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I do not genuinely believe there to be any reasonable uses of AI by students in K-12 classrooms. Every advancement in language models, or image generation makes the internet and content within it a more treacherous place, especially for students. The most common argument I see for the use of AI classrooms is to ban its use in generating content but to allow for it in organizing and structuring thinking in the preliminary stages of most assignments. This itself is antithetical to the idea of education. Using AI is not in any way part of the steps of creating and discovering knowledge. It is only capable of producing cheap parlor tricks that masquerade as progress. There is no new knowledge being created when AI points out the major arguments in a research paper that students should take the time to digest themselves. By outsourcing the most basic of tasks to an entity which does not truly know what it is saying we are losing all sense of self agency. All of these arguments pail in comparison to the most insidious of realities which is that the companies in charge of these tools are destroying the planet by using water for data centers, which also inhibit the growth of towns and communities in need of expansion. Let alone the fact that these same companies are recipients of Federal government aid which should be going to citizens and infrastructure but are instead being given to companies run by billionaires. I also take issue with the argument that "AI is not going anywhere" we better get used to it. While this might apply to the world at large, this state has undertaken great pains to ban cellphones in the classroom. If this can be done, then all AI tools must surely follow suit.

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Artificial intelligence is becoming a natural part of how students learn today, and as a teacher, I see both the excitement and the caution that comes with it. On one hand, AI can really enhance learning by giving students instant feedback, helping them review skills they struggle with, and offering explanations in kid-friendly language, all of which can make lessons feel more accessible. It also encourages creativity, allowing students to brainstorm ideas, explore new possibilities, and express themselves in ways they might not have tried on their own. At the same time, I do have concerns, especially with younger learners. One issue is over-reliance on technology, where students may start depending on AI for answers instead of building their own thinking and problem-solving skills. Another concern is data privacy, because kids’ information needs to be protected, and not every AI tool is designed with young students in mind. Overall, I see AI as a helpful tool when used thoughtfully and with guidance.

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I have a lot of trepidation about AI in general and especially about allowing students to use it, especially early in their educations. However, I also work in an office that now requires the use of AI in our regular work streams and am part of a team that has developed AI-based training and instructional tools - so I'm torn and can see both sides of the argument. When it comes to teaching and using AI in K-12 settings, there are some pro-AI arguments that make sense: First, for me, is the fact that AI is here and unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon, so it is good and helpful to familiarize students with it early and also facilitate early conversations, reflection, and understanding of both the uses of AI and its limitations and downsides. Another reason to use AI tools with students early is to teach them the responsible use of those tools in a way that prepares them for the increasing likelihood that they'll need to interact with AI to some degree in their adulthoods while also helping them develop a healthy relationship with AI and the ability to judge when and how to use it well. As for not using AI with students, I have a lot of arguments on that side. The biggest two are (1) that using AI incorrectly or overly relying on it could hinder student learning and thinking or the development of key skills they should be able to do themselves and (2) AI is still very new, not well enough understood or studied, and not well enough regulated and managed for us to responsibly and effectively use it in classrooms yet. There is a lot that needs to be understood and done before we can say that we know how to teach the use of AI in a way that will not negatively impact students or shortcut their learning and abilities.

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What are some arguments for students to use AI tools in the classroom?

When it comes to arguments for or against AI tools in the classroom, there’s no shortage of strong opinions. Educators hear them every day—in classrooms, in the hallways, and during parent meetings. Even within high school departments, AI use has become a lively topic of debate. For example, the English Department at my school asked IT to block ChatGPT on student Chromebooks, while other departments chose to allow AI tools in various ways.

In my own classroom, students are not allowed to use AI to generate content, but they can use it for tasks such as presentation design and layout. My honors students also learn to create personalized study guides for unit tests using AI tools.

I often hear the argument that AI represents the future, so students should be able to use it freely because it’s part of the world they already live in—and that restricting its use puts them at a disadvantage. I do not fully agree with this viewpoint; however, I do believe students should learn how to use AI responsibly. Just as we teach media literacy, we also need to teach AI literacy.

As educators, our role is to help students understand how to use AI effectively, recognize its benefits, and be aware of its risks and limitations. They need to know that AI tools cannot replace the personal development of critical thinking or higher-order thinking skills. The best way to help students understand both the advantages and concerns surrounding AI is to give them guided, hands-on experience with these tools.

What are some concerns about kids using AI tools?

