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If you are an educator searching for a method to boost productivity and streamline your workflow, incorporating AI generative technology into your toolkit could give you an incredibly advantageous creative resource. The proverbial question is, "Did a bot do your work"? AI has made significant strides in various industries, and education is no different. The K-12 sector has shown a growing interest in incorporating AI education, which aims to provide students with the tools and skills necessary to succeed in a technology- fueled world. As educators, it's crucial to teach students the knowledge and skills they need to navigate an AI-driven world effectively. AI literacy is an essential aspect of this education, and it's up to them to provide strategies and valuable resources for teaching AI literacy. Here, Echols explores ways to help educate students about how AI technologies work and their impact on society.

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By encouraging critical thinking and ethical reasoning, educators can empower students to use Al as a constructive tool rather than a crutch.

If you are an educator searching for a method to boost productivity and streamline your workflow, incorporating AI generative technology into your toolkit could give you an incredibly advantageous creative resource. The proverbial question is, "Did a bot do your work"?

AI has made significant strides in various industries, and education is no different. The K-12 sector has shown a growing interest in incorporating AI education, which aims to provide students with the tools and skills necessary to succeed in a technology-fueled world. As educators, it's crucial to teach our students the knowledge and skills they need to navigate an Al-driven world effectively. AI literacy is an essential aspect of this education, and it's up to us to provide strategies and valuable resources for teaching AI literacy. This article will explore ways to help educate students about how AI technologies work and their impact on society.

Background on AI

AI dates back to the 1950s when computer scientist John McCarthy co-authored the term. In the early 2000s, AI expanded into every facet of life, including our cellphones, appliances, televisions, and cars. AI systems are designed to comprehend, replicate, and mirror human intelligence. Fei-Fei Li, a computer science professor at Stanford University, states that "[i]f our era is the next Industrial Revolution, as many claim, AI is surely one of its driving forces" (quoted in Chow 2021). Researchers assert that generative AI-such as ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs)-represents a new subset of AI that can save us time by creating emails, presentations, lesson plans, and other materials from scratch. Moreover, it has the potential to level the knowledge field by enabling low performers to enhance their performance skills. In a recent study, several distinguished professors who are social scientists "underscore the transformative potential of AI" and present findings that can be ap-plied tosupportAIliteracy(Dell'Acquaetal.2023).

tential and pitfalls of AI. While McCarthy laid the groundwork for the field decades ago, ChatGPT has brought AI out of the lab and into the mainstream. Advancements in generative AI have the potential to revolutionize the way educators teach. With the help of AI, educators can automate repetitive tasks and provide personalized instruction, which can significantly increase efficiency and effectiveness in teaching. Educators worldwide are already using AI to create lesson plans, grade papers, and design interactive classroom activities in minutes, not days. However, it's essential to consider the potential misuse of AI in academics, such as plagiarism. As AI technology advances, educators must develop policies and curricula that responsibly harness the power of this technology. By encouraging critical thinking and ethical reasoning, educators can empower students to use AI as a constructive tool rather than a crutch. "With careful vetting and oversight, AI can generate explanations, examples, practice problems, and diagnostic questions to support instructors, helping them spend less time on developing materials and more time focusing on students" (Mollick and Mollick 2023).

Introducing AI Concepts to K-12 Students as a Literacy Skill

The emergence of generative AI has fundamentally changed the game. It's crucial to teach students about generative AI in-depth and incorporate AI education into our curriculum, because AI is ubiquitous and affects their daily lives. Students are already using it, whether they realize it or not, as it impacts such things as the news they read and the social media they consume. By 2025, about half of all work tasks are projected to be completed by automated systems (Leopold et al. 2018). When teaching AI literacy skills to students, it is essential to lay a strong foundation by introducing them to the basic concepts of AI.

As interest in AI literacy for K-12 students has grown worldwide, the number of resources available for K-12 AI education has also increased. For instance, the nonprofit organization aiEDU is "focused on reaching the students and communities that are being left out of opportunities to bene- society," according to its website. Also, aiEDU defines AI literacy as the collection of skills and knowledge that a person needs to understand, use, and critically evaluate AI. In addition, the Artificial Intelligence for K-12 (AI4K12) initiative has created a website for educators, developers, and the general public to access the growing number of resources.

