Unless you've been locked in a library for the last couple of years you'll know that AI has well and truly arrived.
Heralded in technology sectors for most of the last decade, the Large Language Models (LLM's) of the latest breakthrough in AI have meant that the tools they enable are now available to all.
In their most basic form, these AIs remove vast amounts of research and repetitive work from any white-collar work. That includes large elements of teaching, but it also means a lot of written work for pupils, especially if they are tech-savvy and inclined to look for shortcuts.
Several well-known AI tools function as research tools and writing assistants, and another suite allows image creation. Video creation is coming soon.
In addition to these easily available tools, there are a myriad of additional applications built on top of them that let the AI do the heavy lifting.
That means you can embrace AI to help you with lesson planning, marking and grading, writing almost anything, and plenty more. Some mind-blowing stuff is coming soon!
It also means that your students can do the same…
They can use AI to research, write whole or part essays and coursework, help them in unsupervised online tests, and so on. Some of that could be good and benefit their education, but some clearly undermine how we approach teaching and learning in the pre-AI world.
An AI assistant is pretty much just 'cheating' when it's writing essays or taking exams for you. If, on the other hand, it's augmenting your learning, then that's a force for good.
What is AI and How Does It Work?
The new AI systems are essentially super-powered chatbots that have been trained on massive amounts of text data - in other words, they have been trained with most of everything ever written! They don't understand it as such, but they can see the patterns in the words and how they are used to create meaningful sentences, paragraphs and, indeed, arguments.
They can be used as a kind of search engine (but can make mistakes of fact!), but also they can be used to respond to prompts. In other words, you can ask the AI tool to write anything that you are looking for - so you can ask it about where the best beaches near London are (like a search engine), but you could also simply ask it to write a 1500 word essay about the British seaside, culture and traditions and ten of the best beaches. That latter use is something entirely new in the world of computing and the internet, but it has benefits and drawbacks.
However, while LLMs are impressive feats of engineering, they don't possess true artificial intelligence.
Imagine a library containing every book ever written. An LLM hasn't truly "read" these books in the way a human can. Instead, it can identify statistical patterns – how words connect to form sentences, paragraphs, and follow certain structures.
This allows them to communicate and generate human-like text in response to a wide range of prompts and questions.
When you provide a prompt, the LLM analyzes those patterns and predicts the most likely sequence of words to follow, creating a response that appears natural and coherent. It's a powerful tool for mimicking human language, but it lacks the ability to truly understand the meaning behind the words or the intent behind a prompt.
This can lead to LLMs making mistakes, such as factual errors or creating seemingly plausible but entirely fictional stories. This can be the case with abstract ideas, but also with any piece of information that you would expect to trust as a fact!
Because of this, it's crucial for users to fact-check information generated by LLMs and approach their responses with a critical eye.
What AI Tools Are Available Today?
The LLM AI tools that have become widespread in the last few months are ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Claude.
Here's a closer look at each:
ChatGPT: Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT excels at providing summaries of factual topics, creating different kinds of creative text formats, and answering your questions in an informative way. You can access it through a web interface, phone app or API, making it user-friendly for most people.
Google Gemini: Developed by Google AI, Gemini boasts similar capabilities to ChatGPT. It can generate different creative text formats of text content and answer your questions in a comprehensive and informative way. Most users have found it to be more human in its responses than ChatGPT.
Claude: Released by Anthropic AI, Claude is specifically designed to enhance question-answering, instruction comprehension, and accuracy. It excels at contextual understanding and can analyze and respond to more complex queries than some other AI models. Currently, Claude is seen by many users as the most creative of the LLMs, and it is also more able to hold a thread of an argument together over longer pieces of text.
How Can These Be Used by Teachers?
While these AI tools are still in their early stages, they hold immense potential for educators. Here are some ways teachers can leverage them:
Lesson Planning and Resource Creation: Imagine brainstorming lesson ideas, generating outlines, or even finding relevant articles and multimedia resources - all with an AI assistant. These tools can be a time-saving boon for teachers, allowing them to focus on crafting engaging activities and personalized learning experiences.
Differentiation and Personalized Feedback: Teachers can utilize AI to tailor learning materials to individual student needs. AI can rephrase complex concepts into simpler language or suggest exercises that target specific learning gaps. Additionally, some AI tools offer basic feedback on student writing, helping teachers provide more focused guidance. AI is becoming increasingly adept at grading basic assessments like quizzes. While it can't replace the depth of teacher comments, it can handle initial assessments and provide students with more timely feedback.
Engaging Student Activities: AI can be a spark for creativity in the classroom. Imagine students using these tools to brainstorm story ideas, write different creative text formats, or even generate visuals for projects. This can make learning more interactive and help students connect with the material in a new way.
Preparing Students for a Tech-Driven World: By thoughtfully integrating AI tools into the classroom, we equip students with the skills necessary to navigate and collaborate with AI in their future careers.
It's important to remember that AI should be used as a tool to enhance teaching, not replace it. Critical thinking, analysis, and fostering a love of learning are all areas where the human touch remains irreplaceable.
It's also worth noting that the same technology is also being used to enable you to make AI images.
Midjourney / DALL-E 2 (and similar): These AI models turn text prompts into images. Great for creating custom visuals for lessons, worksheets, and presentations, saving teachers time searching for appropriate images.
If that's not enough, OpenAI, the people behind ChatGPT are working on the same type of AI creation but for full motion video - and it's mindblowing! Check out the latest developments in their SORA tool here.
Teacher-Specific AI Apps
In addition to the three main AI LLM tools, a range of apps already exist that either work with them to add additional functionality or use standalone technology to assist teachers specifically.
TeachMateAI (https://teachmateai.com/): A teacher-centric suite of AI tools to streamline lesson planning. Generates ideas, risk assessments, activities, and reports, saving time for ECTs who may be overwhelmed with planning demands.
Eduaide.ai (https://www.eduaide.ai/): Leverages AI for lesson plans, resource creation, and even providing a feedback bot, freeing teacher time for student interaction.
MagicSchool.ai (https://www.magicschool.ai/): An AI assistant dedicated to education. Generates various resources, including lesson plans, differentiated learning materials, and even assists with IEPs (Individualized Education Plans)
In addition, almost every existing web-based tool is adding AI to improve their usability.
Writesonic (https://writesonic.com/): Provides AI-powered rephrasing and text simplification tools. This is vital for tailoring instruction to individual student needs, especially those with learning differences or language barriers.
Grammarly (https://www.grammarly.com/): Beyond checking basic grammar and spelling, its suggestions can elevate written feedback for students. It aids teachers in explaining complex errors in ways students understand.(Grammarly can also be used by pupils to vastly improve their grammar, spelling and phrasing - but this should be done with understanding rather than mindless application, of course.)
Canva (https://www.canva.com/): AI-powered image generation lets users create visuals from simple text descriptions with tools that automatically create backgrounds or suggest design elements, making the design process more accessible.
What AI tools Are On The Horizon?
As well as these there are newly launched suites of AI tools for teachers and more coming.
Oak National Academy (https://www.thenational.academy/): This government-supported platform offers high-quality, curriculum-aligned lesson resources. They are expanding their AI-powered tools as well, including a quiz generator and lesson planner. These tools utilize the UK curriculum structure in their development.
Show My Homework (https://www.satchelone.com/): This popular homework management platform integrates with AI features. These include auto-grading tools for certain subjects and the potential for AI-suggested resources relevant to the UK curriculum.
AI-Powered Assessment Tools: Various platforms focused on formative assessment are emerging with a specific eye towards UK curriculum alignment. These platforms aim to use AI to provide automated, tailored feedback and progress tracking for students based on the UK curriculum standards. Some are still in the developmental phases, so keep abreast of news on AI.
With all this heady rush towards AI-everything, it's important to bear the following in mind.
Curriculum Alignment: Even tools not explicitly UK-focused can be useful with some care. Look for features that allow customization of standards or the ability to input keywords based on UK curriculum terminology when using lesson plan or content generators.
Data Privacy: Given the UK's commitment to data privacy (GDPR), ensure any tools you consider have robust data protection policies in place before you and your students use them.
Evolving Landscape: The integration of AI into UK-specific educational tools is still young. It is important to keep up with emerging platforms as they are announced.
The speed of change is so fast that it's advisable to keep an eye out for developments and new tools and approaches all the time. The places to get the latest information include Edtech Websites such as educational technology blogs and websites. There's also a lot of discussion in teacher communities, such as online forums or social media groups for UK teachers. These are vital for finding peer recommendations on tools that have proven useful within the context of the UK classroom.
Can Pupils Use AI?
Our focus here has so far been on an overview of AI for teachers, but, of course, your pupils are tech-savvy, and many have already realised that this powerful technology is there to be used.
Clearly, that could be a force for good, but the temptation exists to use it to 'game the system'.
Let's look at the benefits for students:
Enhanced Research: LLMs like ChatGPT can vastly improve student research speed. They can outline topics, provide multiple perspectives, and suggest sources, promoting a deeper understanding.
Personalized Learning: Students can use AI writing tools for self-editing, improving their vocabulary and grammar. Tailored feedback can help them excel without waiting on teacher input.
Creative Expression: Image generators empower students who struggle with traditional visuals for projects. Expressing their understanding through AI-generated images is a valid alternative.
But what about the downside of students seeing AI as a golden ticket to an easy life? Here's the downsides.
Essay Generation: AI can produce superficially correct essays, tempting students to bypass authentic learning. This requires teachers to stress process knowledge, and use detection tools.
Automated Homework: AI tools exist for problem-solving and calculation. Emphasizing the demonstration of how an answer is reached counters this.
Plagiarism: AI's ability to reword content can lead to disguised plagiarism. Turnitin and similar tools remain crucial, though AI-generated plagiarism is harder to catch.
Understanding that your pupils can get a lot of help in a positive way is crucial to a balanced approach to the use of AI, but, of course, the most important thing is to foster a classroom environment where AI is a transparently employed tool for learning, not a shortcut.
Mitigating AI Misuse in the Classroom
While AI tools offer exciting opportunities for student learning, it's essential to proactively address the potential for misuse. Here are some strategies to mitigate inappropriate use and foster a culture of ethical AI engagement:
Open Dialogue: Initiate classroom discussions about AI's capabilities, limitations, and the importance of academic integrity. Explain the difference between using AI as a learning aid versus relying on it for entire assignments.
Process-Driven Tasks: Shift assessment focus away from purely final products and towards emphasizing the process of learning. Incorporate activities that require students to:
Break down their research steps.
Justify source choices.
Explain their reasoning and thought processes.
Cite any AI-generated content used as a starting point.
Vary Assessment Formats: Utilize diverse assessment methods that are less susceptible to AI completion. Consider:
Oral presentations and discussions.
Project-based learning with portfolios showcasing student work stages.
In-class writing assignments where AI use is restricted.
AI Detection Tools: While not foolproof, AI-generated text often exhibits patterns that can be detected by certain tools. Using plagiarism checkers alongside software specifically designed to identify AI-written content can be a deterrent. (Note: it's important to use these tools as a guide, not as the sole indicator of AI-generated work).
Clear Policies and Consequences: Establish transparent school-wide or classroom-level policies on the acceptable use of AI tools. Clearly outline consequences for plagiarism and unauthorized AI use to deter misuse.
Encourage Collaboration over Competition: Foster a classroom environment where students collaborate, learn from each other, and value their own original ideas and insights. This helps counteract the temptation to seek artificial shortcuts.
It's vital not to let the fear of misuse overshadow AI's potential benefits. By embracing a proactive and balanced approach, we can guide students to become ethical and discerning users of these powerful tools.
AI - A Force For Good?
This article should have given you a good beginning in understanding how you and your pupils can use AI right now. There's more coming, and it's going to be a hot topic, so now is the time to get to grips with it.
The future of teaching will be shaped by AI. By embracing these tools thoughtfully, ECTs can harness their potential to enhance learning and prepare students for an AI-driven world, while also ensuring students develop the critical thinking and ethics needed to distinguish their own work from that of a machine.
AI may be powerful, but it can never replace the empathy, guidance, and inspiration only a teacher can provide. As ECTs, the key is to leverage AI as a tool that empowers us to create more personalized, engaging, and effective learning experiences for our students.