Denton, TX, July 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iteach®, the nation's highest quality alternative teaching certification provider, has partnered with Khan Academy to provide all new educator candidates with free access to Khanmigo for Teachers, a pilot AI-powered teaching assistant. Khanmigo for Teachers is one of the first tools of its kind designed to help teachers save time so they can focus on the very human work of instructing a classroom full of students.
The partnership between iteach and Khan Academy will train future educators on ways to use AI for curriculum and lesson-planning to save time and enhance student learning. iteach’s six required educational foundation courses will also equip new teachers to instruct students about the ethical usage of AI.
Future educators can use Khanmigo to create lesson plans and assignments, and to enhance their own learning. Last school year, teachers in 53 school districts across the US piloted Khanmigo in their classrooms. Through this partnership with Khan Academy, iteach teacher candidates will learn how to get the most out of Khanmigo in its beta form, while gaining valuable insights through iteach’s program about how to teach K-12 students to use AI responsibly.
“AI is no longer the future; it's the present,” said Andrew Rozell, president of iteach. “Teachers need to know how to use it themselves and how to teach their students appropriate applications of AI tools. Through iteach’s partnership with Khan Academy, new teachers will enter the classroom with confidence, ready to educate students on the ethical use of AI and take advantage of this powerful technology to ease their own workloads, which we all know is often overwhelming.”
Many teachers have already embraced AI to help ease their workload and improve their effectiveness in the classroom. An EdWeek Research Center survey found that one-third of K-12 teachers have used AI-driven tools. However, many teachers still feel unfamiliar with AI technology and are not entirely confident in their abilities to effectively incorporate it into the classroom. Some teachers using AI to ease their workload said they would like to learn more about the best ways to use and teach students about it.
Recent research shows that many Americans feel that AI skills should be incorporated into K-12 education. A recent survey from YouGov found that 60% of parents want schools to focus on appropriate AI usage rather than prevent students from using AI, and 29% believe it is very necessary for K-12 students to learn AI-related skills for their future careers. Students also want more support in understanding how to use AI effectively, with a survey from the National 4-H Council revealing that 72% of K-12 students would like more help from adults in learning how to use AI-powered tools.
As of late June, all current and future iteach enrolled and hired candidates will have access to Khanmigo for Teachers, which includes GPT-4, throughout their certification process. For pre-service teachers looking to brush up on skills, Khanmigo offers the feature “Refresh My Knowledge” to review content knowledge in various subject areas. iteach’s team of expert educators will also coach iteach candidates on implementing AI in their classrooms.
“When AI is carefully adapted to a learning environment, we believe it has enormous potential,” said Kristen DiCerbo, chief learning officer at Khan Academy. “Through this partnership, Khanmigo will equip aspiring iteach educators with their own personal teaching assistant. When they enter the classroom as credentialed teachers, they’ll be able to put AI to use to streamline prep and focus on spending quality time with students.”
With 21 years of experience, iteach has helped more than 29,500 teachers earn their credentials in 14 states - and growing. The company currently works with 1,550 districts and Local Education Agencies and is the only non-university alternative teacher certification program that has earned accreditation from the CAEP. According to its most recent survey, 96% of school administrators and HR professionals would recommend iteach to their peers.
To learn more about the partnership between iteach and Khan Academy, view iteach’s Khanmigo town hall and product demonstration. For more information about iteach’s incorporation of Khamigo for new teachers into their educational foundation curriculum, visit iteach.net.
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About iteach
iteach® is a high-quality, trusted, competency-based alternative teacher preparation and certification program that combines the convenience of online learning with a full year of face-to-face supervision during a teaching residency. Now part of the certified B Corp K12 Coalition, iteach was founded in 2003 to help talented people become educators while avoiding the high costs and time commitments of some traditional educator preparation programs. To date, the organization is the only non-college Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) certified program in the United States and has helped over 30,000 teachers become certified. The iteach model has been so successful at preparing high-quality educators on a large scale that the program now offers state-approved certification programs in 14 states and counting. Learn more at iteach.net.
About Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Khan Academy is piloting an AI guide called Khanmigo that is a tutor and teaching assistant. Khanmigo is designed for the classroom and integrated into Khan Academy’s award-winning platform of more than 70,000 practice problems, videos and articles. School districts across the country use Khan Academy’s district offerings—Khan Academy Districts and Khan Academy Kids—to support teachers and students. Worldwide, more than 165 million registered learners have used Khan Academy in 190 countries and more than 50 languages. For more information, please see research findings about Khan Academy and our press center.
Attachments
- Every new iteach candidate receives access to the paid version of Khanmigo for Teachers
- iteach helps new teacher candiates effective learn and teach AI with Khanmigo