Incorporating AI Literacy in the Classroom

AI literacy encompasses skills that we are currently teaching, such as information, digital, and media literacies skills, which are paramount in an age dominated by data and information. AI education equips students to navigate, evaluate, and critically analyze information in a digital landscape. Understanding the ethical implications of AI, recognizing biases, and being aware of misinformation are essential components of media literacy in the age of AI. In my opinion, generative AI is a tool that can be used as a starting point, not the answer to everything.

Opportunities for High School Education

My area of expertise is as a school media specialist working in a high school, so I will focus this section of the article on highlighting the opportunities for high school students. While some school districts have banned this technology, librarians and educators should take this opportunity to demonstrate both the benefits and threats of AI in our digital and media literacy instruction. AI has become increasingly prevalent. It is being integrated into numerous apps and programs. New companies are emerging daily with the promise of streamlining work and developing efficient tools for students and educators alike. At this critical point, it's essential to take action and avoid stagnation that could have negative consequences for our students, their career readiness, and their ability to navigate a rapidly changing world.

For example, let's say you teach students to use generative AI tools to brainstorm outlines for research papers. Then, you instruct them to use the outlines to conduct research the traditional way via the AASL standards for research and applying this knowledge and using scholarly databases along with a few of the research AI tools (such as Perplexity, Elicit, and Semantic Scholar). Even though Claude is not listed as a research tool, I find it to be very helpful and easy to use.

Here is an example (see the sidebar on page 30) from Claude, in which I worked with a group of students currently enrolled in AP research. At the time of this writing, the College Board has not decided on using AI for this course. It is still pending, although the organization has approved its use for AP computer science principles. The College Board's AP website states that "students are permitted to utilize generative AI tools as supplementary resources for understanding coding principles, assisting in code development, and debugging. This responsible use aligns with current guidelines for peer collaboration on developing code" (2023-24 Guidance for Artificial Intelligence Tools and Other Services).

AI and Educators

AI can enhance educators' work by providing an opportunity to create lesson plans to help students who are struggling from the educational pandemic loss of critical English and math abilities. These lesson plans create a customized learning environment to ensure all students are reaching their full learning potential, de la Higuera argues that schools and educators should make time to teach AI in their classrooms, given the relevance of AI in children's lives (2019). We can encourage students to think creatively and innovatively about AI applications that can solve real-world problems and guide them in designing Al-based projects or prototypes, allowing them to apply their knowledge and skills practically. In addition, we can celebrate and showcase student innovations and ideas in AI, fostering a classroom culture of creativity and innovation. By promoting creativity and innovation, our students can better understand AI's potential and contribute to its future development.

For educators, staying updated on the latest advancements and trends in AI is crucial. Engage in professional development opportunities focused on AI literacy, such as workshops, courses, or conferences. Join online communities or forums in which educators can share resources, ideas, and best practices related to AI education. Network with other educators who are interested in AI education to exchange knowledge and collaborate on AI projects. We can effectively teach and inspire our students by continuously learning and expanding our AI literacy.

We should also work with administration to develop assessments that evaluate students' understanding of AI concepts and their implications. Many scholars have suggested incorporating Al-related projects, presentations, or portfolios into the grading criteria to assess students' practical application of AI knowledge. Provide constructive feedback to students, highlighting areas for improvement and further development of their AI literacy skills. We can track students' progress by assessing AI literacy skills and tailor our teaching strategies to meet their needs.

AI as a Tutor

While ChatGPT may be synonymous with generative AI, as mentioned, earlier applications such as Claude, Bing Chat, and Bard are the top commercial applications. But there are more tutorial platforms being developed. For example, Khan Academy's Khanmigo notes on its website that by "leveraging AI, we can bring the benefits of one-on-one tutoring-deep understanding, confidence, clarity, and empowerment-to all students."

This past summer, I attended the AVID conference and had the opportunity to learn about Packback (packback.co), an educational software company. It customizes learning experiences using generative AI. Here's why I was intrigued to learn more about the system. Unlike the current commercial-based AI tools in which an educator would need to worry about a student simply copying and pasting information obtained from generative AI, the tools embedded in Packback provide students with an opportunity to "awaken and fuel the lifelong curiosity." The company's mission is to not only assist students but to also guide them to where they need to be in their educational pursuit. Above is an example of how Packback works as a writing tutor for students.

