PLATTE COUNTY – It’s everywhere. In your phones, cameras, the internet, search engines, medical imaging equipment, a multitude of apps, and like it or not, it’s in the schools.
AI (artificial intelligence) has gained popularity in our culture as businesses and individuals have sought to make life easier or more efficient.
Whether you like it or not, AI is here to stay, but there are moral and ethical debates surrounding the technology which relies on its programmer set initial standards and parameters, and not everyone has the same standard. Not to mention, there are some AI programs that are self-learning. While some worry about the potential negative consequences the technology, others are staunch proponents.
The Wyoming School Board Association has been developing guidelines to recommend to schools as they embrace and integrate AI into the classrooms. In April, board members were made aware of draft policies being circulated by the WSBA.
“The use of AI is definitely becoming more and more prevalent. There are pieces that we can recognize from everyday life like auto-correct, or ad pop-ups – so the larger conversation is about how and what AI looks like in the education system,” Platte County School District No. 1 board member Dustin Kafka said. “To look at AI overall is overwhelming, however if it is viewed as a tool in the assistance of curriculum, or even in daily development of lesson plans it becomes less daunting. It could help in streamlining some processes.”
In March, PCSD No. 1 school board had a workshop to hear from technology director Ryan Gonzalez about AI programs available for teachers and students to use, such as Khanmigo. The board was given a demonstration of the difference in programs free for public use and a paid version which could be used by teachers to create lesson plans, or for students to have an AI tutor to help them understand a concept they may have been struggling with, or even to analyze data to suggest targeted interventions for teachers to utilize with their students.

It was emphasized, the teacher would need to review what the AI program produced to ensure it was fully accurate, but the technology absolutely has the potential to free up time for teachers, and possibly find gaps in students’ understanding of a subject.
Gonzalez said, “Platte 1 is excited with the possibilities that artificial intelligence tools may provide. AI offers a variety of benefits that can personalize education and empower educators… While AI adoption in K-12 education is still in its early stages, the potential benefits for students and teachers are undeniable. As technology continues to develop, we can expect to see AI play an even greater role in shaping the future of learning. However, effective implementation requires district policies and adequate staff training to ensure responsible use and maximize AI’s potential.”
Following the March workshop, PCSD No. 1 board member Diane Haroldson talked about a WSBA presentation about AI, which she said was “extremely insightful.”
“Because of the nature of AI, plagiarism is one of the biggest fears (which is likely already a problem with the internet in general) but there are so many benefits. It can both create efficiency and multiply time in the teacher’s hands. With the shortage of teachers, I feel it would be beneficial to use this technology, and in the future it could be imperative. A great amount of research is going into this subject at this time as to how to best implement it and we need to be at the cutting edge because whether we use it in our district or not, AI has become public domain, so our students will have access to it,” Haroldson said. “I don’t feel it’s time to run from this technology.”
A resource available to schoolboard members, “Ballotpedia” has several resources on the topic of AI, including “Hall Pass,” a newsletter focused on keeping board members around the country aware of “conversations driving school board politics and governance.”
Kafka shared with the Record-Times in mid-August, “The latest installment (Edition 121 Aug 7, 2024) has AI as the first three talking points...It is becoming more front and center of discussions around the nation.”
In July, Wyoming senator John Barrasso, with support from Wyoming senator Cynthia Lummis, has sponsored and supported legislation (American Voices in Federal Lands Act) to set guidelines guarding against the potential use of AI to influence the nation’s congress by foreign adversaries.
Earlier this month, administration and staff of Guernsey-Sunrise Schools received training from “Compass partners in learning” through a specialist out of Rapid City, South Dakota.
“There’s a lot of hesitation about AI in schools today. I think as an education system we [must] learn how to work with AI instead of trying to keep it out of schools completely – which I don’t think will be something we would be able to do,” assistant principal Jeremy Dietchman said. “Staff members that I visited with got a lot out of the training. [Some of them said] they enjoyed the different AI resources that were shared with them so they can do some exploring on their own and see what they can incorporate into their own classrooms. It reminds me a lot of when we teach students about what internet sources are reliable and which aren’t backed by credible information.”
“There are a lot of AI resources out there, and as a school we have to teach and learn along with our students on how we can use this new resource in an educational setting,” Dietchman said.
AI has been gaining more headlines in the news in Wyoming as well. An article by CJ Baker of the Powell Tribune in August revealed a Cody Enterprise reporter, Aaron Pelczar, resigned from the Enterprise with apologies after acknowledging he was writing articles utilizing an AI program, which “may have” fabricated quotes in the articles he had written. He had not revealed to his editor or publisher he was using AI to write the content he submitted. The publisher of the paper, Megan Barton, wrote an editorial in which she shared the newspaper relied on trust that their reporters are accurately presenting information, and was surprised when Pelczar was accused of mis-representing individuals through the quotes in his stories. The newspaper has since begun measures to identify AI-generated stories. “She described the AI-generated content as a ‘new, advanced form of plagiarism,’” Baker wrote.
“I think this will be a dynamic topic going forward. It is my opinion (and my opinion only), that AI will be a tool, and with correct use, could be of benefit. I just think it is so new to the general population and so new in schools, that the definition of correct use has yet to be determined,” Kafka said.