How can educators prepare students for an evolving future influenced by artificial intelligence? Exploring AI and its practical application in school environments, ISTE AI An initiative funded by general motorsprovides professional learning opportunities for educators, integrating AI into the classroom, and emphasizing a human-centered learning approach while equipping students with the tools and knowledge to prepare for future AI careers. Emphasizing a human-centered approach underscores our commitment to developing a balanced perspective on AI integration. Educators are encouraged to think of AI not just as a technological advancement, but as a tool that enhances and extends the human experience.
EdSurge recently spoke to three participants in the AI Explorations program to learn about the impact of AI in K-12 classrooms. Dr. Jackie Gerstein, Dr. Brandon Taylor, and Dr. Stacey George. Gerstein teaches gifted education at a Title 1 school within the Santa Fe Public Schools and graduate-level online courses at Walden University and Antioch College. Taylor volunteers as president and associate athletic director for Chicago Prep Academy. George is an assistant professor in the School of Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. By sharing their experiences planning and implementing AI activities in their classrooms, these innovative educators discussed how AI education can make students and themselves more human.
EdSurge: How have you brought AI education into your classroom?
Gerstein: i taught machine learning activities To students with ISTE standards using Google teachable machine As a tool. There are many other teachable machine activities on the website. I shared resources with my students, including rock-paper-scissors videos, and they trained their machines. The Teachable Machine software used a camera to look at their hands and recognize Rock, Paper, Scissors. Next, students learned to code graphically using his programming language. Finally, the machine played with the children.
I also taught AI-assisted text generation activity.when [AI-assisted text generators] ” came out, so I let the kids explore and write a story. They came up with prompts such as creating a story about a black cat and his seven chickens reading a giant book; Darui Generate an image to accompany it.
I’m learning how to teach AI with my students. I teach bilingual Spanish-speaking students, so I’m considering having them complete the AI chatbot activities in English or Spanish. Some students asked me to do it in Spanish, so I didn’t think about it at the time, but a few weeks later I decided to have them do it in Spanish during a classroom activity.
Also, I told my students, [AI-assisted text generators].They clearly stated how to use or not to use [AI-assisted text generators] We built ethics based on understanding and discussion at school.Created a share [document] Students were then asked to submit their ideas, followed by a class discussion. I divided the student’s idea into her two parts. The first was about usage. [AI-assisted text generators]the second was about usage. [AI-assisted text generators] For positive learning.
Created using [AI-assisted text generators] Because I realized that my students had come up with great ideas. [AI-assisted text generators] For funny stories and rap songs.they found [AI-assisted text generators] It can give you inspiration, ideas, and motivation to write. They used it in their future city project.They also added things they shouldn’t do [AI-assisted text generators] A written pledge not to use [AI-assisted text generators] For homework or presentations.
Taylor: The head coach and I knew each other well. home court. What I used was ISTE-GM AI Hands-on Guide for Selective TeachersIn particular, “Project 2: Designing AI Agents” is designed to help students design AI tools when considering providing them to student-athletes. Home court physical education curriculum. There’s no coding, just referencing an AI agent, so students design or power something like this AI tool.
We completed all our on-court lessons. AI tools Discussion and training. I set up four stations for dribbling, agility, free throw shooting, and other shooting, and at each station he placed three to four student-athletes. They rotated to look at different aspects and metrics of the app. It was a fun tournament. We then discussed what the students thought about, how they would design an AI agent, which design of the app they thought was good, and what they thought could be improved. For example, one student said he could put a camera on a basketball board so he could see more of the ball through the app. Another example was about how to make your app more user-friendly. Because the first time you use the app, it could have been more intuitive.
What human-centered design did you or your pre-service students use when helping students learn AI?
George: One of my former students taught machine learning in a second grade classroom. She taught machine learning to young students through understanding the characteristics of animals. This is one of her many activities included in the ISTE-GM AI Explorations Practical Guide for Elementary School Teachers. The activities are “two tasks that AI is good at and two tasks that AI is weak at.” Its purpose is to identify different characteristics of animals and recognize them. My previous teacher modified it for her classroom. She used animals her students were familiar with in Hawaii, such as chickens and wild pigs.
In the pollination lesson, students used the Teachable Machine to identify flowers that can be pollinated and create engineering designs. They developed a pollination device that uses robotics to pollinate flowers. This activity develops students’ problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills.
Gerstein: AI helped me learn alongside students and address their questions and interests. If you don’t know the answer right away, you can use AI to create a learning experience that meets your students’ needs. For example, one of my students wants to learn about the Middle Ages. I leveraged his AI to develop activities that he could do with him to engage his interest in the Middle Ages while meeting language arts standards.
One day at the Harvest Festival, the 8th grade history teacher asked the students questions about historical facts, and the students answered correctly. Her students asked her questions back, but she didn’t know her answers.I asked the student to start a conversation code breaker about his view of history. Afterwards, we had a critical conversation together about what he had learned. AI has helped us both become lifelong learners.
What soft skills do you think students will develop when learning about AI?
Taylor: Through the use of augmented reality tools integrated with AI lessons, students develop self-reflection and critical thinking skills. AI tool is a basketball coaching tool that shows shot angles. You can watch their footwork and dribbling and provide feedback. In fact, the NBA uses a version of this tool in training.
While students may not reflect much on their performance after watching training videos, this tool can help with self-reflection and continuous improvement.
