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I began exploring artificial intelligence (AI) years ago and quickly understood that it could one day revolutionize how we teach and learn. AI offers myriad innovative tools that can empower students to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and lifelong learners. From personalized learning to interactive storytelling, there’s a wide range of possibilities in education. Here are five of my favorite ways to use it in my classes.
 

1. To teach how AI works
There are several fun and engaging tools that are safe for students and allow them to get a better understanding of machine learning. My favorite is Google’s Quick, Draw! The game is like playing Pictionary with Google's AI. Students are given six things to draw, and the computer AI needs to guess what they are drawing. Playing the game is fun, but the real learning occurs after it’s completed. The tool gives you access to the entire database of drawings it has collected from every user. It shows you how it recognizes what is being drawn based on previous input from others. Students leave the lesson understanding the basics of machine learning and how AI requires enormous amounts of data to function correctly. They also learn how AI may be biased based on the input even if it isn’t intentional. The takeaway is that AI only knows what you teach it. When good data is input, AI can be a very useful tool. But if there are biases or errors in the data, it can lead to problems.

2. For creative  visualization and design
Creating or enhancing visuals with text-to-image AI has been a fun activity to collaborate on with students. As an art and media teacher, I never want students to create visuals with AI alone. But using it to pre-visualize ideas and enhance images has been very useful. We’ve tried AI image tools such as Adobe Express, Microsoft Designer, DALL·E, and Canva to add AI elements to drawings and photographs students have taken, create realistic backgrounds for animations students have created, and render images of products that the students invent for marketing campaigns. Adobe Express has added a group of AI tools, some of which can also be found in MagicSchool. A favorite is the 3-D text tool. My students used it to create their own fonts textured with any AI image to introduce ourselves at the start of school with a digital “Hello, my name is… ” sticker as part of an Adobe education challenge. Once students were familiar with the tools, we remixed the project and created AI name tags for famous artists, authors, and characters in their style.

3. For brainstorming and storytelling
This is my favorite use of AI with students because it has expedited and deepened the process of ideation. We use it to generate visual elements based on student writing that can expand on initial ideas and approaches in ways students may not have considered. For storytelling use, AI can generate story starters, visual prompts, and discussion questions students can use for inspiration. This is also helpful when paired with collaborative improv games in which the AI is a partner in creating scenes and stories.

4. To foster co-collaborating
It may sound like science fiction, but the reality is that many students will likely have an AI coworker in their future careers, so it’s important to prepare them in class today. We experiment with co-creating with AI chatbots when writing and using AI image tools such as Google’s Magic Sketchpad and Scribble Diffusion. The process is interesting, and like any collaboration, it offers a lesson in communicating clearly and being flexible and open to different ideas and perspectives. This is also useful when creating code, as many AI tools can now compose code for apps and games fairly well. It’s always important to teach students the foundations and syntax of how code works. Once they have that basic understanding, they can collaborate with AI tools to expedite the process and create code together.

5. For research, review, and personalized learning
Since AI can manage large amounts of data quickly, it has become an amazing resource for research. But an AI literacy teaching element is key, as all AI is not the same and some tools do not always return accurate information. Tools like ISTE’s Stretch AI have been developed specifically for educators and add footnotes to its information. This is an improved path forward, but it’s still important to always confirm the sources of the research.

AI is also a fantastic tool to help students review what they have learned, so we use chatbots to provide exit tickets and review questions as a class. Many tools, including educational apps such as Quizizz and MagicSchool, along with chatbots, can easily generate study questions for students or even assessments based on PDFs, websites, or videos. In terms of supporting students with personalized learning and tutoring, tools like SchoolAI allow students to expand on student learning by naturally following their own curiosities while being monitored by a teacher. (For example, students can "chat" with historical figures about their lives.) Tools like Class Companion offer data-driven support for each student’s studying based on their strengths and weaknesses.

As new AI tools are coming out all the time, I work collaboratively with my amazing library team and research online to stay knowledgeable. I’m very careful to protect students’ privacy and personal information. Since AI remembers all the data you input, I never have students use it in class without guidance. This technology will likely revolutionize education and other industries. It’s vital to let students experience it in school so they can understand the basics in college and beyond.

Tim Needles is an artist, educator, performer, and author of STEAM Power: Infusing Art Into Your STEM Curriculum (ISTE, 2020). He is a TEDx Talk speaker, a technology integration specialist, and teaches art, film, and emerging media at Smithtown (NY) School District and Five Towns College. He is also the Long Island director of NYSCATE, a NYSATA board member, an ISTE community leader, a NASA Solar System Ambassador, NAEA ArtEdTech interest Group chair and Connected Arts Network educator, and an Adobe Creative Education Innovator. He’s active on social media at @timneedles.