Boy, have I been spending a lot of time thinking, reading, and learning about Artificial Intelligence and education, along with trying ideas and tools out in my classroom.

You can see all my continually “Best” lists on Artificial Intelligence here, along with my weekly post on free AI tools for classroom use.

One of the things I’ve noticed, however, is that not that many K-12 educators are writing about how they are trying to use AI tools with their students.

There’s a ton of stuff out there about how teachers can use them for planning, lesson plans, creating materials, etc.

I think the bigger question facing all us teachers, however, is how are we dealing with it in the classroom. AI is here in the world, our students are going to use it now with us or without us, and they’ll certainly be using it in their future jobs.

So, I don’t think it’s a question of “if” we use it with students. Rather, it’s a question of “how.”

I thought I’d bring together what I think are the best ideas I’ve thought of and seen, and hope that others will chime in, too.

That being said, there are many, many issues with AI, and I think the best piece I’ve seen talking about is by Dan Meyer at AI Chatbots Will Help Students Learn Nothing Faster Than Ever.

We do live in the “world as it is” and not in the world “as we’d like it to be.” So here are some practical ideas on how we use AI with our students:

I’ve previously written in my Ed Week column about how my ELL students use free AI sites for grammar and pronunciation practice.

In that same column, I talk about how, if ChatGPT were not blocked by our district, I would have my ELL students ask it to create engaging stories at their English proficient level about topics of their choice. What better way to help learners want to read (I also discuss teacher material creation in that column, but that’s for another “Best” list)?

Though I don’t mention it in that column, I also wonder if students of all levels could help them understand text they’re having difficulties with. For example, if my TOK students were researching for their essay, and they found some academic studies that were pretty dense, they could copy and paste it in ChatGPT and ask it to summarize it at a high school level.

Here’s how I’ve used text-to-image tools with ELLs: How I’m Using AI Art Generation To Teach English To Newcomers

I’ve written about the guidelines I’ve given to my IB Theory of Knowledge students for ChatGPT use at HERE’S THE GUIDANCE I GAVE TO STUDENTS ABOUT USING CHATGPT – HELP ME MAKE IT BETTER.  This guidance includes how to use it for grammar correction, other essay improvement, and for creation of essay outlines.  I’ve also thought about, if and when they have school access to it, having them ask ChatGPT to write an essay and then annotate it with corrections and other improvements.

I’m presently creating a week-long unit for my TOK class on Artificial Intelligence, which I should post in the next day-or-two.  It will lead to their “Final” of creating draft school guidelines for ChatGPT use.  Check out its draft here: HERE’S A DRAFT WEEK-LONG UNIT ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE I’M USING TO FINISH THE YEAR – HELP ME MAKE IT BETTER.

Pressto uses AI to help students write essays.  I might spend some time trying to figure out if I could have students use it in class.

Now that I’ve shared my ideas, here are resources that I believe share other worthwhile ones:

ChatGPT in geography education is from Kate Stockings.

My class required AI. Here’s what I’ve learned so far. is by ETHAN MOLLICK.

IT’S THE END OF WRITING AS WE KNOW IT (AND I FEEL FINE) is by PL Thomas.

This is a document from The IB English Guys.

Don’t Ban ChatGPT in Schools. Teach With It. is from The NY Times.

HERE’S A WAY I’M THINKING OF INTRODUCING AI TO MY INTERMEDIATE ELLS – PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK

 

Of course, even with all these ideas, I still find AI text detectors valuable. I think, though, the odds of having to use them might be reduced if we help students learn how to use AI responsibly…

Please, please, please share your own!

Note that, officially, you’re supposed to be at least eighteen to be able to use ChatGPT or Bard – not that this theoretical requirement is going to stop a single younger student from using it.  Do note, however, that Poe, a similar chatbot, allows anyone who is at least thirteen to use it.

ADDENDUM: Here are some other neat ideas from others:

Introducing 9th graders to ChatGPT is from Lit and Tech.