Guide to Artificial Intelligence

• Types of AI in Education:

• Generative AI: AI technologies that can generate new content, including text, images, audio, and video, based on their training data. These tools can be used for creative and educational purposes but must be used with consideration for the accuracy, appropriateness, and originality​ of specific tasks.

• Large Language Models (LLMs): A type of AI that processes and generates human-like text based on vast amounts of data. LLMs can understand, converse, translate, and create content in natural language.

• Machine Learning: A subset of AI that involves computers learning from data without being explicitly programmed for specific tasks.

• Natural Language Processing (NLP): AI’s ability to understand and generate human language.

• Relevance to Education:
  AI has the potential to support personalized learning, enhance administrative tasks, and improve student outcomes.

• Create personalized learning materials
• Generate practice questions
• Provide instant feedback to students
• Explain topics at any level and depth
• And more! Part 2 will discuss more ways to use AI in the Classroom.

• Approved AI Tools:

• Only use district-approved AI tools that comply with privacy and security standards.

• ChatGPT and Gemini have age restrictions at this time, and students cannot use these on the ECSD internet.

• Ensure all AI tools are vetted by the IT department before usage.

• AI Approval Process and Steps:

  1. AI Tool: Ensure the AI tool is for educational purposes.
  2. Administrator Approval: Obtain approval from your school administrator.
  3. Submit Request: Once approved, have the administrator submit a request to the IT department via a work order to complete the process.

• Enhancing Learning without Replacing Human Teachers:

• AI can help automate tasks like creating drafts for feedback, but it cannot replace a teacher's personalized instruction.

• Academic Integrity:

• Students and teachers should avoid using AI tools to cheat, plagiarize, or take shortcuts in learning. Proper attribution is necessary for any AI-assisted content creation.

• Supporting Diverse Learners:

• AI can support students with language barriers, IEPs, and other learning needs through personalized content.

• Cheating and Academic Dishonesty:

• AI tools can make it easier for students to submit AI-generated work as their own without understanding the material.

• Deepfakes and Misinformation:

• AI-generated content (e.g., deepfakes) can be used to manipulate or deceive. These unethical uses can harm the integrity of the educational environment.

• Over-reliance on AI:

• While AI can enhance education, overreliance on it may hinder students' critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Human instruction and guidance remain essential.
  

• Ensuring AI is Used for Good:

• AI should enhance the educational process, promote equity, and not contribute to harmful biases or exclusion.

• Human Oversight:
• AI can offer valuable support, but staff must retain responsibility for final decisions—whether instructional or administrative. Do not rely solely on AI for automated decision-making (e.g., grading or assessing student mastery of content) without thorough human oversight to ensure accuracy, fairness, and the application of professional judgment.
• For example, while AI can assist in identifying patterns in student performance, teachers must interpret these insights within the broader context of individual learning needs and classroom dynamics.
• Privacy and Security:
• AI tools must comply with all privacy laws, including FERPA, COPPA, and CIPA. Staff must not input or share any personally identifiable information (e.g., student names, IDs) with AI systems unless explicitly authorized.

Possible concerns may include:

• Academic integrity, plagiarism, cheating

• Data privacy concerns

• Inaccurate or unreliable AI information

• Biased AI information

• Equitable access to AI

• Impersonating people in images, audio, or video
  

• Reduction in critical thinking and creativity

In accordance with the District’s commitment to restorative practices, Violations of this AI policy may result in disciplinary action, depending on the nature of the infraction.

When creating assignments:

• AI Test the Assignment - Play the role of a student trying to cheat with AI on your specific assignment. This can help show:

• How susceptible is your assignment to AI, and do you think you'll need to make some adjustments?

• What does a typical AI response to your assignment look like so you can better spot AI uses from students?

• Multi-Stage Assignments - Break assignments into multiple stages, requiring drafts, outlines, or brainstorming sessions, making it difficult for students to solely rely on AI.

• Personalized Prompts - Craft assignments that require personal reflections, unique perspectives, or specific experiences, making it harder for AI to generate relevant responses.

• In-Person Writing—By supervising writing and other work in real-time, teachers can be sure the student is doing the work. This can also provide good samples of student work to compare future work against.

