The Complete Guide to Using AI in the Education Industry in Colombia in 2025

AI is reshaping classrooms across Colombia in 2025: the government's CONPES 4144 roadmap and a nationwide Día Nacional de la IA - backed by Day of AI training for thousands of teachers - aim to build teacher-led AI literacy nationwide (Colombia Day of AI nationwide launch and teacher training), even as easy-to-use bots on WhatsApp and Instagram (the Luzia-style apps) have driven cheating and falling exam scores in rural schools, showing why equitable access, strong pedagogy, and practical upskilling matter now more than ever (Meta AI WhatsApp and Instagram bots driving cheating in Colombian schools).

For educators and staff seeking hands-on workplace AI skills, the 15-week AI Essentials for Work course teaches prompts and practical tool use to help classrooms adapt responsibly (AI Essentials for Work syllabus - Nucamp).

"This is not just a single day of celebration – it's the launchpad for a movement," said Jorge Gallardo.

In 2025 the AI landscape in Colombian schools feels paradoxical: Meta's decision to embed chatbots into Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram - rolled out across Latin America in mid‑2024 - put generative AI into the hands of students in even the most remote towns, and teachers now report a flood of AI‑generated homework, surging “perfect” essays and falling exam scores as pupils copy answers instead of learning (see the Rest of World coverage of Meta's bots in rural Colombia).

At the same time, pragmatic uses of chat apps are improving access: rural adults and farmers are completing interactive courses via WhatsApp chats on platforms like Campus MAS, where learners such as Lucelys Vargas check lessons on their phones before breakfast and advance only after answering questions correctly (read the Solidaridad / Universidad de los Andes partnership).

Educators are scrambling to respond - shifting toward oral and handwritten assessments, role‑plays, and in‑class work to verify learning - while the Ministry of Education urges limited, supervised use of AI and critical reflection in higher grades.

The result is a split landscape where the same messaging apps that deliver micro‑learning and teacher supports are also the shortcut stunting deep learning, making teacher upskilling, clearer school policies, and assessment redesign urgent priorities.

“When I assign homework, students just use AI.”

The Adobe‑Advanis "Creativity with AI in Education 2025" report lays out a practical, teacher‑centred vision that matters for Colombia because it reframes generative AI as a creativity amplifier rather than just an answer machine: based on 2,801 US and UK educators the study finds strong signals - 91% saw enhanced learning with creative AI, 86% linked creative AI projects to career readiness, and 95% urged using industry‑standard tools - insights that dovetail with calls in Colombia for better teacher upskilling, clearer assessment design, and safer classroom tool choices.

The report also shows concrete classroom moves (for example, multimedia projects and digital lab‑report videos) and points to free, school‑focused platforms like Adobe Express that bundle creative templates, collaboration and safety features for K–12; those elements offer practical ways Colombian schools can pivot away from paper homework that's easily pasted from WhatsApp bots toward process‑rich portfolios and in‑class multimodal work.

For educators wrestling with falling exam scores and new messaging‑app cheats, the report's emphasis on co‑creativity and a “pedagogy of wonder” complements broader arguments about human/AI partnership in the curriculum and supplies a roadmap for assessments that surface thinking, not just polished outputs - turning a copied “perfect” essay into an artifact that proves how a student thought, iterated and learned.

Read the full Creativity with AI report and related thinking on co‑creativity to see classroom examples and policy implications.

“Creative generative AI tools have been a breath of fresh air in my teaching. I didn't used to feel that science, the subject I teach, my subject was that creative, but my students and I using AI together has inspired new and refreshing lessons. Students also have a new outlet for some to thrive and demonstrate their understanding, not to mention the opportunity to learn new digital and presentation skills, with my favourite being the creation of digital lab report videos. My marking/grading is much more engaging and interesting and always enjoy sharing and praising good examples with their peers.” - Dr. Benjamin Scott, science educator in England

Colombia's national AI strategy for education now pivots around CONPES 4144, a government roadmap that bundles 106 specific actions and a COP 479 billion (≈USD 115.9 million) investment through 2030 to boost AI literacy, infrastructure and teacher training across the country; implemented jointly by the National Planning Department, MinTIC and education authorities, the plan foregrounds ethics, data access, research and skills so schools can adopt AI responsibly rather than be blindsided by consumer bots.

