4 Tips for Helping Your Student Navigate Artificial Intelligence

4 Tips for Helping Your Student Navigate Artificial Intelligence

Parents with kids in elementary, middle or high school know all too well that the future is now. After all, you are raising "digital natives." These are the children and teenagers whose learning and development have been intricately intertwined with digital technology from day one.

That exposure has only increased with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. Think about it - AI text chatbots like ChatGPT and other programs are now readily available and accessible on most devices that connect to the internet.

AI is also increasingly commonplace in the classroom. For Sarah Wallace, an AP world history and AP human geography teacher in the Escambia County School District, appropriate use of AI starts with setting clear expectations.

"There needs to be a conversation," she said. "It circles back to giving them a toolbox to increase their understanding of a subject. They still have to do the work."

When Wallace suspects an over-reliance on AI, she verbally quizzes her students about the assignments they're submitting. "If you're using it as a tool, but you understand everything behind it, to me, that's the correct use of AI."

What does the inclusion of AI mean for your student? How can you help your child navigate AI to use it in safe and ethical ways? To help you out, we consulted Wallace and other experts who zeroed in on these guiding principles:

• Understand AI Basics. It pays off to know key terms. Traditional AI adheres to specific rules to complete tasks, such as answering questions or providing recommendations. It does not create new material or information. Examples include voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, and algorithms on popular social media platforms. Generative AI creates original content - including music, images, video and writing - from the language and data it has learned. Examples include ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
• Explore AI Together. Talk to your child about AI and fire up a program to complete a household task like making a grocery list. Use AI together to animate one of their drawings, conduct research for a school assignment or design a silly photo just for fun. The important part is trying it out alongside your student and being there to discuss questions as they arise. One of Wallace's favorite AI tools is Goblin, which she uses and recommends to her students. The site breaks down all kinds of tasks, from the academic to the personal, into specific checklists to help them with organization.
• Critique AI to Boost Critical Thinking. Make a game of spotting the errors and mistakes in AI images, videos and essays. Encourage your child to question what they are reading and seeing and take the steps to find the correct information. Wallace, who often uses AI to create incorrect test answers, urges her students to stay on guard with any AI tool they use. "You cannot trust everything it says - you have to verify everything!" she said.
• Don't Get Lazy. Remember, as the human in this equation, you are the one with the real intelligence! Don't take short cuts, and always adhere to your school's AI policy. Wallace consistently reminds her students to keep AI in perspective. "If you're using it properly, I think it can be a great thing," she said. "But it should never be used to replace you as the worker or you as the knowledge source."

Bottom line: AI is not going away any time soon. Quite the opposite! But thoughtful conversations and strategies can help you and your child harness its potential without stifling their own.

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