Watkinson School Teacher Creates Babbelborg, A Customized AI Learning Tool for Students

Watkinson School, Hartford’s oldest independent private day school for grades 6-12/PG, is pleased to announce that longtime faculty member Tom Gromak has created Babbleborg, a customized AI learning tool with important safeguards for middle and high school students. Gromak is Watkinson’s academic technology coordinator. For the last two years, he has helped lead a professional development group at Watkinson to help keep the school’s faculty at the forefront of what is happening with AI in schools. The guiding belief Watkinson faculty share with students is: you are better than AI. That being said, artificial intelligence as a tool for learning and or work enhancement is here to stay. This dichotomy is part of what led Gromak to create his own tool for students.

Gromak describes, “Babbleborg lets our teachers use AI to build authentic learning experiences while developing students' literacy with this new technology. I built it to be privacy-forward and highly customized for how our students learn, putting control in the hands of the teachers who know our students best, rather than some distant for-profit entity.”

Head of School Teri Schrader comments, “Mr. Gromak is helping students practice using AI, while simultaneously thinking deeply about what AI can do, what it should do, and what constitutes unethical use. His 8th-grade Tech Projects class has been assisted by Babbleborg with everything from brainstorming and planning to reflecting on their experiences.”

To learn more about Gromak’s work with Babbleborg, visit babbelborg.org.