The rollout is already classroom‑facing: the nationwide Día Nacional de la IA (flagship event on October 2, 2025) pairs localized teacher units and in‑person training - including a Manizales showcase at the University of Caldas and an early train‑the‑trainer cohort of 900 teachers - to seed classroom practice and community projects, while the Ministry of Education recommends limited, adult‑supervised use in primary grades and critical reflection at secondary levels.

At the same time, legislators and regulators are debating risk‑based frameworks and new compliance roles (from criminal penalties for AI‑enabled identity fraud to proposals to classify AI systems by risk), so schools and district leaders should watch policy shifts closely and lean on teacher upskilling and assessment redesign to translate national strategy into safer, pedagogically sound classroom use.

“This is not just a single day of celebration – it's the launchpad for a movement,” said Jorge Gallardo.

Classroom life in Colombia in 2025 increasingly feels like a tug‑of‑war between promise and short‑cuts: Meta's AI chatbots, rolled into WhatsApp and Instagram in mid‑2024, put powerful generative tools into students' hands even in remote towns, and teachers now report a flood of AI‑written essays and “perfect” homework that mask falling exam scores and weaker core skills (see Rest of World's reporting on Meta's bots).

The result is stark - students whispering about the Luzia/Lucia apps, two boys consulting a chatbot at the public library, and chemistry and social‑science teachers abandoning homework or shifting to in‑class, oral and handwritten assessments to verify real learning.

These classroom effects are layered on top of long‑standing gaps - only about 54 of every 100 students finish high school, and just 11 reach acceptable levels in core subjects - so the shortcut of copy‑and‑paste answers threatens to deepen existing inequities rather than close them.

Regional experts urge a pragmatic, teacher‑centred response that pairs access with pedagogy and safeguards, echoing calls from the IDB to put teachers and equity at the centre of any AI rollout and from the World Bank for adaptive tools that support learning rather than replace it.

“When I assign homework, students just use AI.”

Risks in Colombia are not hypothetical: Meta's chatbots in WhatsApp and Instagram put powerful generative AI into students' pockets, and teachers report a surge of polished, AI‑written homework that coincides with falling exam scores and teachers rethinking assessment altogether - from scrapping take‑home tasks to insisting on in‑class, oral and handwritten work (see Rest of World coverage of Meta's bots in rural Colombia).

That easy shortcut also heightens other harms: AI teacher assistants can silently introduce bias or misleading content, and Common Sense Media's risk reviews caution against using these tools for high‑stakes documents (like IEPs or behavior plans) without strict oversight and review.

Research and reporting also flag emotional dependency and cognitive offloading as real concerns for young learners, while inaccurate or unsafe outputs remain possible, so provincial leaders and schools should insist on clear policies, pre‑review of AI outputs, adult supervision for younger grades, and comprehensive teacher training before widely deploying classroom AI.

“When I assign homework, students just use AI.”

AI‑aware classrooms in Colombia are pairing curriculum‑ready content platforms with lightweight AI techniques: many teachers rely on Twinkl Colombia for ready‑made, bilingual lesson packs - for example the Colombia Lesson Teaching Pack that includes KWL grids, “The Story of Coffee” worksheets and hands‑on activities like “design your own ruana” and carnival‑costume projects - while using Twinkl's professional development and Google‑friendly workflows to cut prep time and support adaptive teaching (Twinkl Colombia Lesson Teaching Pack (Twinkl resource), Twinkl professional development (Twinkl PD), Twinkl Colombia blog).

At the same time, classroom practitioners and content teams are exploring AI workflows that restore and repurpose primary sources for lessons - see examples of ESRGAN content restoration that bring colonial‑era scans back to life for student projects - so teachers can craft multimodal, process‑rich assignments that favour thinking over copy‑and‑paste answers (ESRGAN content restoration example for colonial-era scans).

