No topic is more discussed in today’s education meetings than the impact of Artificial Intelligence–AI–on teaching and learning. Guest contributor to Ask a Tech Teacher, Tess Dodson, has fresh ideas on how to incorporate AI into your classroom in ways that are moral and principled:

Simple Ways Teachers Can Integrate AI Ethically in the Classroom

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already shaping modern education. From generating lesson ideas to helping students brainstorm essays, AI in the classroom is becoming increasingly common. For educators, this shift presents both exciting opportunities and important responsibilities. Teachers need a thoughtful approach and practical strategies to ethically integrate AI into everyday teaching.

Create Clear Guidelines for AI Use

Students are already using AI, and it is here to stay. A survey of more than 1,100 U.S. students found that 90% have used AI-driven tools in academic settings. As such, it is vital that the first step in using AI in the classroom is setting clear expectations. Students are already experimenting with AI tools, but they may not fully understand when or how to use them appropriately. Without guidance, misuse — intentional or not — becomes more likely.

Teachers should create a simple classroom policy around AI. It can include clear rules on when AI use is allowed for assignments and how students should acknowledge or cite AI use. For example, a teacher might allow AI for information gathering but not for generating final answers.  Students may also be required to include a short explanation of how the tool was used.

Strengthen Academic Integrity in an AI-Enabled Classroom

One of the main challenges of using AI in education is the concern that students may use these tools to plagiarize or cheat academically. With tools that can instantly generate essays and solve problems, it has become easier for students to submit work that is not their own. As such, teaching practices must adapt.

Teachers can take a proactive approach by clearly defining what constitutes original work. Instead of banning AI outright, educators can guide students on acceptable use. For example, AI might be allowed for outlining ideas or checking grammar, but not for producing complete work. Another effective strategy is requiring students to document their process by providing draft submissions that show revisions over time and reflection paragraphs explaining how they completed the task. (more…)

How AI is Giving Teachers Back Their Weekends: A Peek Inside the Classroom Revolution

In the whirlwind of a teacher’s day—juggling lesson tweaks, student IEPs, and that inevitable stack of assessments – it’s easy to feel like the weekend is just a myth. I remember my first year teaching middle school science in a diverse urban district. I’d spend Friday nights hunched over my laptop, piecing together slides from outdated textbooks, scrambling to adapt activities for English language learners, and crossing my fingers that the lesson would actually land with my mixed-ability class. It wasn’t just exhausting; it chipped away at the joy of why I got into teaching in the first place. Fast-forward to today, and tools like TeachAid are flipping that script, turning hours of drudgery into minutes of magic. If you’re a teacher staring down another unit plan, this is the friendly nudge you’ve been waiting for. (more…)

A lot of teacher-authors read my WordDreams blog. In this monthly column, I share a popular post from the past month: 

Legal Risks and Obligations for Schools Using AI Tutors

AI tutors are quickly changing how students learn, offering personalized support across different subjects and formats. But as these tools become more common in schools, serious questions about their legal impact arise. 

Who is responsible if an AI gives bad advice or shares sensitive student data? What happens when these systems enter specialized areas like medical training or behavioral support? 

Many educators and administrators feel unprepared to manage these legal and ethical challenges effectively. Schools must now balance innovation with compliance, oversight, and long-term accountability. 

This article will explore the legal risks and obligations schools face when integrating AI tutors into education. (more…)

Blending Montessori and Technology: Finding the Right Balance in Early Childhood Education

These days, it seems that all toddlers master how to swipe across a screen before they learn to tie their shoes. Technology is everywhere and is not leaving anytime soon. For parents and educators who follow or are interested in the Montessori approach, which emphasizes hands-on activity, self directed learning, and natural curiosity, this article will come in handy. Can the Montessori ideology and technology coexist? Is it possible for children to continue using tablets, phones, etc. without losing that tangible, earthy learning process?

The quick answer is yes. But it takes thoughtfulness, balance, and a profound grasp of why Montessori works in the first place.

What Montessori Is Really About

First and foremost, we must understand a bit more about the Montessori approach and where its heart is. Dr. Maria Montessori’s belief was in child-directed learning. Rather than being told what to learn and how to do it, children find out about their world through materials that are fashioned to meet their needs at various levels of development.

