Guide to Artificial Intelligence

Welcome to Part 2 of the ECSD Guide to Artificial Intelligence for Educators! This guide delves into the history of artificial intelligence and explores practical ways to use AI tools in the classroom. From generating lesson plans and differentiating instruction to engaging students with AI-powered activities, it provides educators with valuable prompts, tools, and resources. It also highlights essential considerations for teaching AI responsibly, including ethics, data privacy, and academic integrity. Dive in to discover how AI can enhance teaching and empower students with future-ready skills!

Ask AI (ChatGPT*, Claude*, or Gemini) the following Prompts

• Brainstorming Session - Ask AI for writing prompts that will inspire students to write about a topic of study.
  • Prompt: “Give me 5 different writing prompts about ___________ (topic/standard).”
• Vocabulary Expansion - Ask AI for a list of vocabulary words on a given topic.
  • Prompt: “Give me 10 vocabulary words and definitions for ___________ (topic/standard).”
• Opposing Viewpoints - Ask AI for opposing viewpoints on a topic.
  • Prompt: “Write opposing viewpoints for a discussion about ___________ (topic/standard).”
• AI-Generated Outline - Ask AI to write an outline for a writing assignment.
• Prompt: “Write an outline for an essay on ___________(topic).”

• Exploring Writing Style - Ask AI to write in the style of different authors.
  • Prompt: “Write a story about _________ (topic) in the style of ____________(author).”
• AI-Assisted Role Play - Ask AI to write in the style of a historical figure.
  • Prompt: “Write about _________ (topic) in the style of ____________(historical figure).”
• Mentor Texts - Ask AI to write mentor text.
  • Prompt: “Write an example ________________ (style of writing ) text on ___________ (topic or writing assignment) as an example for students.”
• Creative Inspiration - Ask AI for a starting point for creative writing.
• Prompt: “Write a starting paragraph/sentence for a creative writing activity for students on ___________ (topic/standard).”
• Sentence Starters - Ask AI for a list of sentence starters for your subject area for students who need extra support
• Prompt: “Give me a list of sentence starters about ___________ (topic/standard) for _____(grade).”

*ECSD does not have subscriptions with ChatGPT, Claude, or the upgraded version of Gemini; these are only for educator and staff use.

**Follow the ECSD AI policy when sharing information on an AI program.

*AI (Canva Magic) Generated Images above.

**All lessons, materials, assessments, and feedback must have human oversight; see ECSD AI Policy

• Simplify Complex Ideas:

  • Ask AI to break down challenging concepts into easy-to-understand steps.
  • Prompt: "Explain the steps to solving a ______________ equation as if you were talking to a _____________(grade)."

• Generate Analogies and Metaphors:

  • Use AI to create analogies that relate abstract concepts to everyday experiences.
  • Prompt: "Explain _________(topic) using a metaphor that a _______(grade) would understand."

• Rewrite Content for Different Learning Styles:

  • Request AI to reframe information visually, verbally, or kinesthetically.
  • Prompt: "Describe how to __________(topic) in a way that emphasizes hands-on steps for ___________(type) learners."

• Offer Multiple Perspectives on a Topic:

  • Use AI to show various viewpoints or ways to think about an issue.
  • Prompt: "Explain why ___________(topic) is important from the perspectives of a scientist, a teacher, and a 10-year-old student."

• Create Tiered Reading Passages:

  • Ask AI to provide multiple versions of a passage, each tailored to different reading levels.
  • Prompt: "Rewrite this article "__________(insert article) for a 3rd grader, a middle schooler, and a high schooler."

• Cultural Contexts and Linguistic Adaptations:

  • Have AI explain content in different cultural contexts or translate to simpler language.
  • Prompt: "Explain the concept of ___________(concept) in a way that a non-English speaker learning basic English could understand."

• Step-by-Step Instructions for Tasks:

  • Use AI to create detailed, scaffolded directions with varying levels of guidance.
  • Prompt: "Write step-by-step instructions for writing a persuasive essay for a ____________(grade) student."

• Rephrase Questions for Comprehension Checks:

  • Have AI reword questions to ensure clarity for students with different comprehension levels.
  • Prompt: "Rewrite this _____________ question to make it easier for a __________(grade) to understand."

• Generate Creative Prompts for Writing Practice:

• Use AI to suggest writing prompts that fit specific age groups and interests.
• Prompt: "Create a writing prompt about ___________(topic) for a _______(grade) student."
• Write Summaries at Different Levels of Detail:
  
• • Request a short, medium, and in-depth summary of a text.
  • Prompt: "Summarize '_____________(story)' in three versions: one for a 5th grader, one for a high school student, and one for college-level."

