What happens when the question is no longer “Should we use AI?”—but instead, “What new kinds of learning should we be designing—learning that only humans can shape, feel, and experience?”
Roberto Vargas, Distinctive Schools Managing Director of IT & Data Systems, alongside Jessica Paulsen, President of Innovation & Impact at LEAP Innovations, discussed exactly this on a recent AmpED to 11 podcast. Over the last few years, the use and development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has exponentially grown at lightning speed, bringing with it the opportunity for a transformation like a series of industrial revolutions, the introduction of the telephone, the computer and the internet—all at once. While the pace of AI implementation and experimentation is moving beyond record speed, at Distinctive Schools our approach to AI remains human and student centered. We are building and designing thoughtfully, probing for the human-centered experience: How might we utilize AI to make school better for learners? For teachers? For our communities?
Nearly three years ago, as we started exploring AI capabilities, we recognized the opportunity for transformation that AI could—and would—have in our classrooms. As Roberto and Jessica make clear in the podcast, this moment is not about tools—it’s about a fundamental redesign of learning. AI is an arrival technology; it entered classrooms before there was a carefully crafted implementation plan or an edtech partnership agreement with a strategic rollout. We started in conversation with our students so that this fall when we launched network-wide AI guidance, our learners’, educators’, and leaders’ voices were clearly centered in the work. Intentionally named a Playbook, our goal is to support and drive innovation across the organization in safe, sustainable ways. The introduction names, "Our vision is clear: to prepare students to lead, create, and thrive in a future shaped by artificial intelligence." We see the ways AI is already re-writing the future and our goal for our learners is to be creators, not consumers of AI.
"I want folks to really understand that there's a boundless potential for AI to make schools the most interesting place for kids—somewhere they absolutely want to be," Roberto shared. "There are so many tools being designed right now that allow teachers to hold kids to their highest standards, challenge them, and motivate them to learn what they truly need."
One of the AI-powered pilots we launched this year involves using tools like NotebookLM and Google Gemini to efficiently synthesize data sets. Every student has a learner profile—a tool to help teachers and learners identify and more deeply understand student strengths, needs, and interests. Building strong relationships and knowing our students as individuals and learners is vital to the mission of Distinctive Schools. Our ultimate goal with AI-powered learner profiles is to personalize learning in service of better student outcomes. This means more engaging assignments, more opportunities for students to bring their lived experiences to the classroom, and more time for teachers to spend on what really matters most—providing an exceptional learning experience for all learners.
Roberto asked Amped to 11 podcast hosts Brett Roer and Rebecca Bultsma, “If AI can already handle the tasks schools traditionally assign, what new kinds of learning should we be designing that AI can't replace, but can amplify? How do we help teachers make that shift without adding to their workload?” These are the questions we are grappling with at Distinctive Schools; AI is a powerful tool, but it can never replace the heart of a teacher or the lived experience of a student.
Learn more about how we’re taking a human-centered approach to AI in the full episode—#26: What Only Humans Can Teach – AmpED to 11.