AI Explorations and Their Practical Use in School Environments is an ISTE initiative funded by General Motors. The program provides professional learning opportunities for educators, with the goal of preparing all students for careers with AI. Recently, we spoke with three more participants of the AI Explorations program to learn about its ongoing impact in K-12 classrooms. Here, they share how the program is helping their districts implement AI curriculum with an eye toward equity in the classroom. Monica Rodriguez is a kindergarten teacher with Ector County Independent School District in Odessa, Texas.

We live in a world fundamentally transformed by our own creations. Once imagined only in science fiction, artificial intelligence now powers much of the technology we interact with every day--from smart home devices to cognitive assistants to media recommenders. While subtle by design, the impact of AI is far-reaching. The field of education is no less affected by these technologies. AI shows up in instructional chatbots, personalized learning systems and administrative tools.

"It should be fun to work with artificial intelligence tools," says Nancye Blair Black, Project Lead for AI Explorations and Their Practical Use in School Environments. It's a simple credo but one that belies both a deep passion for computational thinking and an urgent desire to see this project succeed in its primary objective: to cultivate a broad and diverse group of future AI users and developers. Black sees endless opportunities to introduce AI across the curriculum to students of all ages and backgrounds. As the program--a collaboration between ISTE and General Motors--wraps up its third year of professional learning opportunities and support for educators, she says, "this is really the end of the beginning of the work." We spoke with Black recently about the work that she and her colleagues are doing, what lies ahead and why she's so excited about the potential of artificial intelligence in the classroom. EdSurge: What do you hope to achieve with the AI Explorations project?