A student opens her Chromebook in her American Studies class, ready to get on with her assignment. However, before she can start, her teacher states some additional instructions: “Make sure to have a tab open to Gemini!” While surprised by this, the student listens and uses the assistive AI to help her complete her assignment in a way that helps her to retain the information she gathered from it. 

Many people assume that opinions on AI in schools are very polarizing. It’s a controversial topic, but many students and staff align with their stance on the topic. One common thing that most people believe is that AI is something good, as long as it’s used in the right way. 

“I think in general, we would like students to know that we do support the use of AI when used appropriately,” Upper Campus Principal Gregory Eiserman says. “AI is new for a lot of staff members, and we are working to help both staff and students use it as the tool it is meant to be. We just need to have some safeguards in place regarding student data.”

A lot of students believe that MCHS is against AI use, but they’re wrong. This belief was brought on by many AI sites being blocked on students’ Chromebooks, aside from Google Gemini. 

“Because we are a Google school,” Eiserman says, “we want students using Gemini on their school Chromebooks.” 

People automatically assume that AI is seen as harmful by adults, but what counts is how they introduce it to students.

The district’s AI committee hopes to implement AI as a friend rather than a foe, as stated in their vision statement: 

“The responsible integration of generative AI into the learning environment prepares students for a world where AI is one valuable tool among many. Our district-wide approach to AI will empower learners by fostering critical thinking, creativity, and adaptability, ensuring they not only use technology but also critically evaluate AI results and become thoughtful creators and leaders in an increasingly digital world. The school’s commitment to teaching students how to use AI appropriately will equip them with the essential skills and knowledge needed to thrive in future academic and professional environments.”

With AI becoming such a widely used tool, it’s obvious that it will be a big factor in the workplace in the coming years. By exposing students to AI now, they will be better prepared for the future where this technology will be, without a doubt, part of everyday life.

“I think we are just in the beginning phase of learning how to use AI in education, and we have a long way to go,” Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Innovation Carl Vallianatos says. “The focus of our AI committee next year will be helping to raise our teachers’ capacity, understanding and how to better implement and address AI in the classroom. We will also focus on impacting the student mindset around AI.”

“When planning a lesson, I consider in what way students could use AI as a tool,” says Gina Nomikoudis, AI committee co-chair at MCHS. “I look for ways to incorporate AI so I can help my students learn to use it responsibly while also helping them practice the learning targets for the day in a new way.”

AI can be used for many things–aside from being a third-party thinker. Many students use it to take practice tests, create scenarios to help them study and review their essays. 

“I think AI is something that can be used for good in school, but it shouldn’t be used to think for us,” senior Quetzaly Casillas says. “I use AI to review things I’ve done and notes I’ve taken as a way to help me not miss anything.”

“I think AI is really positive in the sense that it gives kids ways to interact with content in a way that they weren’t able to before,” social science teacher at MCHS, Kathryn Larson, says. “For example, I teach two AP classes, so I sometimes recommend using AI to create practice multiple-choice questions before going into an MCQ to my students.”

“However, I do feel that if we rely too much on AI, we’re not going to be using our brains as much in the ways we need to,” Larson continues. “It makes me worry because creating your own ideas and topics is such a fundamental part of school.”

In a survey from Pew Research Center, “U.S. adults are generally pessimistic about AI’s effect on people’s ability to think creatively and form meaningful relationships: 53% say AI will worsen people’s ability to think creatively, compared with 16% who say it will improve this. An identical share (16%) says AI will make this skill neither better nor worse.”

Overall, many adults believe that AI will harm people’s ability to think critically and solve problems. 

“I think AI can limit students’ critical thinking and put a damper on their ability to become better and stronger writers on their own,” English teacher at MCHS, Margaret Carhart, says. “My first concern is that AI is often a student’s first choice, and we need to train students to look at other options first for help.”

To successfully implement AI, students need to be taught how to use it correctly. 

“We need to keep the human parts of learning human and be able to use AI as but one tool that can facilitate better learning,” Vallianatos says. “The challenge will be that we all need to help condition students to understand that AI should not be something we use to do work for us or to avoid the critical thinking, productive struggle, and human collaboration that is part of learning.”

According to Pew Research Center, “Just over half of teens say it’s acceptable to use ChatGPT to research new topics (54%). Only 9% say it is not acceptable to use it for this.”

Overall, these survey results seem to contrast with the opinions of MCHS students.

“I think that ChatGPT can definitely be useful when researching, with everything being compiled into one tab on my computer,” senior Olivia Harwood says. “However, it’s hard to trust the sources it provides. You really need to know what information is actually real.”

“It’s hard to make sure if something is actually reliable when it comes from AI,” Harwood says.

MCHS as a whole seems to have a unifying philosophy when it comes to AI use: It’s a wonderful tool, as long as it’s used correctly.

As the student finishes up her assignment, she opens Gemini to grade her essay. After uploading both the document and the rubric, she chats with Gemini on ways she can improve and things she can cut back on. After this, she submits her assignment with greater peace of mind, knowing that AI helped her think instead of doing it for her.