Artificial Intelligence – Page 2

As educators, we’re constantly adapting to changes in technology and pedagogy. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no exception. In this blog post, we’ll explore how teachers can leverage AI for both personal and professional tasks; from enhancing lesson planning to managing administrative work, AI has the potential to revolutionize your day to day tasks!

Which AI tool should you use? We don’t have an official recommendation at this time. Three large platforms are ChatGPT (OpenAI), Gemini (Google), and Copilot (Microsoft). Please be aware, you might not be able to use certain platforms and services on our school network. You may only be able to access them at home or on a device not owned by the school. As you dabble with AI, you might try the same prompt in multiple platforms so you can compare how they respond. If you are hesitant about creating accounts, you might try ChatGPT which allows you to chat without signing in.

Personal and Professional Tasks with AI

AI can support some administrative tasks or clerical work you might do for your personal or professional life. Below are some examples of how AI can help you!

Personal Tasks

Take a picture of or type out the ingredients you have in your fridge and ask it to create a meal plan. Feel free to challenge it with specific dietary restrictions.
Bored kids at home for the summer? Ask AI to provide ideas for activities based on age and price range.
- Try taking a picture or describe some random items you have in the house and ask it to come up with a game. I took a picture of the contents of my desk (below) and it developed a game of “Office Quest.” (see results)

I used this picture of my desk contents and asked AI to create a game. Click the picture to see what it came up with.

Looking for a quick getaway? Ask AI to plan an itinerary for a quick, drivable destination with ideas of what to do.
Want to refresh the look in your living room? Ask AI to give you some decorating ideas or take a picture and ask it for tips to rearrange the room.

Professional Tasks

Student Exemplars: Create an exemplar essay or writing based on a description and a rubric. Bonus: Ask it to create a non-exemplar and have students critique it!
Generate Review Questions: Use AI to generate review questions for the end of the year.
Clarify Directions: Copy in your existing directions for an assignment and ask AI to make it more concise and sequential. Bonus: See if the AI can offer suggestions to further scaffold the assignment.

AI Tools to Try

AI for Education Prompt Library

The AI for Education Prompt Library offers a wealth of pre-generated prompts for various subjects and grade levels. Prompting may be new to you; this resource allows you to copy a sample prompt and customize it for your situation. Below is an example of an Exit ticket prompt.

“You are an expert educator and lesson planner, skilled at creating engaging, hands-on activities for students that help reinforce their learning. Your task is to create [NUMBER] “exit ticket” ideas I can use in my [GRADE LEVEL AND SUBJECT] class at the end of a [TOPIC] lesson on [SPECIFIC CONTENT]. The exit ticket activities/questions should be very brief and should serve as a form of assessment to gauge students’ understanding of the material covered.”

MagicSchool: Your AI Teaching Assistant

MagicSchool is an AI-powered teaching assistant that helps manage classroom tasks. It can rewrite or translate texts, unpack standards, create a choice board based on UDL principles, identify common misconceptions, and so much more.
Try the free version for access to 60+ AI tools for educators (requires login). There will be limits on the number of prompts you get in a month and some features will be disabled. You will be notified when you are nearing your limit (which resets monthly).

While AI enhances efficiency, teachers must exercise caution. Avoid sharing a student’s personal information with AI tools. Students and staff should never share personally identifiable information (PII) about themselves or others – this can include first/last names, email addresses, or any other personal identifying information.

Remember that AI is a tool, not a replacement for human interaction. Maintain a balance between technology and personal connections. Consider your role as an educational professional and evaluate if it feels appropriate to use AI to complete the task. If you deem that it is appropriate, be sure to review the output before using it.

As educators, we have an exciting opportunity to embrace AI. By integrating it into our personal and professional lives, we can create more effective and engaging learning experiences for our students. Let’s explore the possibilities and continue to evolve as educators in this digital age!

Interested but not sure where to start? Reach out to a member of the P-CCS Technology Integration Specialist Team (Kaelyn Bullock – High School; Carrie Conner – Middle School; Shannon Way – Elementary). In next week’s post, we’ll encourage you to begin having conversations with colleagues around AI.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence. It’s on Google, it’s on TikTok, it’s everywhere, including P-CCS!

What is AI?

“Artificial intelligence is about teaching machines to think and learn like humans, with the goal of automating work and solving problems more efficiently”. How does it work? AI learns by analyzing lots of data. The latest breakthrough in AI came when ChatGPT indexed much of the internet and then paired it with the ability to understand natural language. This advancement allows you to ask and get answers to questions much like a human interaction (Natural Language Processing- NLP). It can perform tasks like summarizing texts, creating captions, interpreting images, developing stories – in short, generating new and unique output to user prompts! We have entered the era of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI).

AI & P-CCS

P-CCS aspires to have staff and students using technology to innovate and thrive. This includes AI. The Student and Staff Technology Acceptable Use and Safety policies were both updated at the February 27, 2024 board meeting with administrative guidelines to follow surrounding AI. We encourage you to read the policies and be aware of the guidelines.

Some key points to be aware of:

Staff are permitted to use AI/NLP tools to accomplish their job responsibilities as long as the use is ethical and responsible. The disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) about students is prohibited.
For students, the general policy is that they are required to rely on their own knowledge, skills, and resources when completing school work.
Students are prohibited from using AI/NLP tools to complete school work without express permission/consent from a teacher. Students should ask their teachers if they have questions about using AI/NLP tools for a specific assignment.
Teachers have discretion to authorize students to use AI/NLP tools for specific purposes, such as:
- Research assistance
- Data analysis
- Language translation
- Writing assistance
- Accessibility (e.g., text-to-speech for students with disabilities)

Engage Safely and Responsibly

As we enter into this conversation, we must expressly state a caution about using AI safely and responsibly.

As with any technology, we need to be aware of the data and personal information we are sharing- especially when it comes to our students’ data. When using AI tools, students and staff should never share personally identifiable information (PII) about themselves or others – this can include first/last names, email addresses, or any other personal identifying information. If you have questions of what’s okay to share, reach out to a member of the TIS team by submitting a helpdesk ticket.

It is also very important to be aware that responses generated from AI may contain biases and/or misinformation. Always review AI-generated content with a critical (human) eye. AI is a tool that gives us a starting point, not a finished product.

First Steps

The district updated its policies in recognition that AI will be transformative. We suggest educating yourself further on AI. Here are some resources from Common Sense Media:

This is the first post in a 4-part series. The next post will provide you with ideas and resources to see how AI might support you and some of your teaching responsibilities. In our final post, we will announce the release of an AI tool that will be made available to all P-CCS staff.