Benchmark Professional Development

Artificial Intelligence in the classroom

Heather L. BeseckerGrand Canyon UniversityEDU 585: Designing Effective Professional DevelopmentHeather HamtilOctober 2, 2024

Speaker Notes: Artificial intelligence tools have been around for a long time, but they are just starting to become popular and more commonplace in classrooms. Educators are still learning how to integrate AI into instruction.

What is AI?

Artificial Intelligence or AI occurs when a machine completes tasks that are commonly done using human cognition (Hamilton, 2024).AI can make decisions, find solutions to problems, and understand and act like a natural human speaker or thinker (Hamilton, 2024). It has the capability to make human-like decisions and learn from previous input.

Speaker Notes: There are many benefits to integrating AI into the classroom, but teachers need to take the time to think about not just using AI to engage their students, but also how is it being used to really improve student learning.

The Purpose of Artificial intelligence in education

Every educator needs to learn about AI and how using it in the classroom can help their students. Students will be impacted by the use of AI as they move forward in their lives.

Educators need to know how to utlize and integrate innovative technology in the classroom and how it can be used as a best practice (Cronk, 2024).

Teachers need to be aware of the challenges, concerns, and ethical issues that using AI in the classroom may cause (Elgersma, 2024).

differentiating instruction

AI is embedded into many educational learning platforms like i-Ready, Reflex Math, and ST Math.Through online assessments, the AI tools can customize learning for students to meet their specific needs.The personalized learning paths created by the AI tools can be completed independently and strengthen student skills (Hailey, 2024).High achieving students can also benefit from the adaptive learning programs by receiving accelerated learning paths (Hailey, 2024).

Speaker Notes: Differentiated instruction has proven to be helpful to meet the needs of all students and AI is a wonderful tool to help teachers group their students, fill in missing areas of learning, and provide challenging work.

How to use artificial intelligence in the classroom

Preventing teacher burn out

Teachers can use the AI tools in Padlet to help reduce prep time (Cronk, 2024). Teachers can input a topic and a grade level and the AI tool will generate a list of discussion prompts to choose from. Students can then respond on the discussion board. Padlet has an AI tool called Class Activity Creator. Based on a topic and grade level, the AI tool will create a list of activities like creating a timeline, designing with the drawing tool, or a shareout that students can complete using the Padlet tool.Magic School AI is another tool to help with the teacher work load. Magic School AI can be used to generate worksheets, report card comments, lesson plans, and rubrics. The AI tools can also level texts to fit different reading abilities and help with social emotional learning lessons.

Speaker Notes: There are many responsibilities that teachers must complete daily and using AI tools can help educators work quickly and efficiently. Teachers should not view using AI tools as "cheating", but instead as a strategy to make them even better at their job.

How to use artificial intelligence in the classroom

Giving Timely Feedback

Artificial intelligence systems can free up teacher time by giving timely automated feedback to students (Hamilton, 2024). AI tools can respond to student work and give feedback on possible solutions and next steps. This helps teachers be able to reach more students in class more often each day. Snorkl is an AI tool that teachers can use to assign math problems for students to solve. The AI tool can see what the students wrote and it records their voice as they explain how to solve the problem. It then provides both positive and corrective feedback that students can read or listen to on the screen.

Speaker Notes: It is always difficult to find time to have conversations about learning each day with every student in class. Using AI tools to give feedback allows every student the opportunity to know if they are on track with their learning. Teachers can view the feedback given later and follow up if need be.

How to use artificial intelligence in the classroom

Presenter Notes: Because time to teach each day is so limited by other school activities, integrating music into other subject areas helps to cover more standards at one time. Students also love music and being creative.

SUNO is an AI tool that can create a song based on any topic. Students and teachers can input a topic or facts learned about a topic and then create a song based on artists or genres of music. This can be used as a classroom theme song or as a culminating assignment to show what students have learned.

SUNO

AI Classroom Resources

Presenter Notes: School AI has a lot of powerful tools and assignments that other teachers have already created. Be sure to check out what your colleagues have made and save yourself planning time.

School AI has a variety of student and teacher AI tools. Students can be assigned a sidekick that acts as an AI assistant and help them review for quizzes or practice their vocabulary. Teachers can use School AI to create exit tickets, bell ringers, and a variety of other activities.

SCHOOL AI

AI Classroom Resources

Presenter Notes: The auto draw features are very helpful for students who don't like to draw or don't want to share their own drawings. Sometimes the auto draw AI tool can provide pictures that may appear to be inappropriate.

The applications Padlet and Book Creator now have auto draw features using AI. The auto draw feature creates an image based on a list of information input into the AI tool. It can create images for assignments like comics, essays, or social studies timelines.

Auto draw Features

AI Classroom Resources

Presenters Notes: All of these concerns need to be addressed by school districts and they should provide their staff members with exact steps on how and what can be done with AI in the classroom. Parents should also be aware.

There are age limitations on which students can use AI tools in the classroom.

Bias and misinformation in AI is problematic and an area of concern.

Ethics is a concern because AI uses a mixture of work from other sources.

Educational concerns invovling using AI

Plagiarism is a concern because AI can generate student work for them.

Follow up Plan

Students will need to learn how to recognize bias and misinformation when they are using AI tools. Teachers will need to implicitly teach students how to responsibly use AI for their assignments and explain the consequences of plagiarism when using AI tools like ChatGpt to complete their written work (Elgersma, 2024). Professional development trainings on these topics is essential as well as staying up to date with laws on age limitations for using AI tools in the classroom.

Cronk, J. (2024). 5 tips for using AI in the classroom. ISTE. https://iste.org/blog/5-tips-for-using-ai-in-the-classroomElgersma, C. (2024). ChatGPT and beyond: How to handle AI in schools. Common Sense Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/chatgpt-and-beyond-how-to-handle-ai-in-schoolsHailey, T. (2024). AI in education: How teachers can use AI in the classroom. Schools That Lead. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/it-and-tech/artificial-intelligence-in-school/Hamilton, I. (2024). Artificial intelligence in education: Teacher's opinions on AI in the classroom. Forbes Advisor. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/it-and-tech/artificial-intelligence-in-school/

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