Artificial Intelligence
AI Best Practices for Students, Educators, & Parents
AI Best Practices for Students
EXPLORE - INVESTIGATE - ITERATE
AI for Learning Success
- Integrate AI tools into your study routine by utilizing them for research assistance, organization, and time management.
- AI tools can help streamline your workflow, making your study sessions more efficient and productive without compromising your own learning.
Verify Information
- Always double-check AI information with trusted sources.
- This strengthens your learning and makes you a stronger researcher.
- Be ready to proudly share how you used AI.
- Your teacher may ask you to walk through your process so they can celebrate your growth.
Stay Ethical
- Use AI responsibly by giving credit to how it helped you, while keeping your original ideas front and center.
- Great learning comes from balancing technology with your own creativity and critical thinking.
- For some assignments (ie. journals, reflections, or discussion posts, etc.) your teacher may encourage you to shine with your own voice.
- When in doubt, ask for clarity so you can feel confident about your choices.
The Human Element
- To truly harness the power of AI, we must keep the human element at the center. It's the human touch that provides the critical thinking, emotional support, and ethical guidance that technology alone can't replicate.
Privacy and Security
- Keep yourself and your school safe by protecting your privacy.
- Only use AI with your own ideas, and avoid sharing class materials or personal information.
- Your voice is what makes your learning valuable. Protect it!
Accountability
- Using AI wisely helps you grow as a learner.
- If you skip the learning and turn in work that isn’t yours, you miss building your own skills.
- Staying responsible with AI shows integrity and prepares you for success in school and beyond.
Need Help?
- If you’re unsure about how to use AI, just ask!
- Your teacher is there to guide you and cheer you on as you learn how to use these tools in the best way.
AI Guidance for Educators
ENGAGE - COLLABORATE - INNOVATE
Personalize Instruction
- A major benefit of AI in education is its capability to personalize learning experiences.
- AI platforms evaluate students' performance and learning styles to develop customized learning paths.
- This approach aids struggling students with additional practice while challenging advanced learners, improving engagement and effectiveness in learning.
Evaluate the Outputs
- AI tools can be helpful, but they’re not always perfect.
- Educators should verify AI outputs and teach students to evaluate AI-generated information.
- This builds essential media literacy and critical thinking skills while helping learners recognize and challenge bias, stereotypes, or inaccuracies
Human First Approach
- AI is a supportive tool, never a replacement for teachers.
- By using AI to streamline tasks like lesson planning and grading, educators can focus more on building relationships, fostering creativity, and supporting students emotionally and academically.
- Keeping the human element first ensures that critical thinking and personal connections drive learning.
Set Clear Boundaries
- Help students succeed by making expectations around AI explicit.
- Clarify when AI is welcome as a support tool and when assignments must reflect only the student’s own thinking and voice.
- Clear boundaries empower students to use AI responsibly and confidently.
Model Transparency
- Lead by example.
- When you use AI for brainstorming, formatting, or planning, share that with students.
- Modeling transparency shows that integrity and openness are essential in responsible technology use.
Protect Content and Privacy
- Always safeguard student information and APS instructional materials.
- Remind students not to upload quizzes, rubrics, or personal data into public AI tools.
- Protecting privacy ensures both compliance and trust in how AI is used.
Stay Supported
- The Department of Instructional Technology provides resources, professional learning, and support to help educators explore AI creatively and responsibly.
- Lean on these supports to keep AI integration meaningful, equitable, and sustainable.
Partnering with AI for Parents & Families
DISCUSS - EXPLORE - SET GUIDELINES
Talk About It
- Have open conversations with your kids about how AI works.
- Explain that AI doesn’t “think” or “feel” like a human but is a tool that predicts what comes next based on data.
- Honest conversations help kids feel confident using AI responsibly.
Explore Together
- Use AI tools with your child, testing different prompts and discussing the results.
- Discussion helps demystify the technology and empowers kids to think critically about the outputs while learning alongside you.
Foster Critical Thinking
- Remind your children that AI-generated information might be wrong.
- Encourage them to fact-check and verify with trusted sources.
- This builds lifelong habits of curiosity, analysis, and discernment.
Set Clear Rules
- Establish family rules for AI use, including screen time limits and what personal information is off-limits.
- Talk with your child about when AI is helpful and when assignments must only reflect their own voice.
Encourage Honesty
- If your child uses AI for schoolwork, remind them to be upfront about it.
- A simple note like “AI helped me check my grammar” models integrity and shows teachers that your child is learning responsibly.
Be Ready To Share The Process
- Teachers may ask students to explain or show how they used AI.
- Support your child by helping them keep drafts or talk through their thinking so they can confidently share their process when asked.
Prioritize Privacy
- Read the privacy policies of apps and services your family uses.
- Teach children to be cautious about what they share online, especially in AI chatbots, to keep both their personal and school information safe.
Stay Connected
- You don’t need to navigate AI alone.
- APS offers resources, workshops, and school support to help families learn more about AI and guide children in safe, effective use.
- Reach out to your child’s teacher or school for help anytime.