AI in Education – Part 1 of 3

Note from the editor

Perhaps no technology since the advent of the internet itself has had the potential to disrupt education as much as artificial intelligence.

Though AI in a broader sense has been used in education applications ranging from scheduling to school security, classroom use of generative AI presents a host of challenges for schools. Among them: How can teachers ensure students haven’t used the technology to cheat on written assignments? And how can students be best-equipped for a world in which convincing footage and images can be easily generated of practically any person saying or doing just about anything?

While there are plenty of major issues to address, there may be silver linings. Educators, for example, can use AI to assist in generating prompts for assignments.

To help you stay on the cutting edge, K-12 Dive will keep this page up to date with the latest trends and developments as artificial intelligence’s presence and role in classrooms evolve. Here are some recent highlights from our coverage.

1 - Are schools communicating their AI policies to students well enough?

Some 37% of teens said they were unsure if their school had developed rules on AI use, according to a Common Sense Media survey.

By: Anna Merod • Published Sept. 18, 2024

A majority of teens — 70% — have used at least one kind of generative artificial intelligence tool, according to a survey released Wednesday by Common Sense Media. Teens between the ages of 13 and 18 reported being most likely to use AI for homework help (53%), “to stave off boredom” (42%) and to translate something into another language (41%).

Among those tapping into generative AI for school assignments, 46% of teens said they used generative AI without their teacher’s permission, compared to 41% of teens who said they did get permission and 12% who said they weren’t sure, Common Sense Media found.

As schools continue to develop AI guidance for students and staff, 37% of teens said they were unsure if their schools have established rules on AI, according to the survey. Meanwhile, 35% said their school has set AI use guidelines, and 27% reported their school has no AI rules.

The survey’s findings suggest that schools and teachers “may not have clearly communicated about or implemented rules for generative AI,” said Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that advocates for a safe and equitable digital world for children. The organization also rates and reviews entertainment and technology for families.

Common Sense Media partnered with market research company Ipsos Public Affairs to conduct a nationally representative survey in the spring, which included 1,045 paired responses from parents and their teens.

The lack of clear communication among schools regarding AI use policies comes as other research signals that many K-12 leaders are still in the process of developing that guidance for students and staff.

An August report released by Digital Promise, a nonprofit that advocates for innovation in education, found just a quarter of 31 school districts surveyed earlier this year had established specific guidelines for using the technology. However, 61% of districts said guidance development is underway.

As of June, 15 states had developed AI guidance for K-12 schools, the U.S. Department of Education found. However, advocates for the equitable implementation of AI in schools have called out state guidance for being inconsistent and disjointed.

With a large portion of students experimenting with AI tools, some research indicates teachers may not be as up to speed with them. For instance, by fall 2023, just 18% of teachers said they have used generative AI in their classrooms, according to a report by Rand Corp. and the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

Navigating student discipline guidance over AI use has posed some challenges for teachers, too.

During the 2023-24 school year, only about a third of teachers said they had received guidance on