How to Use AI Tools Responsibly in the Classroom

AI writing tools, image generators and coding assistants are now freely available to any student with a phone. Banning them is neither enforceable nor particularly wise — students will use them outside school regardless. The productive question is: how do we help students use AI well?

Start with a classroom conversation

Before setting rules, have a discussion. Ask students:

• "What AI tools have you already used?"
• "What did you use them for?"
• "What do you think the difference is between using AI and cheating?"

Students' answers will surprise you — many have genuinely thought about these questions and hold nuanced views. Building your policy around that conversation rather than imposing one from above is more likely to produce honest behaviour.

Define "appropriate use" specifically

Vague rules ("no AI on assessments") leave students uncertain and invite creative interpretation. Specific rules are clearer and fairer:

• Not permitted: submitting AI-generated text as your own written work, using AI to answer comprehension questions.
• Permitted with disclosure: using AI to generate ideas, to check grammar, to explain a concept you did not understand, to provide an outline you then rewrote in your own words.
• Encouraged: using AI to get feedback on a draft, to generate practice questions, to explore "what if" scenarios in a subject.

Use AI as a teaching tool, not just a threat

Some of the most powerful lessons now involve AI directly:

Fact-checking AI output

Ask students to use an AI chatbot to research a topic they already know well. Then fact-check every claim the AI makes. Students quickly discover that AI "hallucinations" are real and that critical evaluation of AI output is a genuine skill. This is more memorable than any lecture about AI limitations.

Comparing AI writing to student writing

Generate an AI version of a writing task and compare it to student-written versions. Ask: What is the AI version missing? What does it do well? What feels "off"? Students develop critical analysis skills while understanding what makes their own voice distinctive.

AI as a writing coach

Students draft their own essay and then ask an AI tool: "What are the weaknesses in this argument?" or "What evidence am I missing?" The AI provides feedback; the student revises. This uses AI as a process tool, not a product tool — the final writing is still the student's.

Designing AI-resistant assessments

Rather than trying to detect AI, design tasks that AI cannot easily replicate:

• Personal narrative or reflection essays that require lived experience.
• Oral assessments — speaking and explaining cannot be delegated to AI.
• Process portfolios — show the drafts, the research notes, the mind maps, not just the final product.
• In-class timed writing — still the most reliable way to assess unaided writing.
• Localised tasks — "analyse this specific piece of data from our class experiment" requires context AI cannot have.

Tools worth knowing

• ChatGPT (free plan): the most capable general-purpose AI assistant. Use for explanation, brainstorming and feedback generation.
• Perplexity AI: an AI search engine that cites its sources — better than ChatGPT for research tasks because you can verify claims.
• Khan Academy Khanmigo: an AI tutor built specifically for students, designed to guide rather than give answers. Free for students.
• Canva AI features: text-to-image generation, Magic Write and background removal — available on the free Education plan.