ACES Center for Artificial Intelligence

Connecticut’s Public Act 26-15 is creating new urgency for districts to begin planning for AI literacy implementation.

Join ACES Center for AI for a free 45-minute webinar: Responding to Public Act 26-15: Building AI Literacy in Connecticut Schools

Participants will preview:

• The ACES K–12 AI Literacy Curriculum

• The ACES High School AI Foundations Course

• The ACES Curriculum Creator

The session will also explore practical, developmentally appropriate approaches to AI literacy grounded in strong instructional design, ethical use, and human-centered innovation.

Ideal for district leaders, curriculum directors, technology leaders, instructional coaches, and educators.

Webinar Options:

Thursday, May 28 — 9:30 AM

https://catalog.protraxx.com/ClassDetails/447731?CustomerID=254

Thursday, May 28 — 1:30 PM

https://catalog.protraxx.com/ClassDetails/447732?CustomerID=254

Tuesday, June 2 — 9:30 AM

https://catalog.protraxx.com/ClassDetails/447729?CustomerID=254

Tuesday, June 2 — 1:30 PM

https://catalog.protraxx.com/ClassDetails/447746?CustomerID=254

AI literacy can start earlier than we think.
In Episode 22 of Future-proof Education: AI and Beyond, Megan DaCosta shares what happens when fourth graders use AI with curiosity, skepticism, and confidence. One student even challenged a chatbot’s wrong answer, proved her thinking, and “beat the robot.”

A powerful reminder: students need guidance as they learn to question, verify, and create with AI.

Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Apple- https://lnkd.in/eXcbUtKu

Spotify- https://lnkd.in/eBvNn7ri

From national conversations to regional collaboration, this week highlighted the growing momentum around AI in education.

Melissa Rosenthal and Dr. Jessica White attended the Google AI in Action Event, where we explored sneak peeks of upcoming Google AI updates and participated in a Demo Slam focused on practical applications for schools.

Jessica also facilitated conversations around the Gen AI Maturity Tool at the CoSN AI Summit, while Melissa joined facilitators from across the state to wrap up the RESC Alliance AI Consortium. Participating districts received a first look at the ACES K–12 AI Literacy Curriculum and reflected on a year of learning together.

Excited to continue building thoughtful, human-centered approaches to AI across Connecticut and beyond.

AI bans may feel simple. For many students, they remove the only guided access they have.

In Episode 21 of Future-proof Education: AI and Beyond, Dr. Nicole Nace Danishevsky of Southern Connecticut State University joins Bob Hutchins and Dr. Jessica White to talk about why banning AI can deepen inequity, erode trust, and push students to use these tools without support.

The conversation explores what thoughtful AI guidance can look like in classrooms, how educators can help students build confidence, and why access matters most for learners who may have the least support outside school.

Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Spotify- https://lnkd.in/e2QxD7xQ

Apple- https://lnkd.in/epsUtWhs



Area Cooperative Educational Services

Build better curriculum. Faster.
The ACES Curriculum Creator helps educators move from a topic, resource, or idea to a coherent curriculum plan with clarity and purpose.

Grounded in UDL, UbD, and CSDE Curriculum Design Principles, this AI-powered tool supports thoughtful planning, district alignment, performance tasks, lesson design, and differentiation.

Designed by educators for real classroom use.

Comment "Interested" below if you want more information.

Last week was a busy and productive week for the ACES Center for AI!

On Wednesday, we hosted the ACES Regional AI in Education Forum, bringing together educators and leaders for learning, collaboration, and forward-thinking conversations. We were honored to welcome guest speaker Bob Hutchins and to showcase several of our newest tools and resources, including:

ACES K–12 AI Literacy Curriculum
ACES Curriculum Creator
ACES Prompt Library
ACES AI-Powered Test Prep Platform

We also celebrated the authors of our new book, STEM Century, and were excited to share that the book achieved Best Seller status in three categories:

Science Education for Kids
Counseling Education
Educational Certification & Development

On Thursday, we were proud to have a booth at the CASBO Conference, alongside fellow ACES teams, where we connected with school and district leaders to discuss how AI can strategically support operations, teaching, and learning.

On Friday, we hosted the RESC Alliance AI Consortium, welcoming districts from across Connecticut to collaborate on designing meaningful professional learning opportunities that meet districts at different stages of AI implementation.

Grateful for a week filled with innovation, partnership, and momentum!

We are happy to report that our co-authored book, called STEM Century: It Takes a Village to Raise a 21st Century Graduate: ACES Edition, is available for purchase on Amazon for only $2.99. You can purchase through a web browser on your device or laptop/desktop.

If you’re able, please support by purchasing and posting a screenshot of your purchase (or sharing this post) so we can flood the timeline with momentum around the launch!

Click the Amazon link to get your copy now. Thank you again for all your support!

https://tinyurl.com/mt66453a

We’re excited to share a key part of our work at the ACES Regional AI in Education Forum on April 22.

At the center of this work is the ACES K–12 AI Literacy Curriculum, grounded in a simple but critical idea:

Human thinking remains primary.

Rather than focusing on tools, this curriculum is designed to develop students as:

Intentional Planners
Critical Verifiers
Independent Thinkers
Responsible Decision-Makers
Systems Analysts
Strategic Designers
Principled Leaders

This visual represents the vision of the graduate our work is moving toward—one that emphasizes cognitive ownership, disciplined verification, and responsible decision-making in an AI-shaped world.

On April 22, we’ll be sharing how this vision translates into:

a vertically aligned K–12 progression
classroom-ready units and performance tasks
a framework districts can use to guide implementation

🔗 Register here: https://tinyurl.com/28vea3bu

Looking forward to the conversations ahead.

Ready to get better results when using AI tools? It is all about how you ask! 💡

Check out the 3-slide guide below on the CRAFT framework to learn how to write the perfect prompt.

By defining your Context, Role, Audience, Format, and Task, you ensure that AI functions as a helpful tool to assist your work rather than replacing your own professional expertise.

Swipe through the slides to see a simple, step-by-step example of how a great prompt comes together!

Zahra Ahmed from Harvard University joined us to discuss "durable" learning. We talked about the importance of metacognition and the gap between information and thinking. She is helping faculty at Harvard move from being merely knowledgeable about a tool to integrating it into the daily rhythm of the classroom. For Zahra, the goal is for students to know exactly what a tool is doing for them and what they must still be responsible for themselves.

The entry point for college students is shifting. It is no longer enough to arrive with information; students must arrive with an awareness of their own thinking.

Listen to the full episodes on your favorite podcast platform.

Or here at Apple Podcasts- https://lnkd.in/e9dzuCPV

Today is National AI Literacy Day!

The ACES Center for AI is sharing free K–12 AI literacy activities to support students in building critical thinking, asking better questions, and making responsible decisions about AI.

These activities are aligned to grade-level learning and our AI Integration Framework (A0–A5), showing how AI literacy can grow from early elementary through high school.

This is also a preview of the full ACES AI Literacy Curriculum coming soon.

📎 Check out the activities here: https://bit.ly/4sCqHfc

Reminder: If students are using AI tools, be sure to follow your district’s policies on approved platforms.