Denver Public Schools focusing on safety with artificial intelligence

As Colorado schools implement more artificial intelligence tools for teachers and students, Denver Public Schools is prioritizing safety with the programs it's using.

Kali Peracchia, a technology instructional coach with Denver Public Schools, said the district is using two main AI platforms right now — Canva , a content creation and multi-media platform, and MagicSchool which was created by a former Denver educator. It has education-specific tools like a family email generator or a text leveler, as well as a chatbot for students.

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“There are safe parameters so a student can’t ask any inappropriate questions,” Peracchia said, noting that a teacher can program parameters for the chatbot.

The programs DPS is using protect data privacy and student confidentiality, Peracchia said. As the district implements more AI in classrooms, she said the hope is to enhance what students are already doing and save teachers time and resources. For example, a program called Packback uses artificial intelligence to give students feedback on their writing.

“A teacher will program a rubric that’s targeted to their learning standards and once 20 or more words are put in students are getting live assessed and getting tips on how to improve their writing,” Peracchia said.

DPS has trained 1,200 teachers on AI literacy in the last year and plans to launch a student advisory council for AI at South High School this fall to allow students to provide feedback on how they’re using AI.

The Colorado Education Initiative has also launched a Roadmap for AI in K-12 Education with guidelines for schools and districts implementing artificial intelligence.

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