Considering the Cost: Questions to Support Critical Thinking About AI Use by Lisa Emanuel

Polarity - individual vs. collective work

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-26 04:04:23 UTC

There is a push and pull between individuality and collective work. Both have pros and cons. If we lean to hard on one side of this polarity, the cons may become more apparent and there may be overcorrection to the other side.

Question - time factor

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-26 04:05:49 UTC

Does this AI use save time on the teacher end because it is helpful for producing resources? Or is the time savings because it does a job for students that would take time for them to practice and learn to do efficiently?

Polarity - skill building vs. time

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-26 04:12:21 UTC

There is a tension between the need to be efficient and manage time well, and the fact that it takes time to get better at a skill.

Question - thinking process

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-27 02:13:25 UTC

What magic/joy/creativity/idea generation is lost if we don't go through the process of finding ideas in our minds, including facts we learned in the past, the way we want to frame a sentence, etc?

Question - shifting teacher focus

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-27 02:15:31 UTC

Where can AI allow me as a teacher to put energy into giving students feedback on the process, rather than having to be an expert on the content areas where students have an interest?

Question - feedback

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-27 02:18:32 UTC

What are the pros and cons of feedback from AI vs. from a teacher? Objectivity - maybe parents would sometimes appreciate that element or perception from AI? Lack of personal connection - pro or con? etc?

Question - product vs skill

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-27 02:20:50 UTC

What is the intended outcome? What instructional moves best support that? (Polarity - product vs. skill)

Question - risks of personal connections

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-27 02:24:53 UTC

We are anthropomorphizing, relational beings. Students do connect to whatever is giving them feedback - and we do see evidence that students feel connected to online tools. What are the risks of students building personal connections to these tools?

Question - authenticating S work

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-27 02:26:59 UTC

To what extent are we using external tools to authenticate student work? (Eg, they use AI heavily to produce an essay, and another tool - TurnItIn or what have you - confirms if it seems like student work) - How might we address/think about that situation?

Question - confirming skills

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-27 02:29:21 UTC

Besides writing and other products that can be supported with AI use, what other ways can we ensure students know what they need to know? There are tools that support tracking, that can ask questions for students to answer, even limiting to voice responses...how might we measure the effectiveness of that?

Question - risks of loss of resilience

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-27 02:30:12 UTC

How can we support students in learning skills that take time to master, such as playing an instrument, when there are so many options online, AI and otherwise, that offer fast positive reinforcement or even manipulative gamification?

Question - critical thinking

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-27 02:33:04 UTC

What are some ways we can make sure AI use by students isn't limiting critical thinking? Especially when online final products can mask that the student didn't do the full process?

Question - monetization

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-27 07:26:54 UTC

When social media became monetized, the nature of ways it became toxic shifted. What do we need to consider in that area with AI?

Question - environmental impact

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-27 07:32:10 UTC

What are some ways to think about the environmental impact of AI? How is it measured? Do different tools have a different carbon footprint? What equity issues might we explore about how data centers in different locations use resoures?

Question - reflection

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-02-28 07:14:00 UTC

What reflection and other tools should be used regularly to support students in building critical thinking when they are using AI tools?

Learning outcomes for AI

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-04-13 05:12:50 UTC

When introducing a new tool, think about it's use like any other skill. What are some steps to take when introducing it to ensure students have the skills and understandings they need to use it well?

When not?

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-04-13 05:20:06 UTC

What are times when, because of child development or the particular skill, students should be learning off-screen, building an analog skill or understanding?

Closing Reflection

lisaemanuel1 — 2025-04-13 05:39:05 UTC

What are one or two questions you might carry forward into your planning and/or conversations? What new thinking do you have about intentionality around AI use?

2025-04-14 02:38:26 UTC

I agree that students should learn to use AI as a crutch because a part of the learning process is the struggle.