• Interactive Whiteboarding - Using a digital or physical whiteboard, students can show their thought process as they work through a problem.

• Canva Whiteboard - https://www.canva.com/online-whiteboard/templates/

• FigJam - figma.com/figjam - Resources

• Screencast for ChromeOS - bit.ly/curts-gscreencast

• Oral Examinations - These require real-time student responses and check the student's ability to articulate thoughts verbally.

• Socratic Seminars​ - In these, students deeply discuss a topic, demonstrating their understanding, interpretation, and analysis.

• Classroom Discussion - Students' comprehension can be gauged by their ability to engage in discussions, ask insightful questions, and provide meaningful contributions to the topic at hand.

• Problem-Based Learning - This approach presents students with practical, real-world problems they must solve, often collaboratively.

• Practical Experiments - In science or engineering classes, physical experiments that demand hands-on knowledge can be valuable.

• Group Projects - While it's possible for one person in a group to cheat, it's less likely that the group must collaborate and discuss their work in person.

• Peer Teaching - A student who has fully understood a concept can often teach it to others.

• Community-based Projects - By involving students in projects that benefit their community, educators can assess their academic knowledge and their ability to apply it for social good.

• Game-Based Learning - Educational games requiring problem-solving can be a good assessment form.

• For traditional citations of AI-generated content

• MLA format - https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/

• APA format - https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt

• For general citation of AI-generated content

• For any assignment on which a student received any form of AI assistance, have them include an "AI Credits" section at the bottom of their work.

• Students can disclose how they used AI for this assessment, including brainstorming, outlining, and feedback on their writing.

• Students can copy and paste the responses from the AI if that is most convenient.

• Stay updated on the latest AI tools and services available to students.

• Periodically check for signs of misuse, such as suspiciously high-quality work, work that does not match the student's usual writing style, or students submitting similar work.

• The "Version History" tool in Google products can show every change made to a document, who made the change, and when the change was made. This can help determine whether work was written by the student or pasted in from another source.

Examples of inaccurate or unreliable information from AI tools:

• Nonexistent or irrelevant sources - ChatGPT link

• Logic mistakes - ChatGPT link

• Math errors - ChatGPT link

• Missing information - ChatGPT link

• Incorrect information - ChatGPT link

• Biased information - Example

Address Inaccuracies and Bias

• Educate students on the potential for bias and misinformation

• Encourage critical thinking and skepticism

• Use tools and sources to check and verify information

• Improve the initial prompt to address potential issues

• Ask follow-up questions to expand information and perspectives

• Verify information

Ask follow-up questions

• Are there other opinions on this subject?

• What are the counterarguments to this view?

• What biases might be in your response?

• What are the limitations of your knowledge on this topic?

• How confident are you in the accuracy of this response?

• Can you provide references to support this?

Why Not To Share

• Comply with FERPA

• Data may be used to train future AI models

• Data breach concerns

What Not To Share

• Personally Identifiable Information (PII) - Names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, student identification numbers, birth dates

• Educational Records - Grades, transcripts, class schedules, disciplinary records, disabilities, and Individual Education Plans (IEPs).

• Health Information - Medical records, health conditions, allergies, medication information, therapy records.

• Financial Information - Family income, financial aid information, bank account details.

• Behavioral or Disciplinary Records - Disciplinary actions, behavior reports, counseling records.

• Photos or Videos - Images or recordings of students without explicit consent.

• Communication Logs - Personal messages, emails, and communication with parents or guardians.

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat. Prompt "Outline a Guide for Educators Understanding and Ethics of AI."

Curts, E. (2023, August 17). Artificial Intelligence / Natural Misuse - Managing AI in Schools. Control Alt Achieve. Retrieved September 17, 2024, from https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2023/08/artificial-intelligence-natural-misuse.html

Elko County School District. (2024) Instructional Resource: Artificial Intelligence. ECSD District Policy IFD.

Miller, M. J. (2023, August 29). AI in the classroom: What's cheating? What's OK? Ditch That Textbook. Retrieved September 17, 2024, from https://ditchthattextbook.com/ai-cheating/

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