{"id":165715,"date":"2026-05-12T15:27:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=165715"},"modified":"2026-05-12T15:27:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:27:42","slug":"dayton-daily-news-wright-state-gets-2-5m-to-teach-ai-to-rural-ohioans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/12\/dayton-daily-news-wright-state-gets-2-5m-to-teach-ai-to-rural-ohioans\/","title":{"rendered":"Dayton Daily News: Wright State gets $2.5M to teach AI to rural Ohioans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded Wright State University a $2.5 million grant to bring artificial intelligence education to rural Ohio.<\/p>\n

The grant will target current students training to become teachers and those in the university\u2019s Instructional Design and Learning Technologies master\u2019s degree program, housed under the School of Education and Leadership.<\/p>\n

DOE funded the award through the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. It supports a project called \u201cStrengthening American Competitiveness with AI Education.\u201d<\/p>\n

It aims to bring more AI education to rural Ohio and rural Kansas. Wright State is collaborating with Kansas State University and the University of Florida, which is observing and providing feedback, on this project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis four\u2011year award underscores Wright State University\u2019s commitment to workforce\u2011driven education and innovation and reflects the university\u2019s leadership in artificial intelligence education and applied research,\u201d Wright State Provost Jim Denniston said.<\/p>\n

According to Wright State, the project aims to create a through-line for students by offering AI literacy earlier in school, deepening those skills in college, and better preparing graduates for careers in a workforce increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

Faculty from the College of Engineering and Computer Science will contribute technical expertise and experience with teaching AI while the College of Health, Education and Human Services will focus on teacher preparation and the art of teaching.<\/p>\n

The project is led by Cogan Shimizu, assistant professor of computer science at Wright State.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis grant is designed to address the rapid rise of AI across industries by helping learners understand both its benefits and risks, while equipping them with the skills to use these tools to stay competitive in the national and global workforce,\u201d Shimizu said.<\/p>\n

A distinctive feature of the project is its use of neurosymbolic AI, which combines neural systems, such as large language models and machine learning, with symbolic systems like knowledge graphs and expert systems, according to WSU. The approach is intended to reduce the risk of AI-generated errors.<\/p>\n

Wright State\u2019s project will teach educators about using AI tools in the classroom and build understanding of core AI concepts. The project will provide professional development for educators to integrate AI into the classroom and build a foundation in core concepts beginning this summer, WSU said.<\/p>\n

The project includes a component where three WSU students will be selected to help develop curriculum, the creation of AI tools and gain hands-on teaching experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents won\u2019t just learn how to use AI, but also how AI systems work, how to reason about them and their behaviors, when they can be trusted and when they are the best tools for the job,\u201d Shimizu said. \u201cIn 2026, AI literacy is critical for both self-protection and competitiveness in the global workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the story at daytondailynews.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded Wright State University a $2.5 million grant to bring artificial intelligence education to rural Ohio. The grant will target current students training to become teachers and those in the university\u2019s Instructional Design and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":165721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[730],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wright-state-in-the-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165715"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165728,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165715\/revisions\/165728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}