Many of us struggle with deciding whether AI is a good thing or a bad thing, but most understand that it’s here and it is not going anywhere. Schools are also grappling with how best to implement AI into their classrooms and curriculums. Students, however, may tend to stumble upon AI themselves without understanding how it can be used or how it should be used.
Here we speak with Eric Lawson, Director of Technology and Innovation at York School Department, about a unique method of introducing students to AI while also providing subtle guidance in its use and information about best safety practices.
What is AI “Speed Dating”?
The need for AI-focused learning is apparent, but there still is no overall agreed upon method of how to best teach children on its use. As AI continues to evolve, so too does the need to update what we know and how we teach.
While it might seem like a daunting task to keep up with an everchanging goal post, a solution may have been found: An AI lab specifically designed for student exploration and experimentation.
“It kind of grew organically,” says Lawson of the approach to introduce AI in bits and pieces. “We had a bunch of sixth grade teachers say that [they know kids are using AI and they need to get out in front of it]. How are we going to do this? About three years ago, they asked what we could do to explore different AI tools and to interview people in our community who were using AI for good work. That’s how we started.”
Although teachers were showcasing AI, Lawson says they wanted to create a situation in which students could hands-on experiment with it. Thus, a sort of AI speed-dating lab was born.
“I dreamed up this idea of having an AI lab, where we had 10 different stations with different tools all over the place,” says Lawson. “I created generic accounts. We read the students a riot act (don’t enter any personal identifiable information). ‘We’re not going to be using your accounts, so that information being fed into these AI prompts isn’t going to be yours necessarily. It’s just an experiment.’”
With a strong understanding of safety practices as well as parental consent, the students were able to explore the AI tools in short intervals.
“We had this kind of tool that they would go through and speed date different AI tools around the room, constantly switching every 10 to 15 minutes,” says Lawson. “Then they would reflect at a later time how a tool could be used appropriately. How a tool could save time. How it could enhance learning. They would also reflect on if a tool had any hiccups or concerns. How could that AI tool be used inappropriately, or how it could be harmful to students. They went through that in two different rotations to see everything that they could.”
Alongside well-known tools such as Magic School and School AI, each station that the students had access to provided a different form of AI interaction. These prompts would introduce an aspect of AI, ranging from how AI can be detected in imagery to using AI to create animation, video, and sounds. Students would then be asked to note how they would use these AI tools and what they learned in doing so.
Concerns with AI Use
Introducing students to AI can have benefits, but making sure they stay safe while using it is important.
“We didn’t want to use any AI tool that hadn’t signed our statewide student data privacy agreement,” says Lawson. “We were also very cognizant about any terms of services for any tools. Because these kids were right in that 12 age range. That’s why we got parental consent on some of these tools. That was a big reason for creating generic accounts. There was no information being passed through.”
What about the oversight of AI use for the students?
“Before we did the AI labs with the students, we had the staff run through it so that they could see what the tools look like, see if there were any hiccups,” says Lawson. “We even forced them to do an inappropriate prompt to see what the output might be. Then we had four adults in the room during the lab that were just walking through so that if [there was a technical issue or an output issue], we could come in to make sure that we redirected students to the appropriate use.”
How to Implement AI Speed Dating for Your Students
Keeping up with AI can be an arduous task, but approaches such as an AI lab can make it easier and fun to do. Here’s a few best things to keep Lawson says to keep in mind if you want to create something similar in your school.
“You need guardrails ahead of time,” says Lawson. “If you do not have an AI policy, there at least needs to be something spelled out. Parental consent was necessary for us, and the parents weren’t going to sign off until they saw where the guardrails were.”
Protecting student information is paramount.
“Ensure that you have enough generic accounts signed into all the tools ahead of time so that students aren’t accidentally going to sign in with their accounts and make it unsafe,” says Lawson. “Having that figured out ahead of time [is important].”
Knowing what the students wanted to learn about is key as well.
“We did it with a survey because we wanted to find out students' needs and interests,” says Lawson. “We then curated different tools based on those themes. The staff then went through them to understand which tools were going to be legit.”
By asking students about their AI related interests, vetting and learning the AI tools themselves, and creating a safe and secure learning environment, educators were able to introduce learners to a broad spectrum of AI-related tools able to help prepare them for the future.
