Hobart High is still basking in the real glow of Sunday’s “60 Minutes” appearance that chronicled the school’s experience with an artificial intelligence tutor called Khanmigo.
Newsman Anderson Cooper talked with students and teachers and recorded a podcast with Superintendent Peggy Buffington during a September visit.
Sunday’s episode focused on teacher Melissa Higgason’s chemistry class and a lesson plan drawn up by Khanmigo, an AI-powered tool for teachers and a tutor for students.
“It’s called Khanmigo — conmigo means “with me,” in Spanish. And Khan is its creator, Sal Khan, the well-known founder of Khan Academy,” Cooper tells the camera.
Buffington, Hobart’s former technology director, steered the district into joining the nonprofit Khan Academy in 2017. It produces short online video lessons for students and exercises and materials for teachers.
She said Khan reached out last year with a preview of Khanmigo, a new partnership with ChatGPT, an AI model developed by OpenAI, founded by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.
“The demonstration was exhilarating,” said Buffington. “We were captivated by Khanmigo’s innovative approach to learning, engaging students in dynamic Socratic dialogues that sparked our curiosity about the depth of understanding it could foster.”
Buffington decided to let surprised Hobart High teachers pilot Khanmigo in the classroom during the spring semester last year. Initially, teachers worried Khanmigo might enable cheating, but they found guardrails in place to alert them.
“It has been a game changer,” said English teacher Stephanie Franco of Khanmigo. “I’ve been able to differentiate in ways I haven’t been able to before.”
In a Post-Tribune story last year, Franco said she reviews her students’ chat history with Khanmigo and can see what they’re struggling with in her class.
“It’s controversial, but there are more benefits than drawbacks. It never gives them answers. It says, ‘Let’s try another way.’”
Meanwhile, Buffington said the response from the “60 Minutes” show has been amazing
“There has been an incredible response from our community. I believe they are proud of the work our teachers and students have done,” said Buffington.
Hobart has been providing feedback to Khan since March 2023.
“They have a sense of accomplishment in helping Khanmigo be all it can be …,” she said of students and teachers.
Teachers attest that Khanmigo can save them hours of time developing lesson plans, providing them with more individual time with their students. As students query Khanmigo about assignments, teachers can view the interaction and detect where students are struggling.
“It gives me a lot of insight as a teacher in terms of who I need to spend that one-on-one time with,” Higgason told Cooper.
Hobart was one of three local districts out of 36 in Indiana to win state Department of Education grants last year to work with an AI platform this year. Besides Hobart, the districts were Hanover Community and Porter Township.
The grant also provides training for about 2,500 educators in how to integrate AI tools into instruction.
State Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said a new national report showed about 87% of educators haven’t had AI training.
The School Town of Munster also began using Khanmigo this year.
“We certainly have teachers who have identified and are utilizing the available teacher tools, while others have yet to fully dive into the resource,” said Superintendent Bret Heller.
He said he’s visited teachers at the secondary level who are using Khanmigo extensively in innovative ways.
“Anecdotally, I’ve spoken to several students to get their input, and they have all given me great reviews of their experience so far with the platform.”
Buffington is convinced the AI education revolution is here.
“We want educators, parents, and communities to understand the invaluable role AI plays in the success of students, and Khanmigo exemplifies this beautifully… The future belongs to those who can effectively and ethically utilize AI tools in the workplace,” said Buffington.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
