How and Why the School Wants You Using AI: New Classes in the CTE Department.

Mr. Kane Hall demonstrates a 3D model on his computer. 3D modeling has been taught for years in the CTE program. Photo Credits: Brayden Howard, The Powderhorn

Brayden Howard, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn

The CTE department at Watauga High School has been seeing unprecedented change over the last few years. New and developing technologies are forcing society to adapt, but concerns over moral and technical issues continue to persist. Mr. Hall teaches the Artificial Intelligence class, a new course which was introduced this year as the capabilities of AI advance. Along with AI, the computer science department introduced, Adobe Visual Design, taught by Mr. Lavender. Adobe Visual Design teaches photo editing.

“I think we’re seeing AI start to formulate itself as a really big industry with potential for a lot of students here,” said Mr Hall. “I think that AI has a lot of career opportunities for new students. And I think our district and state is really looking to get students involved.” 

The class is part of a larger effort to improve how students interact with AI. Due to how new the program is, some things are still left to teachers. Computer science is a popular field, so most students go into the class planning to enjoy their time.

“They have a curriculum that they provided for the state, but it’s pretty new statewide, so I’ve had to build on it a lot just to get some fun stuff in there,” said Hall.

AI also comes with some significant concerns over the moral and ethical effects of its use. Many people have pointed to various issues that come about when students use or overuse AI. The state government of North Carolina is also concerned with the way students engage with AI. 

“Today we’re working on moral and ethical concerns in AI, so we are exploring some of the generative biases AI have. I think the biggest concern we’re having is the ethical and moral side of artificial intelligence,” said Hall. “So I really like that the curriculum goes really deep into that. I know we’re seeing a lot of students who are struggling psychologically, emotionally, dealing with chat bots and things like that.” 

Despite these concerns, Hall remains generally optimistic, considering the class a net positive for the school. The class has received good reactions from students, and Hall feels they are learning valuable information.

“I think the school is super happy it’s here. I think a lot of students really enjoy it, so I think it’s been going really well so far,” said Hall.

The other new CTE class this year is Adobe Visual Design, taught by Mr. Lavender. The course covers 2D graphic design and image editing for newcomers. The class had previously been incorporated as part of 3D modeling.

“It was just introduced this semester. Technically, yes, there was a digital design and animation which taught 3D modeling techniques as well as 2D graphic design,” said Lavender. “And it kind of splintered into just 3D modeling, and then Adobe Visual Design.”

Due to how new the program is, it is partially reliant on an online program called Brain Buffet. Opinions on Brain Buffet vary between teachers and students.

“Brain Buffet has videos and tutorials and goes more in depth into a demonstration and allows them to follow along with the work. Honestly, it’s a very useful tool,” said Lavender. “It has tons of videos and materials that help both me and the students get them prepared for what they need to do.” 

Not everyone is as happy with the Brain buffet program as Mr. Lavender. CTE student Nicky Rice had her own thoughts on the program.

“There’s a new course called Brain Buffet. We're supposed to watch videos and answer questions and then follow along on photoshop,” said Rice. “It’s very tedious. I do not like it at all. If I could get rid of it, first chance I get, that’s what I would do.” 

The program is used in tandem with in person lessons taught by Lavender, which is done in order to expedite the learning process for students. This differs from an older class called Digital Design and Animation which was all teacher-led.

“Lavender will teach a whole video lesson in about five minutes, which takes Brain Buffet a couple days to do,” said Rice. “In the digital design class we didn’t use it and it was just Mr. Lavender who taught lessons.”

Ultimately, all of these changes to the CTE programs are providing opportunities for students, as well as difficulties for teachers to overcome. Ultimately, teaching responsibility with technology remains the primary goal of the program.

“We’re teaching them about the fundamentals of computing for those students who aren’t super familiar with computing. I think AI as a whole is great. I think it’s just so important as people to be mindful of ethical, and moral concerns," said Hall.  “Do our best to keep society safe while we’re producing these really big programs. I like to instill personal responsibility in everyone who uses a computer.”