• Writing emails in a variety of styles - Example

• Writing newsletter content - Example

• Creating assessments - Example

• Creating rubrics - Example - Khanmigo's AI Rubric Maker

• Creating slideshows - Brisk - Canva Magic

• Creating educational maps - Example

• Various other tasks - Khanmigo

• Writing spreadsheet formulas - Example

• Assist with data cleanup - Example

• Analyzing PDF's and other files

• Summarizing and analyzing data collected from forms

• Determine the reading level of a text - Example

• Rewrite the text at a lower reading level - Example - Brisk Teaching

• Rewrite the text at a higher reading level

• Summarize the text

• Make a bullet point list of key points from the text

• Identify potentially difficult words in the text and list them with definitions

• Create DOK-leveled questions from a text - Example

• Rewrite a text in a different style (genre, person, etc.) to help understand the content - Example

• Create a story with specific characters, items, and events, written at any reading level - Example

• Generate writing prompts for stories, essays, articles, and more - Example

• Generate images for story starters and writing prompts - Example - Canva Magic AI Image

• Generate story elements (names, places, items, etc.) - Example

• Generate images to illustrate the story a student writes - Example - Canva Magic AI Image

• Generate main ideas to explore when writing about a topic

• Generate model writing for students to use as an exemplar - Example

• Generate flawed writing for students to critique

• Using speech-to-text for writing - Read&Write - Snap&Read

• Analyze a video transcript and create study guides, summaries, and more - Example

• Note: Easily get a transcript from youtubetranscript.com

• Evaluate student work and provide feedback for how it can be improved - Example - Example

• Get feedback on fluency when reading aloud - Read Along - Paper Reading

• Guided Grading with AI Tools - Brisk - Blog Post

• Brisk Teaching will then generate personalized feedback for the student writing.
• Brisk will now generate feedback including "Glow" for positives, "Grow" for areas of concerns, and "Wondering" for ideas for improvement.
• Brisk is an approved extension for ECSD; however, the district does not subscribe to Brisk, so only the free version is available for use.
  

*ECSD AI Policy on using AI for Feedback: Users must not employ AI tools to automate decision making without human oversight. Any output of artificial intelligence or machine learning will be limited to suggestions and recommendations – final decisions must be made by human beings with the appropriate review, nuance, and context.

**Some of the Ideas and Examples are from Eric Curts at Ctrl Alt Achieve https://www.controlaltachieve.com/

***Canva Magic (AI) generated images.

Create assignments that require students to use AI created content in a creative or critical way. This will help students develop their own understanding of AI and how it can be used effectively and responsibly.

• AI Critique: Teachers can use AI to generate an essay, report, poem, or any other written content, and then have students evaluate the quality, style, and accuracy of the AI-generated piece. Students can identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement in the writing, or compare it to a human-written example.
  

• AI Story Starter: Generate the first few sentences or paragraphs of a story using AI, and then students continue the story independently. They can also discuss how they would change or expand on the AI's initial content.
  

• AI Debate Analysis: Use AI to generate arguments for a specific position in a debate. Students can then analyze the AI-generated arguments, identify logical fallacies, assess the evidence provided, or counter the AI's points with stronger reasoning and research.
  

• AI Character Interview Analysis: The teacher can have AI generate interview responses as if it were a character from a book, historical figure, or professional. Students then analyze these responses for historical accuracy, character consistency, or factual correctness. They can compare the AI's responses with their own research or knowledge.

• AI Summarization Review: Teachers can use AI to create summaries of complex texts, articles, or chapters. Students then compare the AI summary with the original text to identify missing details, misrepresentations, or any key ideas that were overlooked.
  

• AI Writing Style Comparison: Use AI to mimic the writing style of different authors, genres, or historical periods. Students then analyze how accurately the AI captures the style and compare it to authentic samples, discussing what elements the AI got right and what it missed.
  

• AI-generated Data Analysis: Provide students with AI-created data sets or statistical reports. Have them verify the data, find potential inaccuracies, or suggest improvements. This works well for assignments in math, science, or social studies.

• AI News Article Fact-checking: Teachers can generate news articles using AI about historical events, current issues, or fictional scenarios. Students then fact-check the article for accuracy, bias, and quality of sources.

• AI-generated Multiple Choice Analysis: Have AI create multiple-choice questions for a subject area. Students then review the quality of the questions, evaluate the distractors, and revise any that are ambiguous or could be improved.

