PEORIA, AZ — Some Arizona school districts are embracing artificial intelligence, piloting an AI program that helps tutor students.
It’s called Khanmigo, an AI extension to Khan Academy, an online curriculum that school districts and parents can use.
Students in Paradise Valley Unified are piloting the program in their fifth to eighth-grade classes. The district said the pilot started in the fall. Several other districts, including Mesa, Scottsdale, Tolleson, and others, are also using Khan Academy and Khanimigo, according to the Arizona Department of Education.
The way the program works: Students can log on whenever and ask questions to the AI chat that will help guide them to answer questions and problems.
“It is there if students need support or assistance, but will never just give them an answer,” explained Leslie Martin, a teacher at North Ranch Elementary School.
“I use it when I'm doing something that I don't usually work on or areas that I don't know much about,” said Allie, a fifth grade student.
School board members and districts do need to approve using the program in their classes with a cost. Superintendent Tom Horne said his department used $1.5 million of ESSER money to cover the cost of the first 100,000 students for free for school districts.
“It helps the teacher. It’s the equivalent of two assistants so that the teacher can focus more on creative teaching,” Horne said.
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Parents can also get Khan Academy at home for their students. The baseline curriculum is free, according to Sal Khan, the CEO and founder of Khan Academy. The AI extension, Khanmigo, costs $4 a month.
“There's a little bit of magic to it, but really it's all about students getting as much practice on their learning edge and them getting the support when they need it,” Khan told ABC15.
With AI, some may be hesitant. Martin was hesitant at first, too. Khan said that when the program is used through school districts, administrators and educators are looped in.
“It is kids that we're working with, and I’m afraid of what they're going to delve into,” Martin said of AI. “I also think, AI is not going to go away. So, it's something with education we need to embrace.”
Khan said the goal of Khanmigo is not to replace educators but to help them when they cannot be everywhere. It’s also meant to help students fill in the gaps they may have.
“The idea is to have the best of both worlds and so we see if we can save teachers time, if we can support their students. We know every classroom has students at different levels. That can liberate the human beings to spend more time with each other to connect more with each other,” Khan said.
The Paradise Valley Unified School District will be piloting the program through next school year.
