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5 Essential Questions Educators Have About AI in the Classroom
Together, educators and learners can create a future where AI enhances education and empowers communities.
Date of writing
November 30, 2024
Time of reading
2 minutes
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral part of classrooms, prompting educators to ask critical questions about its role and impact, as stated in EdSurge. Teachers are exploring how AI can transform learning, enhance student-teacher relationships, and prepare students to use this powerful technology responsibly. Below, we delve into the key questions educators are raising about AI integration in education, highlighting expert insights and resources.
1. How Might We Redefine Teaching and Learning?
AI offers opportunities to do more than automate tasks; it allows educators to focus on what truly matters. Walberto Flores, EdTech Coordinator at Highlands International School in San Salvador, challenges educators to rethink their goals: “The real question is not just about what tasks AI can help us do faster or more easily, but rather, what educators should be doing — and how AI can assist us in achieving those goals.”
Similarly, Ann David, an associate professor at the University of the Incarnate Word, emphasizes that AI isn’t about replicating current practices but innovating for meaningful educational outcomes: “It’s not about doing things faster but about doing the essentials and doing them well... The innovation AI offers isn’t found in the technology itself but in how much better it can help us become as educators.”
2. What About Teacher-Student Relationships?
While AI can handle lesson planning and administrative tasks, it cannot replace the human connection central to education. Ann David notes the enduring importance of relationships: “Whatever the next/newest technology, from paper to AI, the relationship between students and teachers has always been central to learning.”
Hue-An Wren, a teacher in Garden Grove Unified School District, reflects on the potential of AI to create more time for nurturing these relationships: “If AI can make more space for teacher-student relationships in the learning process, that’s an unquestionable good.”
3. How Can AI Support Student-Centered Practices?
AI can help educators shift toward personalized, student-centered learning. This technology enables tailored educational experiences, fostering creativity and guiding learners at their own pace. Hue-An Wren sees AI as a tool to overcome outdated practices and promote personalized learning.
Instructional Technology Specialist Pattie Morales underscores the importance of collaborative discussions about AI's potential in classrooms, noting: “AI tools have already proven useful for improving teacher productivity and fostering student creativity.”
ISTE’s infographic on AI in classrooms is a recommended resource for facilitating these discussions.
4. How Can We Teach Students to Use AI Ethically?
Teaching students to use AI responsibly is a cornerstone of modern education. According to Pattie Morales, building a progression of skills from Kindergarten through high school is essential: “We have to start with a focus on creating a progression of skills... that covers understanding and exploring machine learning and key concepts like ethics and data privacy.”
Hannah Davis Ketteman, a Digital Learning Coach at Temple ISD, emphasizes that students often overlook the underlying mechanisms of AI: “Our students — though tech-savvy — often overlook what happens behind the scenes, such as where their data goes and who owns it.”
Educators must guide students through critical discussions on data privacy, technology biases, and ethical AI use.
5. How Can Students Advocate for AI Use in Classrooms?
Students are eager to explore AI's potential, questioning its fairness and utility in education. Betzabe Orenos, a high school technology teacher at Colegio Decroly Americano, sees this as an opportunity: “Mentoring both teachers and students in ethical and responsible AI use is key. Teachers need to model best practices and allow students to explore AI’s potential and ethical implications.”
By fostering open dialogue, educators can help students advocate for AI use while understanding its broader societal impact.
As educators and students navigate AI together, they are shaping its role in learning environments and beyond. By prioritizing ethical use, empathy, and fairness, classrooms today can lay the groundwork for a more equitable technological future.
Teachers hold the key to using AI as a force for good, modeling responsible digital habits and fostering innovation in students. Together, educators and learners can create a future where AI enhances education and empowers communities.
1. How Might We Redefine Teaching and Learning?
AI offers opportunities to do more than automate tasks; it allows educators to focus on what truly matters. Walberto Flores, EdTech Coordinator at Highlands International School in San Salvador, challenges educators to rethink their goals: “The real question is not just about what tasks AI can help us do faster or more easily, but rather, what educators should be doing — and how AI can assist us in achieving those goals.”
Similarly, Ann David, an associate professor at the University of the Incarnate Word, emphasizes that AI isn’t about replicating current practices but innovating for meaningful educational outcomes: “It’s not about doing things faster but about doing the essentials and doing them well... The innovation AI offers isn’t found in the technology itself but in how much better it can help us become as educators.”
2. What About Teacher-Student Relationships?
While AI can handle lesson planning and administrative tasks, it cannot replace the human connection central to education. Ann David notes the enduring importance of relationships: “Whatever the next/newest technology, from paper to AI, the relationship between students and teachers has always been central to learning.”
Hue-An Wren, a teacher in Garden Grove Unified School District, reflects on the potential of AI to create more time for nurturing these relationships: “If AI can make more space for teacher-student relationships in the learning process, that’s an unquestionable good.”
3. How Can AI Support Student-Centered Practices?
AI can help educators shift toward personalized, student-centered learning. This technology enables tailored educational experiences, fostering creativity and guiding learners at their own pace. Hue-An Wren sees AI as a tool to overcome outdated practices and promote personalized learning.
Instructional Technology Specialist Pattie Morales underscores the importance of collaborative discussions about AI's potential in classrooms, noting: “AI tools have already proven useful for improving teacher productivity and fostering student creativity.”
ISTE’s infographic on AI in classrooms is a recommended resource for facilitating these discussions.
4. How Can We Teach Students to Use AI Ethically?
Teaching students to use AI responsibly is a cornerstone of modern education. According to Pattie Morales, building a progression of skills from Kindergarten through high school is essential: “We have to start with a focus on creating a progression of skills... that covers understanding and exploring machine learning and key concepts like ethics and data privacy.”
Hannah Davis Ketteman, a Digital Learning Coach at Temple ISD, emphasizes that students often overlook the underlying mechanisms of AI: “Our students — though tech-savvy — often overlook what happens behind the scenes, such as where their data goes and who owns it.”
Educators must guide students through critical discussions on data privacy, technology biases, and ethical AI use.
5. How Can Students Advocate for AI Use in Classrooms?
Students are eager to explore AI's potential, questioning its fairness and utility in education. Betzabe Orenos, a high school technology teacher at Colegio Decroly Americano, sees this as an opportunity: “Mentoring both teachers and students in ethical and responsible AI use is key. Teachers need to model best practices and allow students to explore AI’s potential and ethical implications.”
By fostering open dialogue, educators can help students advocate for AI use while understanding its broader societal impact.
As educators and students navigate AI together, they are shaping its role in learning environments and beyond. By prioritizing ethical use, empathy, and fairness, classrooms today can lay the groundwork for a more equitable technological future.
Teachers hold the key to using AI as a force for good, modeling responsible digital habits and fostering innovation in students. Together, educators and learners can create a future where AI enhances education and empowers communities.