District staff demonstrate classroom uses of AI and outline timeline for on-site fingerprinting service

Punxsutawney Area SD technology staff on Tuesday demonstrated how the district is piloting artificial-intelligence tools in classrooms and described next steps for an on-site fingerprinting service the district plans to host.

At a presentation, staff showed Curapod — an interactive lesson platform — and said it is already being used in lessons to create activities, anonymize student responses with randomized names and produce AI-assisted feedback for student writing. “What we're using here, as part of our our presentation is an application called Curapod,” a district technology presenter said, demonstrating a live poll and an AI writing tutor built into the platform.

The presentation framed AI as a tool to “work smarter, not harder,” with examples including generative image tools in Photoshop, Canva graphics for school materials and Magic School for educator resources. Beth, identified in materials as a co-tech coach, said generative AI creates new content — text, images or audio — and that the district is teaching staff to use it responsibly in lessons.

The session included practical safeguards and policy notes. Presenters said teachers remain the content experts and that the district blocks most external AI sites unless staff request them; the district has an approval process for classroom AI tools. Presenters reiterated a privacy caution: teachers and students should not input personally identifiable information into AI tools.

Separately, Doctor Vasquez, who presented federal programs and curriculum items earlier, explained the timeline for an IDEMIA fingerprinting station the district has contracted: the board will be asked to approve related paperwork at the next business meeting; once signed the district will submit the application the following day and schedule trainer visits. Vasquez said trainers sometimes travel from other states; the onsite training runs three days, with the second day focused on bringing the system up and day three transitioning daily operations to district staff. Once operational, members of the public can make appointments online similar to other fingerprint sites.

Board members asked about academic integrity, teacher roles and detection of AI-generated student work. Presenters said some detection tools exist and that changing pedagogy — for example, asking personal, classroom-specific questions — is one strategy the district endorses to confirm student understanding. The presenters said the district has discussed AI at recent technology camps and will continue teacher training; they will also follow the district approval process for classroom tools.

The presentation concluded with examples of AI use for student engagement and career pathways: staff noted the emergence of jobs such as prompt engineers and discussed opportunities to teach AI literacy in summer programs and professional development.

The board did not take action during the presentation; staff said they will return with any needed approvals on the consent or business agenda at a subsequent meeting.