{"id":4145,"date":"2026-08-06T13:13:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T13:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/teachers-need-help-with-ai-a-union-is-offering-training-with-23m-in-funding-from-big-tech\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T13:13:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T13:13:37","slug":"teachers-need-help-with-ai-a-union-is-offering-training-with-23m-in-funding-from-big-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justfineinfotech.com\/fr\/teachers-need-help-with-ai-a-union-is-offering-training-with-23m-in-funding-from-big-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Teachers need help with AI. A union is offering training \u2013 with $23m in funding from big tech"},"content":{"rendered":"
Without guidance from their schools or districts, many teachers are left to figure out whether and how to use AI tools. Composite: Rita Liu\/The Guardian\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>
Without guidance from their schools or districts, many teachers are left to figure out whether and how to use AI tools. Composite: Rita Liu\/The Guardian\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>Teachers need help with AI. A union is offering training \u2013 with $23m in funding from big tech<\/p>\n

Partnership between American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest labor unions in the US, and AI firms has stirred controversy<\/p>\n

Darius Saczuk, a high school teacher, views artificial intelligence as his enemy. Earlier this year, he and several dozen New York City teachers spent the day inside a windowless conference room in downtown Manhattan to learn how to use AI and prevent students from outsourcing their thinking to it<\/p>\n

As Saczuk sees it, he needs to understand his enemy in order to beat it<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s killing our jobs, it\u2019s changing our society, it\u2019s replacing humans,\u201d said Saczuk, who teaches English as a new language at Long Island City high school in Queens. \u201cIn order to retain my job, I need to know how to use AI because it\u2019s not going away.\u201d<\/p>\n

So he turned to training offered by the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest labor unions in the US with roughly 1.8 million members, at its new National Academy for AI Instruction. Last year, the academy began offering in-person and virtual AI training across the country. The goal is to train 400,000 educators over the span of five years, helping them understand AI\u2019s benefits and potential harms and also shape how it\u2019s used in the classroom.<\/p>\n

Without guidance from their schools or districts, many teachers are left to figure out whether and how to use AI tools. Though the AFT\u2019s $23m training initiative is one of the few structured programs for teachers, its funding, provided entirely by Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic, is stirring controversy. Supporters say the training is necessary for the future, but critics argue the academy pushes AI into classrooms, steering teachers toward tools that undermine students\u2019 learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s handing more political power over\u201d to big tech, said Audrey Watters, author of Teaching Machines: The History of Personalized Learning. It\u2019s really \u201cdangerous\u201d for educators to partner with companies that \u201cseem opposed\u201d to the goal of education, she said<\/p>\n

AI has become a ubiquitous force in classrooms, despite the lack of official guidance. More than half of polled teens say they use AI for help with schoolwork and nearly six in 10 think using AI to cheat is a regular occurrence at their schools, according to a Pew Research Center survey<\/a> conducted last fall. Meanwhile only about four in 10 teachers say their schools offer professional development or training related to AI, according to a recent NPR\/Ipsos poll<\/a>. And about half of all teachers polled say their school hasn\u2019t offered any guidance on AI, or they\u2019re unclear on what it is.<\/p>\n

Teaching educators about AI is a \u201cmoral imperative\u201d, said Randi Weingarten, the AFT president. She argues that AI training empowers teachers to make informed decisions about how, when or whether to use AI in their instruction. And without outside funding, it was a choice between taking big tech\u2019s money or doing nothing, she said<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no fairy godmother philanthropist that was sprinkling millions of dollars on us to actually create a mechanism to educate,\u201d Weingarten said. \u201cI am not promoting the use of AI. Educators need to know the tool.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Microsoft, which is contributing the largest share of funding at $12.5m, the goal is to give educators a voice in shaping how AI products are used, said Justin Spelhaug, leader of Microsoft\u2019s education, workforce and nonprofit programs<\/p>\n

\u201cBy partnering with teachers\u2019 unions \u2026 we believe we can learn directly from teachers on what they want and need in their classroom,\u201d he said in a statement<\/p>\n

But Watters asserts that AI\u2019s presence in the classroom is not a foregone conclusion<\/p>\n

\u201cThe industry would very much like us to believe that it\u2019s not going away,\u201d Watters said. \u201cBut the future is unwritten.\u201d<\/p>\n

The classroom AI debate<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Tech company leaders have largely painted AI as beneficial to education, some even claiming AI could replace teachers. But experts say there\u2019s still a lack of research proving whether AI actually improves learning outcomes<\/p>\n

In a 2024 blog post<\/a>, Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO, said he envisioned a future where \u201cchildren will have virtual tutors\u201d. AI could replicate some of the meaningful experiences teachers provide, such as making students feel understood and inspired, Greg Brockman, the OpenAI president, said in 2023 on the Possible podcast<\/a>, hosted by Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn co-founder, and Aria Finger, his chief of staff.<\/p>\n

\n\"The
The Khanmigo chatbot, an AI-powered guide developed by Khan Academy, is seen during a math and science class at Khan Lab School in Palo Alto, California. Photograph: The Washington Post\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cImagine if you could give that kind of teacher to every student 24\/7 \u2026 for free,\u201d Brockman said<\/p>\n

Microsoft believes \u201cAI can help reduce administrative burdens, personalize learning and create more time for students\u201d, Spelhaug said. \u201cBut there is no substitute for the role of a teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n

