MANAGING THE HYPE

Tech leader shares AI insight

Michelle Bourgeois is the Chief Technology Officer at St. Vrain Valley Schools, located in the seventh largest district in Colorado. With a career defined by leading through learning and a passion for igniting innovation through delight, Michelle embodies the spirit of curiosity and continuous improvement. She approaches life and her work with the belief in “wondering my way through the world one question at a time,” making her a life-long learner and an influential figure in the realms of Professional Development, IT, and Education.

Michelle leverages her extensive experience in strategic planning, project management, mentoring, coaching, and teaching to elevate teams to their highest potential. Her contributions have not gone unnoticed, as evidenced by her recognition as a Top 30 Influencer by EdTechK12 magazine in 2022, along with numerous other accolades including the prestigious Apple Distinguished Educator Award and the Colorado Technology Association CIO of the Year.

Michelle shares her insights on the impact of AI on education and procurement, offering thoughtful and meaningful advice that reflects her deep understanding and visionary approach. 

How do you see Artificial Intelligence shaping the future of procurement in K-12 education over the next decade?

When considering Artificial Intelligence in procurement, IT leaders should be mindful of key factors during future contract negotiations and adoption phases, particularly when the products incorporate AI functionality.

The current hype cycle around AI has seen many vendors touting its functionality in their product offerings. My role is to ensure the potential rewards are backed by a solid foundation of functionality and security by asking questions such as: 

• How was your AI model trained and what data sources were used?
• Are we able to “tune” or train the model to our specific use cases and data sets? 
• Will our data be used for training future models?
• What security measures will you use to protect our data?
• How will you remain aware of and in compliance with local, state and federal regulations around AI?

Can you describe some of the AI-driven tools currently being used in classrooms and how they are enhancing educational outcomes for students?

Time is incredibly valuable for teachers, and any tool that reduces time spent on routine tasks can give them more time for instruction. One practical use of AI tools, like Google’s Gemini, is to assist in lesson planning. For example, a teacher might input the week’s vocabulary words into the AI and request a 100-word story at a third-grade level, incorporating specific interests such as dinosaurs and potato chips. This approach not only streamlines lesson preparation but also engages students with tailored, creative content.

One of the most interesting ways I’ve observed the use of AI is as a thought partner. In preparing for an upcoming difficult conversation with a parent, one of our administrators asked an AI model to role play the conversation with him—first asking that the AI respond as a parent who was approaching the conversation as an ally and another as if the parent were in opposition. It readied him for a productive conversation and allowed him to explore different ways of approaching the issues.

In what ways has the introduction of AI tools affected the roles and responsibilities of teachers and administrators in K-12 schools?

I truly think that our obligation to protect student data and promote student well-being have always been at the forefront of our responsibility. Artificial Intelligence has great potential, but we must always weigh the impact with the implications. We’re also at a stage of adoption where the number of AI tools being promoted to schools is growing by the day and it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement. The most important thing that administrators and teachers can do before adopting is ask “What problem am I trying to solve and how will this tool help me solve it?”

What ethical considerations should schools address when implementing AI technologies, and how can they ensure these technologies are used responsibly?

There’s a series of questions we consider in our IT department whenever we are considering new tools that are useful for thinking about AI as well. They’re on the corner of the whiteboard in my office as a reminder and they are a simple way to frame the considerations that we should always ask before adopting new tools:

• Safe & Secure
• Supportable
• Sustainable
• Good for learning