In the Federal Way School District, AI is a tool that is being embraced and encouraged by educators and administrators alike – and Colleague AI is a tool that is springing into action for both.

Colleague AI is an online LLM that, unlike public user models that function as an ask-and-answer tool (e.g Gemini or ChatGPT), Colleague AI is built like a domain. Colleague AI can be used to create graphics, worksheets, quizzes or surveys, and create chatbots for assistance in brainstorming. Colleague AI was introduced years prior, but there’s been an emphasis on the district reminding the teachers it’s a tool that is available for them, should they want to use it. 

“I know that it was created by the University of Washington,” noted Diya Bailey, an Instructional Coach at Federal Way High School (FWHS). “And so our district has partnered with UW to roll out colleague AI to our educators.”

Colleague AI was built specifically for the purpose of assisting teachers in planning their curriculums. The tool is supposed to help teachers brainstorm ways to assist all of their students, no matter where they are in their educational journey, while also trying to help teachers save time and resources. 

As Bailey notes, “So one of the things that we do a lot with teachers is some differentiation. Meaning that no two kids are alike, right? So you’ve got all these different levels that you have to think about as far as teaching, and so as a teacher we do that. And sometimes it takes a long time to plan, like, one lesson and really think about it.”

Because Colleague AI is still new and actively developing, educators in the Federal Way Public Schools District get to have a say in what they would like to see change in the platform and give active feedback to the developers at UW. This allows educators to voice their opinions and needs of how Colleague AI could enhance their curriculum planning.

As is the case with every other sector where AI is used, it is still controversial among teachers, with the staff at FWHS using it to varying degrees, some only exclusively using it for their own planning vs. as a tool for students, etc. 

“I have tried to use [Colleague AI] to supplement practice problems in my physics class or help create answer keys faster, but it has failed me when I have tried,” noted Ms. Lauren Hamilton, a Physics and Anatomy teacher at FWHS, “The level of physics knowledge it assumes is lower than AICE physics and so the answers are not always correct and/or the practice problems are unsolvable. Additionally, I enjoy creating my own class curriculums – it’s a challenge and I like the creativity of tailoring it to my students needs – and the Colleague AI ideas don’t allow for that as much as me using my brain.”

On the other hand, some teachers are more interested in exploring what this new program can do. 

“I generally use it to either create a specific type of practice in math OR to create a vocabulary sheet with visuals and sentence stems to help students better connect to the material,” said Mr. Beckett Cordes, an Algebra and Bridge to College Math teacher at FWHS. “I think currently it’s a work in progress. But that is on both ends. I think there are some improvements being made on the programming side, but I feel like as users of the program, we’re still learning more about the types of conversations and input we need to give to more efficiently get what we need out of a final product.”

While AI continues to introduce itself into new environments and expand, its effects will be felt by everybody, regardless of their occupation. As AI grows, everyone’s job positions morph. The question here is, how will we let it impact our educators – and our educations? 

Students who are now being exposed to curriculums with these tools will bring what they learn from it to college, to the job market, and to society. AI in education will entail a generation of AI-taught students. It’s up to our educators to harness it responsibly, know its strengths and weaknesses, and learn what it means to use Artificial Intelligence for the classroom.