I don’t think Artificial Intelligence (AI) is nearly as devastating as some adults describe it to be. Numerous rules and regulations exist in the Middle School that strongly advise against the use of AI for school-related assignments and activities. Teachers portray it as a sort of life-ruining creation that must not be used, but is it really that bad?
Teachers fear that students will cheat on homework and assessments. This concern is entirely justified; students can easily input a question into ChatGPT and have an answer spit out in seconds. However, let’s imagine a school setting where students use AI responsibly. With the right guidance, AI could end up as one of the most powerful learning tools.
Students often find it difficult to develop study methods that work for their brains. This difficulty can cause them to struggle when preparing for a big test. Additionally, teachers may not be able to explain a new concept in a way that a particular student can understand. AI, taught to respond to any prompt with answers drawn from numerous sources on the web, can help.
First, AI can create effective study guides and plans for students in need of extra practice questions and quizzes that some teachers may not provide. This function can allow students to develop better studying habits and perform better on big assessments.
I have seen classmates puzzled by a new concept in math. When they used AI to help them understand the material, their test results reflected their true understanding of the idea—not just an individual problem.
Next, AI programs like ChatGPT have recently developed a speaking function where students with learning disabilities like dyslexia can speak to the bot instead of struggling to read and write long strings of words.
Additionally, this feature allows students to immerse themselves within a new language, such as Spanish. Students can talk to the bot as if it were a real person. It can respond and ask questions in any specific language while improving the student’s ability to talk to a real person in a setting similar to those of speaking exams and tests.
Personally, I have talked to ChatGPT when practicing for my Spanish speaking exam. At home, I do not have access to a friend or family member who knows how to speak Spanish well enough for me to practice with them. AI helped me develop an understanding of what it was like to talk to a living person.
Finally, AI helps students understand and learn new material in a way that makes sense to them. I’m sure we’ve all had a situation in a class where the teacher starts a new unit, but nothing seems to make sense or click into place. AI would be able to draw infinite ways of explaining a concept from the web, helping students understand anything from basic addition to quantum mechanics.
Opponents of AI in classrooms may argue that it is impossible to ensure that AI is used correctly, but multiple restrictions could be put in place to guarantee proper use. Teachers have already begun to require students to submit transcripts of their AI chats, ensuring the fact that students will use AI to enhance thinking rather than replacing it.
Additionally, homework assignments could limit the amount of AI used. For example, teachers could create a rule where students could use only AI for idea generation, editing, and more. Students would be prohibited from using AI to create and write a whole essay.
In my Journalism elective, our advisor, Mr. Meyer, is often busy with other students in one-on-one conferences. He has allowed us to use Flint to help edit and learn new strategies to improve our writing styles. This AI has helped me learn concepts and skills that I would have had to wait two class periods to have learned from Mr. Meyer.
Finally, making AI literacy part of the curriculum would prevent students from misusing AI. Teachers could teach classes about ways to detect AI on the internet in order to raise awareness. In English 8 classes, we have already learned about misinformation and false news. Teachers use Checkology, a website that contains video lessons about AI aimed at students; these teachings have helped me learn about AI and protect my own privacy in the real world, as well as teaching me about the cons of using AI.
If these restrictions and ideas are put into place in the Middle School, students could use AI within classrooms in an effective and beneficial way. When used effectively, it can serve as one of the most impactful instruments in education.