FLORENCE, S.C. (WMBF) – One of the Pee Dee’s largest school districts is making a large investment in artificial intelligence.

Florence School District 1 announced Tuesday that its board approved a $500 million investment into AI products across the district. The board also approved a new “Acceptable Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence” policy.

“A lot of districts talk about AI but Florence 1 Schools continues to be a leader in AI,” FSD1 Superintendent Richard O’Malley said in a statement. “This substantial investment clearly indicates our commitment to AI as a teaching and learning tool.”

The district said after a monthlong process, a cohort recommended three platforms – Google Gemini, Khan Academy and Magic School. FSD1 also described how each platform would be used in its announcement.

• Khan Academy: Khan Academy’s Khanmigo, which will be used for 6-12th grade, can function as a tutor, not offering students an answer for the problem they are having difficulty with but rather a step-by-step explanation of how to solve the problem. It can also analyze student data and create individualized assessments based on each student’s needs.
• Magic School: Magic School will be used with elementary students and offers over 80 AI tools within the platform, helping teachers to differentiate lessons and assessments based on student performance, generate discussion topics, and simplify lesson planning while still following state standards. Through Magic School, students will also develop AI literacy and responsible digital habits, which will help them as they prepare for middle school and high school.
• Google Gemini: Gemini is part of the Google Suite which means that it integrates seamlessly with the Google products Florence 1 students are already using such as Google Sheets, Google Docs and Google Classroom.

The district also said another product will be used at Delmae Elementary School and John W. Moore Middle School for its language immersion students by allowing teachers to speak into a microphone and have AI translate in real time for students.

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