LAUSD launches revolutionary artificial intelligence tool

Key points:

He Los Angeles Unified School District has launched an innovative ai-powered learning acceleration platform called eda first-of-its-kind tool designed to provide the district's 540,000 students and their families with the resources, support and tools to accelerate student achievement beyond the school day.

The pioneering digital platform creates personalized action plans adapted exclusively to each student. Ed is currently available to students and families at select schools and will be gradually rolled out to the rest of the district.

“We understand that there is no one size fits all when it comes to education,” said LAUSD Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. “This resource changes the rules of the game. By harnessing the power of ai, we are creating a tool for all students that maximizes resources beyond the school day by individualizing their education and integrating information to accelerate learning at a level never seen before. Ed is accessible to students and families in multiple languages, shares information to support learning needs, and helps students improve their skills and pursue their interests.”

“Teachers have been and always will be fundamental to education,” said Carvalho. “artificial intelligence will never replace the talent of a teacher. It is a social interaction that requires eye-to-eye, heart-to-heart, and mind-to-mind interaction that is not replaceable by any technology.”

Ed is designed to be an educational co-pilot, using ai to complement the instruction and support provided by Los Angeles Unified educators and staff by analyzing district data, including grades, attendance, and district offerings. , and recommending resources, programs and skills at home. practice based on that analysis. The platform can safely and proactively engage with students and families, offering reminders and prompts, including those for social-emotional well-being. Ed was pilot tested with Los Angeles Unified students and families and received positive feedback.

Key features include:

• Interoperability: Optimized and personalized access to resources and communication to accelerate learning on a single platform.
• Personalized and engaging learning activities: Interactive learning paths based on student data that include reading, math, computing, and other academic skills practice exercises to meet your individual needs or interests beyond the school day.
• Targeted Alerts with Direct Targeting: Alerts provide clear instructions on steps students and families can take to accelerate learning, eliminating guesswork and simplifying how they navigate their educational experience.
• Progress monitoring: Updates on grades, attendance, graduation readiness, and more to inform a child's academic performance.
• Timely support: Notifications about resources and support available to assist students in continuous improvement.
• Multilingual capabilities: The ability to communicate in dozens of languages ​​ensures that families can access resources in their preferred language.
• Adaptive intelligence: Ed is an intuitive, continuous learning platform that gets smarter with every interaction, improving its ability to deliver more personalized experiences.
• High-quality content support: Pre-approved content from leading curriculum providers.

“It's the power of artificial intelligence that will give us a real-time understanding of where students are and where they need to go,” Carvalho said. “It is the power of this technology through Ed that we will be able to meet each of our students where they are and accelerate them academically and enrichment-wise toward their full potential. “No other technology can deliver on this promise in real time.”

LAUSD, the second largest district in the country, is the first to systematically leverage ai, opening access to students, families and teachers. To analyze the risks and benefits of this technology, the district formed a task force made up of technology experts, educators, families, and students, and created policies and training for its school community. Additionally, the district has provided professional development to teachers to help students become thoughtful consumers and producers of content. Teachers also engage students in year-round digital citizenship lessons and other activities to promote responsible use of technology, including ai.

LAUSD developed Ed through a public-private partnership with AllHere, a Harvard Innovation Labs company and leading developer of ai-powered digital applications. AllHere's award-winning solutions are created by educators and have been independently proven to positively impact stakeholder communication, family engagement, and student success.

District and stakeholder comments included:

“No matter your opinion on artificial intelligence, it is here to stay and will be an important part of our future,” said board president Jackie Goldberg. “So let's harness its power to help our students chart their own course of action to achieve their educational and life goals.”

“technology is evolving faster than ever and with the launch of artificial intelligence, it is important for our district to adapt to these changes,” said Board Vice President Scott M. Schmerelson. “I'm looking forward to seeing how this works with students, teachers and administrators. ai can be a valuable tool in education or it can be a threat to education. We must ensure that this turns out to be a good tool for enriching student performance.”

“The launch of Ed hopes to leverage technology to provide our students with additional tools to help accelerate success in the classroom, while also connecting educators, students and parents,” said board member Dr. George J. McKenna III.

“While there is no substitute for human connection, particularly the personal guidance of our teachers, our students deserve 21^street tools of the century that prepare them for future life projects by balancing the responsible use of technology with the joy of learning in many different ways,” said board member Dr. Rocío Rivas.

“I appreciate the District's investment in innovative strategies to connect with students and share information with families about how to support their children in school. I look forward to Ed’s iterative development to cohesively support the work of school leaders, educators and classrooms,” said board member Nick Melvoin.

“Los Angeles Unified is dedicated to leveraging all available resources to support student success, including cutting-edge technologies,” said board member Kelly Gonez. “We are excited to see the ways this innovative platform will meet students and families where they are to accelerate student learning.”

“As the second largest school district in the country, it is vital that we leverage technology to improve our communication with families and support better student outcomes,” said board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin. “Ed will give us the opportunity to innovate using ai, improve academic tools for student success, and provide our families with valuable resources.”

“AllHere is honored to partner with Los Angeles Unified to fulfill the Superintendent's vision of making ultra-personalized learning a reality for every student in this district,” said AllHere Founder and CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin. “Looking to 2024 and beyond, we see a growth trajectory for Ed that allows us to share our effective ai at unprecedented scale and in environments. This partnership with Los Angeles Unified, the second largest school district in the country, is an important step in providing a comprehensive, industry-leading ai approach that students, families, and schools trust and that districts need.”

“Los Angeles Unified is at the forefront of making public education accessible, equitable and innovative by leveraging ai capabilities and technology,” said ASU Learning Transformation Studios and Center EDGE Executive Director Alan Arkatov. “I look forward to the ways ASU can partner with Los Angeles Unified to transform the possibilities of education.”

Material from a press release was used in this report.

Laura Ascione is the editorial director of eSchool Media. She graduated from the prestigious Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

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