If artificial intelligence is the future, Gateway technology coach Troy Ulewicz wants to ensure the district is bringing it to students in a responsible way.
Ulewicz furthered that goal by taking part in a monthslong fellowship focused on how AI can be used in school districts.
“It does streamline a lot of the day to day routine teaching tasks. A lot of teachers are using it now,” said Ulewicz, one of 20 local educators chosen to be part of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s AI Fellows program, which started meeting in late 2024 and wrapped up in May.
The group also traveled to Austin, Texas, in March for the SXSW EDU Conference & Festival.
Ulewicz’s action research plan centered around using SchoolAI, which provides K-12 teachers with a secure, customizable AI platform to support student learning and help streamline teaching tasks. Specifically, Ulewicz tasked students and teachers in the Monroeville district with using School AI’s chatbot feature.
Through setting parameters with the chatbot, it is able to quiz the students, while teachers are able to get good insight into a student’s learning and whether or not they need remediation or enrichment.
In one instance, teachers used the chatbot to test students’ knowledge of a book. In another case, students used the chatbot for PSSA prep. Through it all, Ulewicz collected and analyzed formative assessment data, AI usage trends, and teacher and student feedback.
“I was very successful with getting a lot of our teachers to try it out with their students, and many of them liked it a lot,” said Ulewicz.
“Tools like SchoolAI can be transformative and really change the game because it’s really helping their learning process. That’s where I see the value of AI the most, helping identify students’ strengths, weaknesses, and what they need. It gives you tools to help them learn more efficiently.”
As AI becomes even more ubiquitous, Ulewicz believes it will be imperative for students to learn how to utilize it. To that end, the district already embraced AI years ago with the inception of Grant Sample’s Intro to AI class at Gateway High School. He expects an even greater focus in the years ahead, and in anticipation of it, has already begun having discussions with students, stressing the importance of using AI responsibly.
“I think you have to have discussions with students, and that’s something I was doing when I was doing my lessons,” Ulewicz said. “I want to show them the good ways to use AI.”
