Prince George’s County Public Schools plan to make a big investment in artificial intelligence programs in the coming years. One of the first programs it’s turning to, Lumi Story, was demonstrated at Largo High School on Tuesday.
Lumi Story, an AI-powered storytelling platform, is backed by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and the program aims to boost literacy and support other academic efforts.
The program emphasizes character building to help flesh out the story the students want to tell.
“I think it is a very creative program for someone who’s like an out of the box thinker or doesn’t like putting their ideas on paper,” said Nina Anderson, a Largo High School student who has been using Lumi for the past few weeks. “I think it is a very creative way for people to use technology, especially creating their ideas and bringing those characters to life.”
One of the big flaws that’s plagued AI programs striving to help boost literacy has been higher error rates when it comes to voice recognition software for non-white students. It’s a hurdle Kaepernick said this program overcomes.
“We support over 50 languages on the platform, so we have seen students on the platform that are creating in Haitian Creole, that are creating in Japanese, that are creating in Thai and Arabic,” Kaepernick said. “We are making sure that we are supporting our students in every way possible.”
Interim Superintendent Shawn Joseph called the program “culturally responsive.”
“We feel really good about what our students will be able to produce as a result of it,” said Joseph.
He also stressed teachers will be trained and supported as the county works to integrate this program into more schools.
“This is one of many tools that we’ll be putting in the hands of both teachers and students. It’s important for us to be more efficient, more effective,” Joseph said. “AI is becoming the new word processing. It’ll be a tool that everybody just uses to get what they need to get done, done. And we want to make sure that our kids are equipped with using those tools effectively.”
Kaepernick and county leaders also made clear that teachers will be able to dig into the program and intervene when necessary to make sure the program works as intended for students.
“Teachers have full transparency on the platform,” Kaepernick said. “I think that’s one of the things that teachers, districts and parents have really appreciated. When students are using AI, every prompt, every question, every engagement, teachers and administrators have full visibility into.”
According to Joseph, his school system’s investment in AI will make sure students aren’t left behind.
“The digital divide no longer is about access to devices, it’s about access to emerging skills,” Joseph said. “The partnership positions our children to step boldly into careers in storytelling, media, technology, computer science and broader digital economies.”
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