NYC teacher uses AI for history projects as school rules evolve

In short: A Manhattan public high school teacher is using AI for history projects, even as schools still lack clear, consistent rules for how AI should be used.

What's going on

Ian Weissman is a social studies and history teacher at a Manhattan public high school. He recently received the Manhattan FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence, a New York City award that recognizes standout teachers.

In his classroom work, Weissman combines history, civics, performance, and technology. Through his school’s AI Fellows Initiative and the Modern Classrooms Project, he has focused on using AI tools to build historical simulations and interactive lessons.

A “historical simulation” can be thought of like a guided role-play. Students might explore a debate between historical viewpoints, or test how different choices could change the outcome of an event. Generative AI, which is a kind of software that can create text and ideas (like an always-on brainstorming partner), can help produce different perspectives or “primary-source style” documents for students to question and compare.

Weissman has also run a project called “History in Your Hands,” where students design and make historically inspired artifacts using tools like 3D printers and laser cutters. That project is not specifically about AI, but it shows the same approach of mixing research with hands-on making.

What to watch

Weissman said AI in schools still feels like “the wild West” when it comes to regulation. That reflects a bigger national issue in K to 12 education, where schools are still working out rules for cheating, student privacy, bias (when a tool treats some groups unfairly), and when AI help should be allowed and disclosed.

Source: NYTimes