Final Thoughts

Recognize that generative AI does have its limitations. Because of these limitations, it's crucial to encourage

Generating a Lesson Plan With Prompts

I Give the generative AI tool a role ' (for example, you are a lOth-grade career development instructor).

Make your pedagogical practices clear (tm) (i.e., aligned to Common Core ELA and College and Career Readiness Standards).

Clarify the length of time for the class *^ session. I recommend prompting for a 30-minute class session to allow for student questions or interruptions.

students to view AI as a tool for learning rather than a replacement for their creative and critical-thinking skills. As with any new technology, biases may emerge. While generative AI can be efficient, it requires humans to apply their AI literacy and critical-thinking skills to function optimally. Even after more than 50 years of AI's existence, humans remain at the heart of this technology.

As tech developers continue to address the issues of confabulation, hallucinations, and biases within generative AI, educators need to incorporate discussions about AI and AI ethics into daily lessons. Teaching students about the workings of AI and dispelling myths about its effectiveness in finding 100% factual information will discourage overreliance on generative AI tools. Additionally, encouraging students to reexamine the output of AI as a tool will help to dismantle false beliefs about AI's capabilities that are being promoted by social media influencers.

specific AI assistants I have used in my work are discussed for illustrative purposes only, to share real-world examples. Please judge the merits of individual AI platforms based on your needs. With the rapid progress in this field, new and improved AI tools are arriving daily. My intention is not to promote any particular system, but to start a conversation about how educators can thoughtfully take advantage of AI's capabilities while prioritizing sound pedagogy and student development. I

Understanding the ethical implications of AI, recognizing biases, and being aware of misinformation are essential components of media literacy in the age of AI.

Throughout this article, I have referenced several AI technologies. However, these mentions should not be construed as product or company endorsements. As an educator, it is my duty to educate and provide a neutral perspective on AI innovations. Please note: There are a plethora of resources available online.

My goal is to have an informed discussion about how these emerging tools impact teaching practices. The

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Resources

2023-24 Guidance for Artificial Intelligence Tools and Other Services. AP Central. apcentral.collegeboard.org/exam-administration-ordering-scores/administerine-exams/DreDarine-for-exam-dav/exam-securitv/ artificial-intelligence-tools.

aiEDU. aiedu.org.

The Artificial Intelligence for K-12 (AI4K12) Initiative, ai4kl2.org.

Chow, R. (Dec. 3, 2021). "Fei-Fei Li: The Researcher bringing Humanityto AI." History of Data Science, historvofdatascience.com/fei-fei-li-the-researcher-bringing-humanitv-to-ai.

de la Higuera, C. (2019). "A Preliminary ReDort About Teaching and Learning Artificial Intelligence: Overview of Kev Issues." k4all.org/ WD-content/uoloads/2019/ll/Teaching Al-reoort 09072019.pdf.

Dell'Acqua, R, McFowland, E., Mollick, E., Lifshitz-Assaf, H., Kellogg, K.C., Rajendran, S., Krayer, L.J., Candelon, R, and Lakhani, K.R. (2023). "Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier: Field Experimenta Evidence of the Effects of AI on Knowledge Worker Productivity and Quality." Harvard Business School Technology & Operations Management Unit Research Paper Series, doi.org/10.2139/ ssrn.4573321.

Khanmigo. Khan Academy, khanacademv.org/khan-labs.

Leopold, T.A., Ratcheva, V., and Zahidi, S. (2018). "The Future of Jobs Report 2018." World Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www3 .weforum.org/docs/WEF Future of Jobs 2018.pdf.

Mollick, E. and Mollick, L. (2023). "Using AI to Implement Effective Teaching Strategies in Classrooms: Five Strategies, Including Prompts." The Wharton School Research Paper, doi.org/10.2139/ ssrn.4391243

Packback. packback.co/educators.

Sandra Michele Echols'

journey to excellence has been fueled by an unrelenting passion for empowering people. From a childhood interest in reading and storytelling, her gift and passion for seeing great potential have allowed Echols to grow her career as a librarian and present at national, state, and local conferences for more than a decade.