Some students and teachers may feel apprehensive about using Artificial Intelligence in their schoolwork or to help them teach.
However the use of AI can improve productivity and reduce the time that teachers spend working each week, while students can use AI to make themselves more comfortable with their work or how they get it done.
In the Papillion La Vista Community Schools district, professional development coordinator Gretchen Kalkowski and instructional technology facilitator Jenna Reeh both have recently taught optional sessions to teachers on the uses of Artificial Intelligence for teaching and learning in the classroom.
According to Kalkowski, teachers often express fears about their students’ use of AI in ways that might affect their ability or motivation to learn how to do things for themselves.
Kalkowski believes it is important for students to use AI responsibly in a way that doesn’t do their work for them, because teachers don’t want to “graduate kids from … high school [who] can’t write.” Kalkowski also pointed out that there will be multiple times in a student’s life when they cannot use AI, and an over-reliance on it now could cause problems for them moving forward.
Some student uses of AI include seeking guidance on word choice, tone and mood on certain papers and project.
According to Reeh, students could be “using it in really meaningful ways and getting feedback really quickly.” This is something that can be used when teachers aren’t available to provide feedback because of multiple classes that may be needing their assistance at a certain time.
Still, AI isn’t a reliable source to be a student’s only guide in making sense of academic work. “AI has a tendency to what we call ‘hallucinate,’” Reeh said, “where AI wants to give you an answer, right? Even if it doesn’t know.”
Where there are problems with Artificial Intelligence, there are many ways that it can be beneficial when using it responsibly.
Students obtaining feedback when teachers are unable, using it to help generate or inspire ideas, and working with word choice all make it a useful tool in the classroom. As students and teachers learn how to use AI productively, It continues improving and developing in order to help future generations.