The bottom line: these tools are chosen for practicality - time saved, standards alignment, bilingual support and the ability to design active, creative tasks that surface student thinking rather than polished, AI‑generated outputs.

Practical classroom strategies start small and local: use the Día Nacional de la IA three‑lesson unit (co‑designed with Colombian teachers and being scaled by a 900‑teacher train‑the‑trainer cohort) as a tested entry point to build AI literacy and community projects that can feed into national showcases in Cartagena, while aligning activities with CONPES 4144 goals (Day of AI Colombia nationwide launch); pair that curriculum with transparent assignment design - break large tasks into subtasks, publish rubrics, and require process artifacts (drafts, reflections, short in‑class demonstrations) as recommended in faculty resources for designing assignments with AI in mind (Pedagogical resources on AI and transparent assignment design (Columbia CTL)).

Prioritise equity and teacher leadership: choose low‑bandwidth activities where needed, centre teachers in decision‑making, and use adaptive, multimodal projects (for example, restored primary sources made classroom‑ready via ESRGAN) to surface thinking rather than polished, pasted outputs (ESRGAN image restoration for classroom-ready primary sources).

Finally, build monitoring into rollout - collect teacher feedback, map connectivity constraints, and keep assessments flexible so AI supports deeper learning without widening existing access gaps, echoing the IDB's call for an equity‑first, teacher‑centred approach across Latin America and the Caribbean (Inter-American Development Bank guidance on equity-centred AI in education).

“This is not just a single day of celebration – it's the launchpad for a movement,” said Jorge Gallardo.

Leaders and school administrators should translate CONPES 4144's national momentum into local, practical steps: invest first in basic connectivity and devices so rural schools can benefit (the IDB warns 1 in 10 students lacks a school computer and 2 in 10 lack internet), lock teachers into the centre of rollout by funding sustained professional development rather than one‑off tool purchases, and adopt clear, course‑level AI policies that pair supervised classroom use with redesigned assessments that surface process (not polished outputs).

Start by scaling proven, low‑barrier materials - the three‑lesson Day of AI unit (co‑designed with Colombian teachers and seeded by a 900‑trainer cohort running up to the October 2 event) offers a tested entry point that local leaders can adapt and monitor for equity and impact; collect baseline data on teacher readiness (a Caquetá study found only 52.1% of teachers knew what AI is and 96.8% wanted training) and set measurable inclusion targets for underrepresented groups as OECD guidance recommends.

At the school level, require transparent rubrics, mandate process artifacts (drafts, reflections, short in‑class demos), and build a feedback loop so principals can track connectivity, uptake, and learning outcomes - small, monitored steps that turn national strategy into safer, teacher‑led practice across Colombia.

“This is not just a single day of celebration – it's the launchpad for a movement.”

The path forward in Colombia is practical and teacher‑centred: scale the proven three‑lesson Day of AI unit and local train‑the‑trainer models used in recent visits to Colombia, pair those units with sustained professional development (including the global Day of AI curriculum now used in more than 170 countries) so teachers can redesign assessments and supervise younger learners (Day of AI: From Colombia to Concord case study); couple low‑bandwidth, process‑focused pilots that surface drafts, reflections and in‑class demonstrations with classroom resources that revival historic materials (for example, ESRGAN image restoration to make colonial‑era scans classroom‑ready) to boost multimodal learning and local relevance (ESRGAN image restoration for colonial-era classroom primary sources); and give school leaders clear, measurable goals for connectivity, teacher readiness and academic integrity while leaning on practical upskilling options - for staff seeking hands‑on AI skills the 15‑week AI Essentials for Work bootcamp teaches prompt writing and tool workflows that translate directly into safer classroom practice (AI Essentials for Work syllabus - Nucamp).

Complement these steps with targeted webinars and peer review (to design assignments that reduce AI misuse) and insist on monitoring equity outcomes so the same messaging apps that expand access don't widen gaps - small, monitored pilots and sustained teacher support will turn national strategy into classroom learning that's both creative and accountable.