Helping Students Navigate New Technology Responsibly

The rapidly changing world of AI tools can be challenging territory for educators. For those who decide to engage with it, exploring the benefits that large-language models can bring to the classroom while at the same time ensuring that it’s not detracting from the work of learning can be daunting. There are both ethical and logistical issues to wrestle with around this emerging technology. But at an elementary school in Meridian, Idaho, one teacher is equipping students with the skills to use AI chatbots in the classroom responsibly—while teaching them to critique the chatbots’ performance at the same time.

At Barbara Morgan STEM Academy, all K–5 students participate in a class called STEM Lab each week, just as they take other specials like gym or music. In this week’s lesson, STEM teacher Lynnea Shafter is working with the fifth-grade students to utilize AI to help them develop creative ideas around how to thank crucial community members, like school staff and first responders. Using the platform MagicSchool AI, Shafter gives students a chance to interact with a custom chatbot to ask for suggestions and, most important, assess the results. After spending some time refining their prompts, students use a rubric to rate the chatbot responses across a number of categories: relevance, clarity, creativity, and ethical considerations. 

“I want to give them the thinking skills to be really analytical of what they’re using,” says Shafter. “You have a responsibility when you use it, not just a responsibility to use it the right way but to look at what it gives you and really think about: Is it useful? Is it safe? Is it true?”

By asking her fifth-grade students to be thoughtful—and even critical—when they are using AI chatbots in the classroom, Shafter is hoping they will develop a keener sense of digital accountability. “I want them to start really looking at the information they’re given, and really think about was it what you really asked for? Did it stick to the prompt? Were all of those ideas kind? Are they inclusive?”

For more resources on teaching students how to work with new technology responsibly, read Rachelle Dené Poth’s article for Edutopia, “Guiding Students to Develop AI Literacy.”