Sharpen your AI toolkit for the upcoming school year

Artificial intelligence got pushed front and center in America’s classrooms with the release of ChatGPT in late 2022. As a new school year gets underway, here are some ideas for both students and teachers to harness the power of AI in the classroom.

AI tips for students

• Get personalized feedback. Real-time feedback can help students master a subject in a shorter amount time and provide learning recommendations based on that student’s strengths and weaknesses.

Consider this app: Cognii gives students real-time feedback on assignments and uses conversational technology to help students learn at a quicker pace.

• Learn with simulations. Using simulations and gamification to learn a complicated subject can help reinforce critical thinking skills while mastering difficult areas such as STEM subjects.

Consider this app: Querium provides personalized short-form lessons and practice tests in STEM subjects. The app also has a virtual tutor that gives targeted support when needed to keep a student on track.

• Understand the Why. Technology can help you quickly find or calculate an answer, but it’s also important to understand the why behind an answer. AI can not only help you find the answer to a question or a problem, but also explain to you why that answer is the correct answer.

Consider this app: Carnegie Learning uses adaptive learning to re-create the human tutoring experience while helping students understand a subject’s underlying concepts.

How educators think AI will affect teaching and learning

In your view, what kind of impact will artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT have on K-12 teaching and learning over the next five years?

Very negative 16%

Somewhat negative 31%

Neutral/no impact 13%

Somewhat positive 21%

Very positive 6%

I don’t know what AI platforms are 14%

Results show responses from teachers, principals and district leaders.

— Source: EdWeek Research Center Survey, April 2023

AI tips for teachers

• Delegate administrative tasks. Teachers work an average of 54 hours a week, but only spend 25 hours directly teaching students, according to the 2022 Merrimack College Teacher Survey. Automating time-consuming tasks such as generating progress reports or drafting emails can help you focus on what really matters — spending more direct time teaching your students.

Consider this app: Fetchy has more than 50 tools, such as list generation, organizational tools, text reminders, and an AI advice engine to help teachers stay on top of their daily tasks.

• Get help with grading. Another time consuming task for teachers is grading. AI can act as a grading assistant by providing a draft score for an assignment. You can then review these draft scores and make any adjustments before finalizing the grade.

Consider this app: Gradescope helps teachers grade assignments quickly and consistently while still allowing for detailed feedback. This app can tackle math, computer science, physics, economics and more in all types of formats including paper-based, digital and code assignments. The goal is to cut your grading time in half.

Fred T. Fox III is a Lawton native who owns his own business.