Ludrick Cooper, an eighth-grade teacher in South Carolina, once doubted the use of artificial intelligence in his classroom. Over time, he changed his mind.
“This is the new encyclopedia,” Cooper said, remembering how much he enjoyed reading encyclopedias as a child.
He now belongs to the growing number of teachers using AI in lesson plans. The rise of AI tools in classrooms shows how quickly the technology becomes mainstream, even as its benefits and risks continue to unfold.
A survey by the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup revealed that six in ten teachers used AI tools during the 2024-2025 school year.
On Tuesday, First Lady Melania Trump introduced the Presidential AI Challenge. The initiative encourages students from kindergarten through twelfth grade to use AI to address community challenges.
OpenAI launched a “study mode” for ChatGPT and announced a partnership with Instructure, whose platform supports millions of students. At the same time, OpenAI, Microsoft and Anthropic joined with national and New York teachers’ unions to commit $23 million to train 400,000 educators on AI.
AI promises engaging lessons and faster access to knowledge. Yet experts warn of dangers like increased cheating, inequality and possible harm to mental health.
Sarah Howorth, associate professor of special education at the University of Maine, compared AI to fire. People admire its potential but fear its risks.
AI in the classroom
Instructure, the company behind the Canvas learning platform, works with OpenAI on a tool called the “LLM-Enabled Assignment.” It allows teachers to design interactive, AI-driven lessons while tracking student progress.
LLM, which means “large language model,” powers chatbots like ChatGPT. Teachers can instruct the tool to play a role in lessons. For example, a history teacher could ask it to act as a president or political leader.
Melissa Loble, Instructure’s chief academic officer, said the partnership highlights the demand for new and engaging ways of learning.
Kayla Jefferson, a high school social studies teacher in New York City, uses AI to keep students interested, improve collaboration and strengthen global literacy skills.
One assignment requires her students to summarize and reflect on news articles using the AI-powered Padlet bulletin board. Students then read and comment on each other’s work.
AI tools also improve accessibility, Howorth explained. Talk-to-text and text-to-speech functions can support learners with vision problems or dyslexia.
But Matthew Rascoff, vice provost for digital education at Stanford, argued that AI must evolve to promote group learning. He said schools need tools that support collaboration and shared responsibility.
“Great classrooms create a sense of mutual responsibility for everybody’s learning,” Rascoff noted.
AI brings certain risks
Bringing AI into education raises significant challenges.
The New York City Department of Education initially banned ChatGPT on school devices, citing fears of cheating. Later, it reversed the decision after acknowledging the technology had caught schools by surprise.
Instructure described its LLM-Assignment as a guided tool that resists simple shortcuts and keeps students accountable.
Cheating is not the only concern. The impact of AI on mental health remains poorly understood.
One mother accused startup Character.AI of playing a role in her 14-year-old son’s suicide. Families, including hers, have filed lawsuits.
An Instructure spokesperson said AI in Canvas will run in controlled environments, with safeguards to keep discussions focused on coursework.
Still, flaws remain. Talk-to-text software often struggles with stutters or accents, Howorth observed.
Robin Lake, director of Arizona State University’s Center on Reinventing Public Education, raised concerns about access. Poorer school districts may fall behind wealthier ones when it comes to AI adoption.
A national survey by the center revealed disparities in teacher training. High-poverty districts reported significantly lower participation.
“We need to ensure disadvantaged schools gain access to AI’s advantages,” Lake said. “Right now, more privileged students enjoy better tools, more opportunities and stronger instruction.”
Urban and rural schools also reported being overwhelmed by existing needs, making it difficult to prepare for future technologies.
Not all teachers convinced
Many educators still doubt AI belongs in classrooms.
Lauren Monaco, a New York City pre-K and kindergarten teacher with more than 20 years of experience, sees AI as a crutch. She argued that true teaching requires analysis and human understanding that technology cannot provide.
“Teaching is not just transactional input and output,” Monaco said. “Our profession has been under attack. I keep asking: Who benefits from this?”
Lake at Arizona State University added that schools must also think about the future job market.
“What skills will students need to succeed in an AI-driven economy?” she asked. “Educators must prepare them now.”