• AI-written Historical Fiction Critique: Use AI to generate a short historical fiction piece about a specific time period or event. Students then critique the historical accuracy and realism, comparing it to primary sources or other historical accounts.

• AI Opinion Piece Analysis: Have AI generate opinion pieces or persuasive texts. Students can analyze the strength of the arguments, assess the use of evidence, and identify biases or areas where additional information is needed.

• AI-created Quiz Reviews: Use AI to generate quiz questions for a particular topic, and have students critique the quality of the questions, identify errors, suggest more appropriate questions, or discuss why certain questions are effective or not.

• AI-generated Art Critique: Teachers can use AI to generate digital artwork or designs, and then students evaluate the art based on criteria such as composition, color use, historical style, or thematic accuracy. Students can then create their own piece inspired by the AI art.

*Canva Magic (AI) Generated Images.

• Canva Magic studio is a collection of AI-powered tools for design, images, video, text, and more, which are free for schools.
• Canva provides a wide range of design tools to create infographics, posters, worksheets, comics, graphic organizers, flyers, social media graphics, videos, docs, presentations, websites, and more.
• Canva has recently added AI tools to assist with these tasks and more.

​*Canva Magic is only available to educators and staff.

Khanmigo AI tool is now available for free to teachers across Nevada. Khanmigo is an AI-powered assistant designed specifically to help educators with daily tasks, making their workload more manageable while enhancing the effectiveness of their teaching.

• Khanmigo is an AI-powered virtual tutor and assistant for students and educators. Khanmigo can:

• Provide support and explanations for all content in Khan Academy courses to help students.
• Be used with students as a set of stand-alone AI tools for tutoring, writing, debating, chatting, and more.
• Teachers can also use it to create instructional content, assess student needs, and more.

Teacher Use

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Teacher Tools:

• Refresh My Knowledge - Learn anything to prepare for teaching
• Create a Lesson Plan
• Create a Lesson Hook
• Write Learning Objectives
• Write Exit Ticket Questions
• Co-create a Rubric
• Write a Class Newsletter
• Write a Recommendation Letter
• Create a Fun Class Summary Poem
• Chat with GPT-4

Brisk Teaching is a free Chrome extension that uses AI to assist with multiple tasks including changing the reading level of a website or document, generate feedback for student work, generate lesson plans, quizzes, and exemplars, and help detect AI usage in writing projects.

*Brisk is an approved extension for ECSD; however, the district does not subscribe to Brisk, so only the free version is available for use.

• Free AI-powered tool from Google to help you interact with and learn from your own documents

• Create Notebooks with up to 20 sources (Docs, PDFs, text) in each.

• Ask questions

• Save notes

• Generate new content

Have discussions with students and teach them about the pros and cons of using AI tools including:

• Positive ways that AI tools can assist them.

• The importance of academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism and cheating.

• The importance of data privacy and not sharing personal information.

• How AI-generated content can be inaccurate and unreliable.

• How AI-generated content can include biases

• AI is a part of today's educational landscape. Learning how AI tools work—and how to use them responsibly—is an important digital literacy skill for students and teachers alike. AI Literacy Lessons for Grades 6–12 from Common Sense Education.
• Guide future-ready learners to make informed choices online: Integrating digital literacy skills into your curriculum ensures students are informed and prepared to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly. BrainPOP Digital Citizenship Lessons

• Planetary Rescue and Teacher's Guide An AI-powered game from Stanford University that uses a teachable agent to teach students about global warming
• Teachable Machine Train a computer to recognize your own images, sounds, & poses. A fast, easy way to create machine learning models for your sites, apps, and more – no expertise or coding required.
• Google AI Experiments Fun interactive AI experiences. *Some experiments have age restrictions. If a log-in is required, it is unavailable for students.
• Everyday Examples of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Examples of AI in work, school, and home.
• Quick Draw A sketching game built with ML where you draw and the neural network tries to guess what you're drawing.
  • Autodraw A drawing tool that uses ML with drawings from talented artists for everyone to use. Watch to learn more.

• Raspberry Pi's Scratch Chatbot Project A simpler Scratch chatbot project for elementary level students.
• Chatbots & Empathy Lesson Ideas From Deb Norton.
• Chatbots project in the Hands-On AI Projects for the Classroom: Guide for Secondary Teachers. A chatbots project that can be implemented across subject areas in grades 6-12.

• A Guide for Elementary Teachers (Grades K-5)
• A Guide for Secondary Teachers (Grades 6-12)
• A Guide for Electives Teachers (Grades 4-12)
• A Guide for Computer Science Teachers (Grades 6-12)
• A Guide on Ethics and AI (Grades K-12)

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