There are many concerns surrounding students' use of AI tools. When students misuse these tools, they often bypass the challenge of developing their own arguments and engaging in critical thinking. AI tools can also diminish the need for students to learn essential writing skills, such as sentence structure, paragraph development, and the ability to fully articulate arguments or opinions in their essays.

Another concern is that some students rely on AI for advice about significant, life-changing decisions. Increasingly, students are turning to AI tools for mental health guidance rather than seeking support from qualified professionals. This trend is troubling because AI can only offer the information it has been trained on, and its responses are not tailored to individual needs or circumstances.

Students are doing themselves a disservice by using AI to complete their math homework. When test time arrives, they often struggle to solve problems because they have avoided the learning process. Many students do not realize that learning requires active engagement, and by immediately typing questions into AI tools, they undermine their own progress. Learning is also cumulative; without a strong foundation, it becomes much more challenging to build new understanding over time. So when they use AI to complete their Algebra I work, it becomes even more challenging to learn Algebra II skills.

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I think a major argument for AI in the classroom is the amount of information it could give students. For example, it could provide students with bountiful information about a topic in a research project. The student could then use the information to form the project.

A second major argument for AI in the classroom is that we have the opportunity to teach students how to safely and effectively use it. If they're not already using it, they most likely will be at some point in the future (higher education, careers, etc.), and it's important that students are taught how to properly use it, and school is the best place for that to happen.

I think the obvious disadvantage of students using AI is that they could get a taste of it and then want to use it for every little thing, like writing their essays, completing their assignments, etc. This would lead to dishonest work and be an academic integrity issue.

Another disadvantage would be because of my first point. Students using AI for everything would lead to them being unable to think critically or even creatively on their own. I think we would see a huge shift in individuality and authenticity, as well.

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Arguments for students to use AI tools in the middle school science classroom:

1. AI can break down science concepts into simpler explanations that students can understand at their own pace. If someone is stuck during a lesson or assignment, they could enter a question into AI for help as opposed to raising their hand and waiting on me as the teacher. It can also give examples and models that help students visualize ideas that I don’t always have the time to show or demonstrate in class.

2. It also supports students who need extra practice by giving them quick feedback before small misunderstandings turn into bigger gaps. This extra help can be used at home as well, assuming there is access to a device and internet. If there is not much academic support at home, AI could be a great tool for helping students outside of class.

Concerns about students using AI tools:

1. Some students may start leaning on AI so much that they skip the self thinking part, which could weaken their problem-solving skills and hurt them on assessments such as TCAPs. It is important to remind them that AI is a tool, not a shortcut.

2. AI is capable of giving completely wrong or slightly wrong explanations, and middle schoolers sometimes trust it without checking. We need to make sure to teach them how to question information and compare it with what we’ve learned in class to make sure they are obtaining accurate information.

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My biggest argument FOR AI in the classroom is this: AI is likely the future for us whether we agree with it or not. Teaching kids how to use AI at an early age could very much help them excel in school, future jobs, and day to day life. There's a mass amount of kids coming up today who made it a career being an influencer. Imagine those same kids were not tech savvy. It would have been immensely more difficult. I believe AI will be the same way. I think in a few years, we will have entire movies made with AI that are awesome, and we won't be able to tell the difference if it is AI or not.

My two concerns are this: Kids have to learn how to understand things and learn concepts independently in order for their brain to develop the proper learning channels. Number 2: AI is obviously being used in classrooms for cheating.

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I believe that students in today's society can use AI as a tool in the classroom. this can be used as it helps the creative process for students. this will allow them to explore different avenue they didn't think of when researching a topic. this can help spanned their knowledge on a given topic. which all in all will help improve there education.

Situations that tend to rise with the use of AI is that students instead of using it has a tool is that they use it as their mani source of information and knowledge. this will then turn into a crutch and student will be extremely depends on it which in totality will cap and put a hard ceiling on what they can learn.

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1. AI can provide targeted support to students in any subject, providing them with a free tutor at any time and in any location.

2. AI can provide students with study tools, quizzes, and opportunities to use subject specific language in order to phrase their questions to AI.

Unfortunately, the cons include students using Artificial Intelligence as a way to do the work for them rather than use it as a tool to facilitate their own understanding.

Secondly, there are studies that show that use of AI can reduce critical thinking skills. Students are given the answers too easily rather than having to figure out how to solve problems on their own. .

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An Imagination Spongebob meme. Caption your own images or memes with our Meme Generator.

