BLACKSBURG, Va., Aug. 13 -- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University issued the following news release:

Before attending the "Teaching History with Chatty Geeps" workshop, Megan Thompson was a self-described AI skeptic who believed the technology had no place in her classroom.

"My skepticism was honestly at a 10 out of 10," said Thompson, a social studies teacher at Radford City High School. "If somebody had asked me, I would have said there is no ethical use of AI. There is no time where it is appropriate in the classroom. I want my students to stay as far away from it as possible."

But after four days of hands-on experience, Thompson's perspective shifted.

"Now, I would say that I'm about a three or four on the AI skepticis...