Wade In, Don't Jump!

When it comes to getting your students to use AI, you definitely want to WADE into that pool, not JUMP right in!

If you were able to attend any of my PD sessions on using AI, then you know there was a lot of information about how to PREPARE to use AI with students. In fact, there was much more about preparing than actually using. And for good reason. AI is not like any other tool we have put in our students' hands before. It has so much potential and yet so many possible pitfalls that we need to be sure we've got our own brains around it before we let our kids try it out.

So here are some questions you need to not only think about but also ANSWER before having your students do anything with AI in the classroom (and a HUGE thanks to Eric Curts because he assembled so much info on this topic -- all I have had to do is cull the best pieces from his vast body of work). Here are questions to think about, not necessarily in any particular order because they all really do need to be addressed.

• What AI tools do you think you might want kids to use?
• What are your goals for having students use AI?
• How do you view the role of AI in education -- supplemental, teaching substitute, experiences, assistant, feedback, etc.?
• What concerns do you have about students using AI?
• What are your expectations for student use of AI in your classroom?
• How will you monitor student use of AI?
• How does using AI fit into your classroom rules and expectations, your school rules and expectations, and your district rules and expectations?
• How will you address problems when they arise as a result of AI use (note it's WHEN they arise, not IF -- because there WILL be problems)?
• How do you plan to teach students about safety and data privacy?
• How do you plan to teach students about problems with AI such as inaccuracies and bias?
• How will you teach students about academic integrity when it comes to using AI, including the topics of cheating, plagiarism, and transparency?
• How and what will you communicate to parents about eh way AI is used in your classroom by students?
• What does cheating with AI look like? What does it NOT look like?
• What will you do when you suspect a student has used AI in a way that was not considered appropriate? And what will you do if it is confirmed that a student has used AI inappropriately? And what will you do if you suspect it but cannot prove it?
• What will be the most appropriate way for students to disclose or cite their use of AI?

That list of questions might seem overwhelming -- so much so that you may not want to even address AI use in your classroom! Well, that may work for a bit, but AI is here to stay, so it's going to have to be addressed at some point.

And to make this all even more overwhelming, the answers to these questions might change from assignment to assignment, so you may have to answer them over and over again.

It will be helpful to develop some general guidelines for AI use in the classroom and then set out specific expectations for specific assignments, always allowing for a moment of time for students to ask questions specifically about the ways they can use AI for an assignment you give.

Does this sound too daunting to tackle on your own? I get it. It is. I highly recommend working with your grade level or subject area team to discuss these questions. You can also talk with your trust Instructional Technology Resource Teacher!