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There are both pros and cons to the use of AI in the classroom.

The first benefit of AI int he classroom would be the ability to research and learn about new topics. In one of the articles given to us to read it had stated that students are more comfortable using ChatGPT to research than they are to use it for work. I also agree with that statement. I personally use AI to research for more information on topics that are interesting to me because it is more concise. Another pro would be that AI can help them understand assignments better. I have a lot of students that struggle with breaking down assignments and understanding multi-step problems, so AI could help with that.

A con of AI would most definitely be ability to cheat on assignments. It is extremely easy to upload a photo of a school assignment or prompt and have AI do the work for you. This does not show academic integrity. Another con would be not only cheating but reliance on AI to do all work. This would be extremely detrimental to the ability to learn new topics and concepts.

I currently do not allow AI in my classroom.

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A student said this to me while talking about 4-H essays.

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Pros

AI can support research & learning. Teens think it’s acceptable to use ChatGPT for exploring new topics. AI can help students brainstorm, find information, and deepen understanding, acting like a digital tutor. AI can be safe, customizable, and educational chatbot platforms.
The KidsChatGPT platform is COPPA‑compliant, meaning it's designed with children’s privacy in mind. Educators can use it in ways that are “fun & educational” while customizing how students interact with the tool, which helps make AI both safe and age‑appropriate.

Cons

AI can be a risk to academic integrity.
There’s widespread concern that students might rely on ChatGPT to do their work for them rather than learn. If students use AI to write essays or solve problems without understanding, it could undermine learning. AI causes Accuracy & Bias Issues.
ChatGPT and similar AIs, sometimes produces incorrect or biased responses. Without strong guidance, kids may take AI-generated answers as fact, which could lead to misunderstandings or reinforce problematic bias.

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Pros: AI helps students understand assignments more clearly. When students receive a school prompt, AI can break down the instructions, explain the expectations, and restate the task in language they understand. Another pro is AI can help support stronger writing skills. In language arts, AI can check grammar, suggest clearer phrasing, and offer synonyms or antonyms to improve word choice. This allows students to revise their writing and express their ideas more effectively.

Cons: Risk of cheating or skipping the learning process. A common concern is that some students rely on AI to produce answers quickly without actually learning the material. When AI does the thinking for them, students miss out on developing important academic skills. Another Con is AI can provide inaccurate or unreliable information. AI sometimes generates information that sounds correct but isn’t factual, especially when it invents sources or bibliography entries. Many students here at the high school I teach at, have been caught using this kind of content because they didn’t realize the citations or details weren’t real.

AI is not going away anytime soon, so the best thing we as educators can do is get ahead of it and find ways for AI to benefit and assist students when needed, helping us develop well educated learners for the future.

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One thing for sure is we are in a microwave society, and today's students are looking for fast results. We are in the time of technology and believe education will begin to progress in that direction.

AI is a great tool for students to have access too. However, students can misuse AI formats such as ChatGPT if they are not educated on how to properly use it (digital citizenship). The way the students are wired today, I believe AI is the direction to go when implementing AI tools in education. This will benefit students in their everyday learning environment. From social media, media technology, digital technology, etc. students are using AI all day every day. Why not allow them to implement AI in their learning when they have unlimited access to it anyway. Accessing the students' ability to learn and comprehend taught information, I've noticed students retain information longer when it's taught through technology, whether the old-fashioned way of reading and gathering information as they read a text. Therefore, tailoring education to the students' strengths will set the students up short- and long-term success.

However, the concern with AI is academic misconduct that is likely to come with access to AI. Tools such as ChatGPT could become a crutch for students if not monitored. At my current (Hillsboro HS) we allow the use of ChatGPT, but the use of ChatGPT is closely monitored. It's to be used as a resource for students to double-check work. However, if students misuse AI that creates a problem. When students shy away from digital citizenship and misuse AI tools academic conduct is in question. At this point AI is now a crutch that handicaps student progress.

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Pros for AI in tools in the classroom:

1. AI can provide personalized learning experiences for students. It can provide support that traditional instruction cannot always provide.

2. AI can also provide efficient feedback for potential revisions. AI gives feedback immediately which allows students to revise work more quickly instead of waiting on teacher comments.

Cons for AI tools in the classroom:

1. AI tools can cause students to become too dependent on the tools which in turn would weaken their ability to learn independently.

