Our AI Portfolio

In September 2024, Digital Promise was awarded a grant by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to launch and lead the Using Generative Artificial Intelligence for Reading R&D Center (U-GAIN Reading), a national research and development institute to investigate how to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to improve elementary school reading instruction. U-GAIN Reading will partner with school districts from across the U.S. to understand how GenAI and the Science of Reading can be used to individualize reading supports to meet the needs of each individual student in U.S. elementary schools. Learn more

As one of five NSF-funded institutes that connect AI and education, the AI Institute for Engaged Learning (EngageAI)—a coalition of four universities and Digital Promise—is working across disciplines and with practitioners to create more engaging experiences for students through AI-powered, story-driven learning environments, while also strengthening the opportunities for students to learn science more deeply. Acting as the nexus for the EngageAI Institute, Digital Promise facilitates activities and communication to tackle the challenges associated with narrative-based learning using AI. Learn more

Led by Digital Promise from 2017-2024, the Center for Integrative Research in Computing and Learning Sciences (CIRCLS) was a community-based hub of researchers exploring and investigating technologies that will be available to learners in five to 10 years—specifically examining the connected issues of emerging technologies, learning sciences, and designing for students from low-income and rural backgrounds, and other students needing specific supports. Learn more

Digital Promise, with support from the Rainwater Foundation, is supporting schools and districts in Texas to integrate emerging technology in ways that increase math and reading outcomes and promote powerful learning. With support from Educate Texas, we are building capacity within these systems to integrate emerging technologies through the AI + Education Leadership Collaborative, a 10-month program for executive leaders across Texas districts, charter organizations, and K-12 nonprofits. Learn more

The Responsible, Ethical, and Effective Acceptable Use Policies for the Integration of Generative AI in US School Districts and Beyond (RAPID) project collaborated with 10 League of Innovative Schools districts to revise their existing acceptable use policies (AUPs). Through this process, district leaders and the RAPID project developed sample language for including GenAI into their districts’ existing AUP, which also serves as a resource for other districts. Learn more

League Learning Collaboratives provide learning opportunities for leaders at all levels of a district, including superintendents, district leaders, school leaders, and instructional coaches. The AI Literacy League Learning Collaborative will equip members with strategic insights and actionable strategies in order to evaluate and implement AI tools to improve educational outcomes. Learn more

To inform and support education leaders as they plan and adapt their priorities relating to generative AI, Digital Promise, with support from Siegel Family Endowment and the Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund, hosted an Age of AI webinar series in 2024. Watch the recordings

This free, self-paced course is designed to help educators harness the power of generative AI while addressing crucial ethical considerations. The course features practical, hands-on exercises and real-world scenarios to ensure the strategies learned are immediately applicable. Learn more

Digital Promise is partnering with the Center for Educational Innovation, middle schools in the Bronx, New York, and educators and students to develop and pilot digital competency pathways. These pathways will identify what students will need to know and do to critically understand, evaluate, and use emerging technology, equipping them with the skills to safely and effectively participate in an increasingly digital world. Learn more

Through the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools partnership, Digital Promise works with schools and districts to enhance how teachers use technology in the classroom. Educators receive comprehensive professional learning which incorporates core competencies for developing and applying AI literacy skills, and technology coaches can take part in a monthly “AI Playspace,” where they can explore various AI-powered tools and share best practices for how to use them to support their teachers. Learn more

AI literacy is the knowledge and skills that enable humans to critically understand, evaluate, and use AI systems and tools to safely and ethically participate in an increasingly digital world. Digital Promise’s AI Literacy: A Framework to Understand, Evaluate, and Use Emerging Technology describes a framework to leverage AI systems and tools for powerful learning and strategies for education leaders to design and implement a clear approach to AI literacy for their specific communities. Learn more

Digital Promise works with education leaders to implement a systems change approach to both AI and digital equity. Our Digital Equity Framework outlines five factors that must be simultaneously addressed to ensure the use of AI is fair and equitable for all learners. Learn more

To better understand the applications and effects of generative AI in postsecondary contexts, we created AI in Higher Education, a collection of more than 300 studies that examine the uses, impacts, and designs of GenAI in higher education settings. These papers include empirical research, descriptive analyses, and position pieces that explore how generative AI is being interpreted, adopted, and assessed across higher education contexts. Learn more

We analyzed nearly 200 responses to a Request for Information about innovative approaches to using AI in mathematics teaching and learning focusing on three key questions: What does AI in education look like today? What risks are associated with leveraging AI in education, and how can those risks be mitigated? And, what should be the role of AI in education? The resulting report supports education leaders in making informed decisions about AI integration in math. Learn more

The Gates Foundation invested small grants in more than two dozen projects to rapidly test and explore AI in K-12 education. Our team analyzed the funded projects from K-12 districts, nonprofits, and edtech companies, finding early successes in translation, personalization, and streamlining teacher tasks, while also identifying challenges with current AI capabilities, resource intensity, and ethical concerns. The resulting report highlights the need for cross-sector collaboration and co-design approaches to build equitable AI-enabled educational tools. Learn more

Powerful Technology for Powerful AI Teaching and Learning: Digital Promise explores how high-tech learning environments, like the new AI lab at HP AI Spotlight School Ypsilanti Community High School, can support both AI literacy and the integration of AI tools to unearth and create powerful teaching and learning experiences and pathways. Learn more

AI-powered edtech must be designed responsibly to benefit all learners. Digital Promise’s Responsibly Designed AI product certification recognizes products that reduce algorithmic bias, label generative AI content, protect data privacy, and support educator agency. Learn more

Digital Promise has partnered with seven leading edtech organizations to help school systems to identify quality digital learning tools. Learn more