OpenAI, which pledged $10m to the academy, and Anthropic, which committed $500,000 to the first year, did not respond to a request for comment<\/p>\n

AI companies are already making their way into classrooms. Over the last two years, Miami-Dade county public schools, one of the largest US districts, began rolling out Google\u2019s Gemini chatbot to teachers and high school students<\/a>. Last fall, Microsoft announced<\/a> AI tools for teachers at no additional cost for educational customers. And <a href="https:\/\/openai.com\/index\/chatgpt<\/a>-for-teachers\/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>OpenAI<\/a> and Anthropic<\/a> offer K-12 teachers free use of versions of their chatbots<\/a> designed for educators.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a longstanding playbook in which tech companies provide free training and re said Justin Reich, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and author of Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can\u2019t Transform Education<\/p>\n

Google, for example, entrenched itself in schools by offering districts free or low-cost educational software for classroom laptops. It\u2019s also built a corps of Google Certified Educators, teachers trained on the company\u2019s software who promote it to their peers. Last year, Google introduced free Gemini certifications for K-12 teachers and students as young as 13. But the aim is profits, Reich said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir goal is to get people to become lifelong consumers,\u201d he said. Still, \u201cthere\u2019s no evidence that the adoption of Google or Microsoft products lead to better outcomes, happier teachers, more efficient school systems or anything\u201d<\/p>\n

The AFT\u2019s new academy seems to echo Google\u2019s approach, Watters said. By offering training through a labor union, viewed as a peer group, tech companies make their AI products seem more credible, she said<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels very different to have your union say, \u2018We\u2019re offering a training,\u2019 than it does to have a company say [it],\u201d Watters said<\/p>\n

The concern is \u201cunderstandable\u201d though not accurate, Spelhaug said<\/p>\n

\u201cThis initiative was designed in response to a need our union partners and educators themselves identified,\u201d he said. \u201cOur role is to provide re and the professional judgment of teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The AFT doesn\u2019t allow companies to promote products during the sessions, Weingarten said. And while she doesn\u2019t think \u201cstudents have to use AI in schools\u201d, she believes educators cannot ignore what\u2019s already here<\/p>\n

\n\"A
Pilar Cuevas, a social studies teacher, looks up at her interactive whiteboard during her class in Inglewood, California. Cuevas gives her students homework in a Cornell notes format, which makes it more difficult for them to input their homework into an AI program. Photograph: Juliana Yamada\/Los Angeles Times\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a May speech at the National Press Club, Weingarten called for a ban on student-facing AI in elementary schools and said the AFT is working with Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic on a \u201cgold standard\u201d for AI safety and privacy in schools. If the companies don\u2019t deliver on the promise, the union will walk away from the funding, she added<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have agreed in concept,\u201d she said. \u201cBut until the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed, there\u2019s no agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft didn\u2019t share any details or timeline about new standards, but Spelhaug said the company shares the AFT\u2019s goal<\/p>\n

Teaching without a guide<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s no established approach for training teachers on AI. The technology is simply too new. But the academy\u2019s leaders hope to work with teachers to find ways to use the technology without compromising students\u2019 cognitive development, independent thinking, data privacy and mental health<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sad thing is there is no map, and the terrain is changing every single day,\u201d John Holleran, an AI academy trainer said to teachers assembled at a May session. \u201cSo, it\u2019s going to be difficult for us to sort of figure out where we\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demand for the academy\u2019s training is strong. A May training sold out within hours, leaving about 150 people on the waitlist, according to staff. The session focused on two key points: AI can\u2019t replace teachers. And it can\u2019t be blindly trusted because it can be biased or hallucinate, meaning make things up<\/p>\n

For example, ChatGPT generated an image of a white man in a suit and tie when asked to show a successful person \u2013 a bias Holleran said teachers need to be aware of when creating prompts<\/p>\n

Several teachers at the training said AI is already helping them tackle classroom challenges<\/p>\n

Phillip Perry, who teaches ninth grade at Bronx High School for Law and Community Service, uses AI to design lessons for students with disabilities<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to differentiate instruction in a way that can completely target their learning needs has been a massive challenge,\u201d Perry said. \u201cUsing AI is helpful in breaking down tasks to the smallest form to help build the students up as they go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanushree Sengupta, a math teacher at Hillcrest high school in Queens, uses AI to generate practice math problems and, eventually, to analyze student data and flag those needing extra support or a challenge. But she worries that the tech could be a crutch<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to figure out ways where [students are] doing more thinking that they can actually show,\u201d she said, adding that she signed up for the training in part to help students think for themselves<\/p>\n

To that end, AFT trainers advised teachers to redesign their curriculum to favor student-led discussions, journaling and thought exercises that require human judgement and reasoning<\/p>\n

The training filled a void, offering practical strategies for the classroom, said Perry and Sengupta, who were unaware of the academy\u2019s funding prior to speaking to the Guardian<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as what they\u2019re providing is beneficial to the students and the teachers, then I don\u2019t see an issue,\u201d Perry said<\/p>\n

Saczuk, the teacher from Queens, considered the training \u201cnecessary\u201d. Still, he left with more questions than answers<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the role of the teacher?\u201d he asked. \u201cIt\u2019s a big question mark.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Source: www.theguardian.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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