2. The electronic devices that AI tools require can become distractions if use is not structured and monitored.

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We are living in what many consider “the future,” where everything is becoming more technical, and AI has become one of the most widely used and influential tools of our time. Technology is advancing faster than ever, changing the way we communicate, learn, and live our daily lives. Because of this rapid growth, we must move forward with awareness and intention. The choices we make now—how we use technology, how we teach it, and how we prepare for it—will shape our future and the generations that follow.

For students, this raises an important question: Is AI a positive tool for their learning? The argument in favor is strong. AI can support personalized learning, provide instant feedback, increase accessibility, and help students explore new ideas at their own pace. It can also build critical thinking by encouraging students to question how AI works and how data influences its decisions. When used responsibly and with clear guidance, AI becomes a powerful tool that prepares students to succeed in a world where technology will continue to grow and evolve.

It is important to stay informed, stay adaptable, and make decisions that benefit not only ourselves but the world we are building—one where students can use AI not just to consume information, but to create, explore, and shape the future with confidence and responsibility.

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Students need guidance and explicit instruction for the ethical use of AI in school. They need to be able to leverage AI tools in ways that are acceptable in the workforce, and in ways that reflect honesty and meet expectations. However, we cannot expect students will forego the use of these tools to do things "the old fashioned way," and we cannot expect them to fully understand the implications of their unethical use of these tools. Concerns include ensuring kids are learning and reasoning, developing the skills that lend to generating ideas, writing, projects and creating finished products under their own intellectual power. Concerns also include ensuring our students with disabilities are taught how to use AI tools for their needs and purposes, not leaving them out of the conversation, when often these students benefit most from these tools when they are used to deliver content equitably. There are ways to utilize AI tools to enhance understanding, provide examples to clarify concepts, to assist with brainstorming, and to generate ideas for how to organize, present and display data and information. Once students learn that these tools are best used to enhance rather than replace their academic efforts, they will be equipped to enter the workforce with these tools in their toolbox as supports, not weapons.

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Eddie Patton  - Students_AI_Tools_ (Week 13)

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Eddie Patton  - Students_AI_Tools_ (Week 13)

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What are some arguments for students to use AI tools in the classroom?

AI can help students understand information in a format or cognitive style that best fits their individual learning needs and abilities.

It can also help teachers identify which pedagogical approaches best support student understanding, allowing them to scaffold and guide students more effectively.

What are some concerns about kids using AI tools?

Right now, there are no clear guidelines or rules about how students should use AI in their classwork. We have standards for almost everything else, but not this. AI has developed so quickly that we need consistency in how it’s used by students.

Plagiarism is another concern—AI has no ethical code, and that’s dangerous. It could negatively influence students’ work habits and sense of responsibility, and that’s not the kind of world I want to help create.

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Pros:

I think that AI can be a great tool to break down assignments, produce study guides, or generate examples so that students can get help when they are stuck.

When a student doesn't understand a homework piece for example, asking AI to explain it might be beneficial. For example, asking ChatGPT to explain the TIQA model for writing essays and give a generic example.

If a student left the ELA classroom not understanding why Hawthorn used The Scarlet Letter as a critique of the puritans, they can ask AI to re-explain that.

Ai can be a great tool to get unstuck when students are struggling.

Similarly, it can be super useful for EL students as it goes beyond the simple word to word translation. If a newcomer in 10th grade gets a 3 page article in social studies, they can put it through AI to get a simplified summary and a word bank translation if their teachers haven't already done that for them. They can also use AI to decode questions they don't understand and get simpler, more straightforward answers than on google. For example, if a student gets a question about the civil war and googles it, they are going to get thousands of results in a language they don't understand, which will make it impossible for them to weed them out. While with AI, they can ask for an explanation of the question in their native language and a summary of potential answers.

Cons: Obviously, the cons is that when most students use AI, they use it to do their whole work instead of using their brain. When doing that, they don't get critical thinking skills that will affect their decision making power throughout their lives.

It is very difficult to make students use AI responsibly because it is so untamed at the moment. If they can ask AI to write their essay, why would they only ask AI to give them examples of thesis statements and explain to them how to make a thesis statement? While on our end, the value of doing this is obvious, they mostly see it as a waste of time.

Another con is that AI pulls from the most popular sources of information at a given point in time. We are in the era of misinformation, so sometimes the most popular sources are misleading, fake, or inaccurate. There is a risk that they will learn something wrong because they don't question what AI gives them, they assume that if AI said it then it's true.