AI in Primary School - What are teachers doing, what are you not doing?
I am a primary (international) school leader and I have just sent a book on Primary and AI to be published. I have had some great conversations about use of AI in the younger years and want to keep these going. Please share any tools you use, any lessons you have found that work, your views on how young AI should be discussed etc.
20 replies
The pre-k/k school in my district is designated as an APPLE Distinguished School. Introducing AI literacy to Pre-K and Kindergarten students is about helping children understand the "invisible brain" inside their technology.The school uses a "play-first" approach that aligns with the District's vision and missionI. Here are some ways how they might introduce AI literacy concepts to 4- and...
We haven’t yet implemented AI tools directly with our elementary students, but we’re preparing to begin that work in the fall. One topic that’s come up recently is whether students, potentially as young as fifth grade, should have access to tools like Google Gemini. I’ll be honest, I’m not fully convinced that’s the right starting point.What I do feel strongly about, though, is that AI...
I can't wait to see your book and what it has to offer elementary teachers. I think that AI should be taught or at least students be exposed to what AI is in the younger grades, as it is something that is going to be a part of their lives. Can't wait to hear when it is published.
Thanks for sharing such exciting work. This strong foundation seems to be a launching part for introducing AI into several aspects of the students' work. AI for feedback, drafting , research, collaboration. etc. The opportunities are endless. Personally, I'd like ot follow you on your jourvey.
I love this question! In 2016, I became the first teacher in my district to crowd fund laptops for my classroom through Donors Choose. After we received them, the conversation turned to safety, security, and student privacy in the digital era. I know from my experience in being a technology trainer for our district that access to apps, sites, and tools must be planned out with care. With AI...
Dr. Nneka McGee has a powerful AI Literacy lesson for young students that I used with our 1st grade classes. It requires no technology for the students to use - just paper plates, crayones, and guided conversations. Here is an example of what I used from her resource: https://canva.link/e5o20lfgiz1sq4t It's effective and developmentally appropriate. Let me know if you'd like to talk...
The only AI tool currently approved for primary schools in my local authority is Adobe Express. Hoping Canva will come this year. And fingers crossed for ThingLink which is only approved for teachers at the moment.
That's very limiting but I understand the caution. Canva would be a great addition, if nothing else.
Great answer and lots of thought going into the next steps. We don't need to rush anything but need to be proactive. In my school, we have also not handed over LLMs in their raw form to the children. What we have done is begun AI literacy from Grade K upwards (offline discussions around algorithms, sequences etc.) which builds up to use of things like Canva and SchoolAI in Year 6. We...
I use a lot of Google Arts and Culture Play activites in the primary years to help students understand what AI is and how it works. I recently presented some ideas at a conference around this - this was what I shared.