Montessori materials, most commonly known as Montessori toys, are hands-on tools used in many Montessori classrooms. These tools are not noisy or flashy, most of the time these are materials made of wood. They’re meant to help develop fine motor skills, improve concentration, problem solving skills, and help a child be self sufficient. While these materials can be entertaining, that is more of a bonus than their main purpose. For example a knobbed cylinder or a bead chain, each material has a unique function that guides a child to master a skill through repetition and exploration.

Technology should compliment and never replace these moments of learning. (more…)

When I saw this ESchoolMedia article, my first response was, He** no! but I paused to ask why a reputable magazine would even ask this question. Before reading the article, I asked Grok the same question. Here’s what a generative AI has to say about that issue:

The end of STEM: Why AI-driven education must replace an outdated model

(more…)

Generative AI is all anyone in education talks about anymore so the Ask a Tech Teacher team wanted to provide a collection of tips for using AI as a tutor. Rather than us introducing this article, we thought we’d like Grok do it himself:

How to Leverage AI Tutors for Effective Learning: Tips for Parents, Educators, and Students

AI tutors transform learning. They generate instant feedback and personalized lessons. While they are powerful tools, they don’t replace traditional classroom instruction. Instead, they can complement such. Students, parents, and teachers must be proactive in using AI to maximize its benefits.

The key lies in the balance. Use AI to enhance learning, not replace critical thinking or human interaction. Smart learning assistants are powerful allies. The challenge is knowing when to trust the technology and when to step back and think for yourself. (more…)

A lot of teacher-authors also read my WordDreams blog (for writers). In this column, I share the most popular post from the past month. 

AI in Writing

I use AI judiciously and never without adult supervision. It is efficient if well directed, provides good summaries of articles on a factual level, and is fast if I’m not looking for clever, creative, complex, or any sort of conscience. Accepting those limitations, I find it good for summaries of articles on my education blog and lists for just about anything. AI loves lists.

What AI can’t do is at the absolute core of fiction writing:

• provide personal experience
• act with any sort of moral compass
• make judgments
• bare its soul
• bleed on a page
• put the lion in a character’s heart
• sacrifice, say, the easy wrong for the hard right 
• choose the right attitude in a given set of circumstances
• find a North star
• put charisma in a story or character–or setting

As a result, I use it where it suits, avoid it where it fails. How about you?

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Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

Here are popular online resources to teach about AI detection and Plagiarism detection:

AI Detector

Click here for updates to this list:

1. AI Content Detector–from Crossplag
2. AI Text Classifier–from the creators of ChatGPT to identify writing from an AI
3. ChatGPT–has developed their own tool to find AI-generated writing
4. Content at Scale AI Content Detector
5. Contentdetector.org
6. Copyleaks AI Content Detector 
7. Crossplag–detect AI content
8. GPTZero–to find text generated by an AI
9. Plagiarismchecker.ai
10. TurnItIn ithenticate–new tool to identify AI-generated text
11. UNDETECTABLE.AI
12. Winston A.I
13. ZeroGPT

Finding plagiarism

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AI has the potential to revolutionize education for better or worse–jury’s still out on that. No one denies it can make student testing more efficient, faster, possibly leading to better educational outcomes for all learners. Key positives:

1. Tailor personalized learning paths
2. Adapt testing to challenge students at their appropriate level of knowledge 
3. Provide instant feedback
4. Reduce bias
5. Analyze data quickly to find learning patterns and trends.
6. Identify plagiarism or cheating

But there are drawbacks educators must watch for and may take time to resolve. Check out these concerns:

1. Bias and fairness
2. Privacy and data security
3. Reliability and accuracy
4. Dependency on technology
5. Digital divide
6. Loss of human connection
7. Ethical considerations

Here’s a good article from The Hechinger Report that offers an overview of current thinking on how AI is likely to reshape student testing options:

AI has potential to upend student testing

As AI advances, student testing could become highly personalized and dynamic, offering scenarios like empathetic avatar interactions and adaptive questions. While experts acknowledge risks such as bias and access disparities, they foresee AI-driven assessments reshaping education by tailoring tests to individual needs and promoting deeper learning. (more…)