Artificial Intelligence is used in sites such as Google and Quizlet, which aren’t blocked by Rockwood. Even some teachers have started using AI tools. Because of the integration of AI into websites, Rockwood has begun to adjust their policy on the use of AI in school.

Rockwood Chief Information Officer Bob Deneau said when ChatGPT was originally released, it had 18+ age restrictions which made blocking it an easy decision.

“When it initially came out, [we knew] we were not going to allow it,” Deneau said. “They have since changed [the age restrictions] so the first thing we needed to do was to work with our staff.”

During his time working with Rockwood, Deneau said predictive AI has been around for years, while generative AI has had a more recent rise in popularity.

Because of the increase in generative AI, Rockwood decided to take a staff-first approach. They held workshops over the summer for staff to learn about how to use AI and presented to the Rockwood Learning Council, a group of teachers and administrators.

“We worked with them twice. We’ve been focusing on making sure they know how to use it, what it is and now we’re shifting our focus,” Deneau said.

The district is figuring out how to make AI accessible to students in a responsible way. Deneau said that the reality is, students are using it, so now the point is to find the benefits, the risks and the best way to teach students about both of them.