Uses For Ai In Classrooms

    AI in the classroom may present itself as a questionable addition; however, it is an increasingly large part of our society and the educational sphere should welcome and learn to navigate such tools. Not only is it our responsibility to teach learners about the pros and cons of AI so they are better equipped when they inevitably access it, but we must also show them how to ethically use AI and cite it should they use it. AI is a part of our societal fabric and with each passing year I feel as if its presence grows it's evolving faster than we can keep up, but we need to be prepared for the evolution.

Moreover, integrating AI into the learning environment gives educators an opportunity to show students how this technology works instead of exposing them to it as just another unknown object. As cited in Hands-on AI Projects for Elementary Classrooms, even the most simple lesson from a voice recognition challenge to an image sorting task or navigation activity can help students bridge the gap between daily life and unfamiliar concepts. Once they're exposed to AI through these types of lessons, they understand things that AI can do but also things that it cannot. Moving beyond abstract concepts allows students to critically assess technology with which they've already been familiarized.

Furthermore, being involved with classroom lessons provides students with the ability to develop their own AI-based resources instead of simply being users. When educators focus on student-centered lessons, their involvement in development, assessment and testing is inevitable. For example, students can create a basic binary tree to classify images or determine how varying information input could change a result. These lessons not only foster transferable skills such as problem solving, critical thinking and ethical considerations, but also provides them the understanding that they can thoughtfully control AI uses and creations moving forward. This will inevitably help them in any future career path or community engagement when they find themselves surrounded by AI integrations.