By John Fensterwald
EdSource

ChatGPT both awed and alarmed the computer savvy and the computer-phobic public when the encyclopedic chatbot debuted in November. Teachers worried about cheating, and parents feared the unknown.

The artificial intelligence software, which analyzes mammoth amounts of information from the internet, spits out impressive essays and logical answers to seemingly any question — even, on occasion, with undue confidence, as it miscalculated a math problem or made up an answer.

Sal Khan, founder and chief executive of the Mountain View-based nonprofit global classroom Khan Academy, envisions artificial intelligence as a powerful tool for learning and teaching. On the same day last week that the research lab OpenAI released GPT-4, which is an even more advanced version of ChatGPT, Khan introduced Khanmigo. It’s an application of GPT-4 that will be integrated into Khan Academy’s lessons and videos.

The timing wasn’t coincidental. Khan had been working for six months with OpenAI on the application, getting a sense of GPT-4’s possibilities, he said.

“We view it as our responsibility to start deeply working with artificial intelligence, but threading the needle so that we can maximize the benefits and mitigate the risks,” he said. “We think artificial intelligence needs to be a tool for real learning and not for cheating.”

Khan Academy offers free personalized learning where students can work at their own pace, a comprehensive set of pre-K through early college courses and programs on life skills. Its videos and prompts guide students through content that’s available in 50 languages. Tens of millions of students have used Khan Academy.

Khan said Khanmigo will act like a “virtual Socrates,” asking questions and coaxing answers, not giving them, suggesting how to create students’ essays, not writing them — just as a good tutor would, he said.

Studies point to “high-dosage tutoring” — face-to-face, in school, several times each week with the same tutor — as the most effective form of tutoring. But those tutors are hard to find and often expensive. Instead, many districts are relying on tutoring in after-school programs and through companies that offer tutoring by text or phone, more like homework help.

Khanmigo will work in real time in the classroom with students who are struggling, Khan said. Teachers who integrate Khan Academy will have a record of Khanmigo’s “conversations” with individual students and monitor their progress, Khan said. Parents will have full access to what students are working on at home, too.

Khanmigo will engage and captivate students in ways that haven’t been possible until developments in artificial intelligence in the last few years, Khan said. What’s available already hints at the potential, he said. Students can have conversations with presidents they’re studying in history class. Khanmigo will take the other side in debate exercises.

Over time, there will be a lot to offer teachers, from correcting papers to creating handouts and prompts for discussions. Khan Academy has been consulting with experienced teachers and content experts on an activity to develop lesson plans, “and it’s quite good,” Khan said.

The assistance will save teachers time so that they can spend more of the day focusing on their students.

To be clear, he said in announcing Khanmigo, this will be a “learning journey,” and “there is a long way to go. AI makes mistakes. Even the newest generation of AI can still make errors in math.”

That is why Khanmigo is rolling out slowly, as Khan and his team troubleshoot and build safeguards into the system, defining areas that are inappropriate and off-limits.

The first users have been a select group of students, teachers and funders. Soon Khanmigo will be open to the 500 school districts nationwide that have partnered with Khan Academy. In California, they include Atwater Elementary School District, Long Beach Unified and Compton Unified.

Khan is inviting individuals to join a waiting list and will let in several thousand in the coming weeks. Khan is charging them $20 per month to cover development expenses and OpenAI’s fees. The cost should come down substantially in coming months, and there’ll be no charge for low-income schools, he said.

Compton Superintendent Darin Brawley said Friday that high school grades hadn’t used Khan Academy since the start of the pandemic but the district is interested in learning more about its use of artificial intelligence in the classroom.

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By Olivia Wynkoop
Bay City News

In response to series of violent incidents that recently occurred on and off school campuses, the San Francisco Unified School District and city officials introduced a slew of proposals on Tuesday to mitigate youth violence in San Francisco.

Last week, the school district was hit with reports of a gun at a middle school campus and a stabbing at another.

And off campus — a 12-year-old was arrested last week for allegedly stabbing a 15-year-old highschooler on a MUNI bus, and police said they are adding more patrols at Stonestown Galleria on Monday after several large teen fights broke out at the mall.

