Artificial intelligence topped the list of state technology officials鈥� priorities for the first time, according to an on Wednesday.
More than a quarter of respondents鈥�26%鈥攍isted AI as their most pressing issue, compared to 18% in a similar survey conducted by SETDA last year. AI supplanted cybersecurity, which state leaders previously identified as their No. 1 concern.
About 1 in 5 state technology officials鈥�21%鈥攏amed cybersecurity as their highest priority, and 18% identified professional development and technology support for instruction as their top issues.
Forty percent of respondents reported that their state had issued guidance on AI. That鈥檚 a considerable increase from just two years ago, when only 2% of respondents to the same survey reported their state had released AI guidance.
State officials鈥� heightened attention on AI suggests that even though many more states have released some sort of AI guidance in the past year or two, officials still see a lot left on their to-do lists when it comes to supporting districts in improving students鈥� AI literacy, offering professional development about AI for 糖心动漫vlog, and crafting policies around cheating and proper AI use.
鈥淎 lot of guidance has come out, but now the rubber鈥檚 hitting the road in terms of implementation and integration,鈥� said Julia Fallon, SETDA鈥檚 executive director, in an interview.
SETDA, along with Whiteboard Advisors, surveyed state education leaders鈥攊ncluding ed-tech directors, chief information officers, and state chiefs鈥攔eceiving more than 75 responses across 47 states. It conducted interviews with state ed-tech teams in Alabama, Delaware, Nebraska, and Utah and did group interviews with ed-tech leaders from 14 states.
AI professional development is a rising priority
States are taking a myriad of approaches to responding to the AI challenge, the report noted.
Some states鈥攕uch as North Carolina and Utah鈥攄esignated an AI point person to help support districts in puzzling through the technology. For instance, Matt Winters, who leads Utah鈥檚 work, has helped negotiate statewide pricing for AI-powered ed-tech tools and worked with an outside organization to train 4,500 teachers on AI, according to the report.
Wyoming, meanwhile, has developed an 鈥渋nnovator鈥� network that pays teachers to offer AI professional development to colleagues across the state. Washington hosted two statewide AI summits to help district and school leaders explore the technology.
And North Carolina and Virginia have used state-level competitive grant programs to support activities such as AI-specific professional development or AI-infused teaching and learning initiatives.
鈥淎s AI continues to evolve, developing connections with those in tech, in industry, and in commerce, as well as with other 糖心动漫vlog, will become more important than ever,鈥� wrote Sydnee Dickson, formerly Utah鈥檚 state superintendent of public instruction, in an introduction to the report. 鈥淭he technology is advancing too quickly for any one person or state to have all the answers.鈥�
