AI: Beyond the Panic

Artificial Intelligence has changed education; that’s the reality. Talk so far has been dominated by fear – fear of plagiarism, the skills shortage that AI will bring and the 'death of homework'. But what if this kind of digital head-in-the-sand approach misses a hopeful shift? A shift that is happening around us right now, right across the world? Because the AI story, as I see it, isn’t all bad (but I’m usually on the glass-half-full side).

As a Digital Technologies teacher at Woodleigh, I can tell you the chat about AI literacy in the classroom is evolving – and quickly. It’s too easy to get stuck on ‘Has this student used AI?’ Chances are, they have. Adults are also using it, but often without education around critical thinking and intention when using Artificial Intelligence.

Instead of the simplistic 'Is this your work?' approach, I like to take a more life-relevant one with my students. 'Have you shown me your analytical thinking? Your design ideas? How do you intend to solve the problem?' It’s a change in mindset that values how students think, not just what they produce – because what many outside the classroom walls are yet to grasp is that AI is more than a common cheating tool; it’s a cognitive catalyst.

AI literacy in my classroom means equipping students with the skills to recognise and demonstrate where their information has come from; to query the accuracy of the output and finally, use and apply AI with good judgement. ‘How intelligently has the student prompted the AI to enhance their thinking?’

Ultimately, the best student work will be a technically robust product thanks to their virtual assistants, but it will still need to be deeply and distinctly human in its final presentation. 

I’m enjoying helping students utilise AI, not just to achieve a final product, but to think, plan and design ethical and intelligent ways for AI to be leveraged to achieve their goals. AI will, if it’s not already, be embedded in every profession, so the ability to critique and apply tools effectively is what will set our young people apart in a big way. That’s what I reckon anyway.

And, if you have any doubt over the authorship of this article, it is the highest compliment to the process I am trying to explain.

Peter Allsop (or perhaps, Peter Allsop 1.1) Digital Technologies Teacher