Teachers play an essential role in helping the next generation of learners develop STEM skills that will prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow, especially in this new AI era. They inspire innovators and cultivate the creative thinking that will solve the world’s biggest challenges.

Teachers face a variety of challenges every day, from creating appealing content to keeping up with AI and STEM tools, they need resources and support that are cost-effective and easy to implement. IBM SkillsBuild is empowering teachers with free resources, developed with teachers' input year-round to enhance student learning. IBM SkillsBuild offers curriculum maps, lesson plans, student worksheets, and hands-on activities, which can be easily used to supplement existing curriculum with core technical and workplace skills, including AI.

Zach Switzer, a high school teacher at John Marshall School of IT (Cleveland, Ohio), emphasized the importance of teaching AI to students now. He said, “Giving students a chance to learn with AI, while also teaching students about the intricacies of AI is necessary in my opinion. We will need individuals who understand and can manipulate AI, and who better than the generation that grew up utilizing the tool? Giving our young people access while addressing how and why AI should be used will ensure the future is in capable hands.”

IBM SkillsBuild’s Teaching Artificial Intelligence Toolkit can help with this. With this toolkit teachers can simultaneously educate themselves and implement AI coursework within their classrooms, covering topics like why AI is important to students, the role of AI in education, generative AI, and AI career opportunities.  IBM SkillsBuild toolkits are available on various topics like teaching cybersecurity, sustainability, data, professional skills, and more.

“As a science teacher with no prior education in AI or cybersecurity, I was desperate to gain some understanding. With IBM SkillsBuild, I was so happy to finally have access to a curriculum with digestible information on these topics. Not only can I digest what my students are doing and learning, but I can further their knowledge or understanding with the content I learned from IBM SkillsBuild teacher toolkits and coursework. IBM SkillsBuild has granted me access to information surrounding soft skills, employment opportunities, and career readiness that I can easily share with my students,” Zach added.

Another teacher, Mark Vukovic at CTEC of Licking County (Newton, Ohio), discussed how IBM SkillsBuild has helped his students: “I've accumulated several certifications myself while learning about how these certifications would benefit my students. The benefit of these learning modules is that they help students walk away from a classroom with not just expert instruction, but a valuable certification that they can use to apply for a job. Teachers can easily incorporate these learning modules into their existing lessons or assign students to work on them out of the classroom.”

Whether you’re a teacher, a student, a parent, or a job seeker, IBM SkillsBuild provides over 1,000 free courses on technology and professional skills. Through IBM SkillsBuild, IBM continues to progress towards our commitment to skill 30 million people globally by 2030.

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