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AI becomes more powerful each day. As it changes the world at large, so, too, does it take an increasing role in the lives of students. However, it cannot replace teachers, who have a responsibility to help students learn to work with this increasingly advanced technology.

In the edLeader Panel “Teaching AI with Confidence: Empowering Your Educators This School Year,” experts discussed AI literacy, setting classroom expectations, and tips for using this technology in classrooms.

What is AI Literacy?

“AI literacy” is defined as the knowledge, skills, and ethical awareness needed to understand and use AI. It’s important because it prepares students for future careers, helps them learn to question AI-provided information, and be informed creators.

In classrooms, this means teaching students about AI, such as what it is and how it works; teaching with it, such as using it to provide feedback on writing assignments; and using AI tools to generate lessons and summarize student performance data.

4 Strategies for Building AI Literacy in Classrooms

1. Understand AI and AI literacy. Many groups and partners offer free resources explaining AI, teacher guides and student lessons, and activities that don’t require technology, ensuring that students can engage without access to the actual tools.
2. Share AI’s risks and limitations. This includes issues such as AI hallucinations and biases and how to recognize them, copyright infringement, plagiarism, and privacy and data security risks.
3. Create a safe environment to experiment with AI. There are online resources, such as premade prompts, to show students potential decision outcomes and teacher-led activities, such as generating images to go with students’ written stories.
4. Sharpen critical-thinking skills to question AI. This includes identifying and discussing biases and identifying if the content is AI or human generated.

5 Key Indicators of High-Quality AI Lessons

1. Established learning objectives
2. An age-appropriate understanding of what AI is and its capabilities and limitations
3. An emphasis on critical thinking and asking questions
4. Ethical and responsible use, such as what data is safe to share and whether AI can be unfair
5. Real-world relevance, such as AI at home

Additional Tips for AI Use in Classrooms

To ensure safe and ethical AI use in classrooms, it’s important to have a digital learning agreement or classroom pledge around the start of the year so students understand expectations regarding technology learning. What that looks like differs depending on grade level, but it’s crucial to emphasize and model honesty, safety, and critical thinking with AI.

This can be done via methods like “Do and Don’t” lists that explain rules such as “don’t use AI to copy homework” and “do use it to help with learning,” and using AI to answer questions of the week and examining its answers.

In addition, there are ways to help each grade become more comfortable with AI. For example, younger students can help create AI weather reports, while older students can look at its acceptable uses in writing assignments.

Students of all ages can identify AI-powered tools in classrooms and ways they use AI in their daily lives. Also, teachers can make AI part of the regular classroom routine by having AI-generated writing prompts or taking time each week to discuss AI as a learning partner.

With the prominence of AI in today’s world, it’s more important than ever that students be comfortable with it and know how to use it safely and ethically. That means that teachers must develop their own AI literacy and establish clear expectations regarding this technology in classrooms. AI can do a lot of things, but it cannot replace teachers; teachers must help students become thoughtful, responsible citizens who know how to work with AI correctly and safely.

Learn more about this edWeb broadcast, Teaching AI with Confidence: Empowering Your Educators This School Year, sponsored by Renaissance.

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Artificial Intelligence in Education is a free professional learning community where educators can hear from a range of experts, developers, and solution providers on this fast-developing new technology that will have an unprecedented impact on human life.

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success.

Article by Jon Scanlon, based on this edLeader Panel