Students from a Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya in Srikakulam district learn the basic AI tools and their application.
“There was excitement in the classroom and for some students, they were moments of pure magic. The wide-eyed girls burst into spontaneous giggles, even as the unfamiliar, yet friendly voice of ‘Alexa’ caught their attention,” recalls G. Sravya , education and content assistant at Quest Alliance, a non-profit foundation commissioned by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the school curriculum.
To equip young learners for the digital future, students in grades 7 to 9 will soon learn about AI as part of their curriculum.
As they watched Amazon’s cloud-based voice service, Alexa, answer their curious questions, some of the students, after an initial pause and hesitation, shouted, “It’s listening to us and it’s talking back.”
Mrs. Sravya recounted the students’ brushwork using the latest technology at one of the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in Srikakulam district.
The initiative was part of a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Samagra Shiksha, Quest Alliance and Leadership for Equity (LFE), under Amazon’s Future Engineer Program (AFE), in February 2024.
The AI curriculum is being piloted this year in around 100 KGBV and Andhra Pradesh Model Schools (APMS) in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts.
“During these three years, our role is to ensure that students’ understanding of AI deepens through foundational knowledge and hands-on experience, preparing the young students for future technology-driven careers,” said Sameera, Andhra Pradesh State Lead for Quest Alliance.
Most students in KGBV come from marginalized communities with rural backgrounds. “For the students, it is the opening of a door to the great possibilities of technology,” said Srikakulam District Education Officer S. Tirumala Chaitanya. “The initiative is being implemented in 38 schools – 25 KGBVs and 13 model schools – in the district,” he said.
Quest Alliance also provided training to 200 teachers. “Students’ initial surprise and disbelief gradually transforms into knowledge that AI is the creation of computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence,” Sameera said, adding that the goal was to get students to not only learn the concepts and applications of AI, but also help them build critical thinking and analytical skills to become responsible digital citizens.
Mr. Chaitanya said the positives were that teachers were gaining expertise through AI training and that the initiative would equip our classrooms with answers to 21st century demands.
“The curriculum is designed to develop students’ skills in using basic AI tools and technologies, while ensuring that they also understand the potential risks and injustices that the technology works with,” says Sameera, explaining that to encourage creativity, program allows students to explore AI applications in various projects, fostering creative expression through technology.
The annual curriculum is tested and developed together with teachers from state schools.
“Their expertise ensures that the curriculum is contextualized and tailored to local needs, creating a grounded and culturally relevant AI program,” explained Sameera.
Published – 15 December 2024 20:18 IST