“There are no excuses for violence, but there are steps we can take to prevent this kind of behavior from taking hold in our schools and our City,” said Mayor London Breed. “As City leaders, we are committed to working together with the School District to make sure our kids are safe and have the support they need, especially after the incredible strain on our young people caused by the last few years.”

The nine proposals released on Tuesday would beef up pre-existing city and school programs, like adding more MUNI transit ambassadors, expanding a school violence interrupter program to identify at-risk youth and coordinate rehabilitation programs for youth involved in crime in the city’s district attorney and public defender offices.

“As SFUSD’s superintendent and a parent, I recognize how challenging the last few weeks have been,” said Superintendent Matt Wayne. “I am grateful that SFUSD and City leaders have come together with a sense of urgency to find solutions, and deepen our partnerships so that we can better support SFUSD students and families.”

The school district also said it intends to improve mental health support, resource-sharing and coordination techniques in school violence incidents.

“Our youth are still recovering from the devastating effect of the pandemic, and we know that it will take the entire City family, which includes leveraging the expertise of our community-based organizations, to help them build up their social-emotional resilience,” said Dr. Maria Su, Executive Director of the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families.

The Richmond Standard

Fifty-eight students at Kennedy High were honored at their principal’s Top 10 Luncheon on Friday, March 10, for maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or above, according to the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD).

“Kennedy administrators set a goal to honor 10 students from each grade level who maintained a 4.0 GPA and above (Seniors), a 3.9 GPA and above (Juniors), and a 3.75 GPA and above (underclassmen),” district officials said.

During the event, students and their families enjoyed lunch and casual conversations with Principal Jarod M. Scott and guests in an informal setting, according to the WCCUSD.

Providing encouraging words for the students at the event were Superintendent Chris Hurst, Board Clerk Jamela Smith-Folds, Board Trustee Otheree Christian, Richmond Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin, and Pastor Dale Weatherspoon of Easter Hill Methodist Church in Richmond.

The recognized students include:

Class of 2023

• Benjamin Blanco Comparan
• Kaylie Chao
• Yolande Jovannie Evenga Melingui
• Olinda Figueredo
• Giancarlo Garcia Ayala
• Miguel Angel Gonzalez
• Alondra Bethsaida Gutierrez
• Dulce Yazmin Munoz Diaz
• Hector Daniel Munoz
• Citlali Oceguera Delgado
• Jose Perez
• Aaliyha Buenrostro Sandoval
• Maricela Taylor Ortiz

Class of 2024

• Saqr Abdo Ali
• Yunus Emre Altunsoy
• Anyeli Sucely Barrios Salazar
• Bradley Javier Cauich
• Aixa Diaz
• Luis Alexander Gonzalez Garcia
• Aaliyah Hanvey
• Aleks Victoria Haynes
• Diana Queene Nguyen
• Mark Anthony Perez Rodriguez
• Havana Veronica Noel Ramirez
• Naely Milena Sanchez
• Laiba Shahid
• Afnan Hugais
• Juan Cabrera

Class of 2025

• Asia Ramona Belcher
• Anyelin Azucena Duarte Vega
• Brandon Neftaley Duran
• Anthony Lee Escobar
• Jonathan Gamez
• Iyana Jane Lopez Lutche
• Lourdes Abigail Mendoza Ramos
• Crystal Perez
• Kate Elizabet Sandoval
• Angela Viridiana Mine Taylor Ortiz
• Daniela Esmeralda Valenzuela Aguilar

Class of 2026

• Keyla Ruby Arana
• Argad Fath Muharram
• Hershey Russell
• Cesar Alejandro Villa Perez
• Leslie Jane Beatrix Abair Alcantara
• Elias Eliseo Avalos Perdomo
• Ronaldo Cervantes
• Angie Yolie Esquivel Rodriguez
• Vincent Santiago Hernandez
• Samiah Suri Angel Gonzalez
• Erick Perez Rodriguez
• Yshmael Felipe Rodriguez
• Paola Sofia Serrano
• Marvin Gregory Singleton
• Pamela Hernandez
• Keilyn Pamela Membreno