Ohio educators encouraged to use AI in classrooms in a positive way

Nationally, AI-checking tools have detected students cheating by using generative tools in approximately 10 percent of assignments.

Rather than becoming too fixated on how technology can be used to cheat, however, educators in Ohio have developed plans for incorporating the technology in a positive way into the classroom.

Since the rapid popularization of ChatGPT and the subsequent AI programs, the impact of AI on the classroom has been the subject of considerable debate. Teachers and parents have expressed concern about the potential for students to use this technology to cheat on written assignments, such as using it to provide answers to essay prompts or short-answer questions.

However, the potential for positive AI use has dominated the conversation in Ohio.

The development of an educational AI toolkit for Ohio schools

Through a collaboration between technology experts and education specialists, Ohio has developed guidelines and directives to help teachers incorporate AI into the classroom in a positive manner.

The guidelines developed aim to incorporate AI in a holistic manner. The developers recognize that this new technology is here to stay and students need adequate preparation so they feel confident using these capabilities effectively.

The developers of the technology also note that the new generative tools do not displace teachers, but rather provide them with more options for lesson plans and offer additional angles and possibilities when covering a particular subject.

As the Ohio Education Association said in a statement to Axios, “OEA believes AI can never and should never replace the experience and expertise of professional educators, but when used appropriately by trained educators, it is one of many important tools that can help educators continue to meet the needs of their students in our 21st-century world.”

The guidelines Ohio has developed will provide teachers across the state with a roadmap for incorporating AI into their lessons. When used appropriately, the developers believe it can offer more opportunities to use critical thinking and personalized learning. For teachers, it can also help simplify many aspects of their daily routine, providing them with more time to engage students and encourage learning.

AI toolkit for the 2025-2026 school year

The AI toolkit developed for Ohio educators provides guidelines in several areas. Divided into seven distinct parts, the strategy focuses on compiling resources for students, parents, and educators.

The Toolkit also seeks to outline how schools should develop policies related to AI. This includes setting goals for incorporating AI into learning opportunities and preparing students for the prevalence of technology in the coming decades.

At the same time, schools and administrators need to adequately prepare their classrooms to combat cheating efforts or students taking shortcuts in their studies instead of using the tools constructively.

Ohio has set goals for incorporating AI more extensively into the curriculum, so that students graduating in the state will have a better understanding of technology and its applications in businesses and the economy. Ideally, this initiative will help support Ohio’s economy as it positions itself as one of the few states in the nation working to codify how these new capabilities will be incorporated into the classroom.

As students prepare for the start of the new school year, they should expect to see teachers increasingly incorporating AI. Lesson plans that help to summarize ideas and provide context for critical thinking, AI-generated images and videos to capture important moments in history, and the ability to get personalized feedback and answers to questions will strive to keep students engaged in the material they are learning.

Although students can access these personalized forms of learning, maintaining a personalized touch in learning remains paramount. Rather than provide answers, the technology should provide context and provoke deeper thinking. Teachers and students should be actively involved with the content produced.

The guidelines produced emphasize a few central components that will dominate AI usage in classrooms across the state:

  • The importance of human interaction, collaboration, and guidance with AI
  • How students can assess and evaluate AI outputs and use their critical thinking skills to ensure AI is used wisely
  • Ensuring students understand how AI can be used in different applications and maintaining AI and data literacy so that students can use the technology well
  • An acknowledgment that the field will continue to evolve and mature, and students must be prepared to evolve with it.

The role of InnovateOhio

InnovateOhio has established a reputation for integrating technology across various government services. With a self-described mission of improving how customers and local communities interact with the government and utilizing technology to uplift all local residents, they carefully study how technology intersects with daily life.

As part of this mission, the team has issued guidelines that aim to provide broad recommendations, acknowledging the ever-changing nature of the field, while also offering teachers concrete information on how to utilize AI to enhance their performance and boost student engagement.

Ohio as a national leader in AI in education

Ohio’s incorporation of AI directly and purposefully into the classroom comes from a forward-looking state government. Considering the economy and job opportunities in the years to come, InnovateOhio aims to prepare Ohio’s students and young adults to address the challenges and capabilities that AI will present.

The state has leaped to the forefront in this area of innovation. As of 2024, it was one of only 11 states that had started preparing official guidance on the use of AI in the classroom. These policies hope to not only help teachers know how to deal with potentially problematic usage, but also how to prepare students to use it well.

As Lt. Gov. Jon Husted of InnovateOhio expressed in 2024, “We want to compete. We want Ohio to be the dominant economic force of the Midwest, [...] To do that we need to continue to innovate and use technology [...]”

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