriate," said Jon Hansen, director of communications for Rochester CUSD. "We want our kids to be prepared for the future, and we want to develop a way to teach them how to use this tool that's going to help them excel in their in their chosen futures." 

Both Hansen and Johnson said their hope is that students are better equipped for the future as AI technology continues to develop. So far, the district has only introduced the AI software to kids in grades 7th and older. They spent $8,775 on the Magic School AI program. 

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