Teaching and Learning in the AI Age: A 4-Part Series Outlining Challenges and Opportunities

The first of a four-part article series on practical tips on AI use and adoption for teaching and learning

The situation we educators now face has a lot in common with the challenges of COVID teaching. We remember those first online classes - transforming our teaching overnight while searching for creative ways to keep students motivated in a remote environment. We did it then, adapting and evolving as educators always do, and now we're facing another transformative moment: the AI revolution in education. As teachers, we are masters of adaptation – facing evolving teenage habits, juggling curriculum changes, district mandates, and endless new tech tools while making hundreds of split-second decisions daily. Now, ChatGPT and co have landed in our classrooms, triggering both fascination with some and fear with many. I've witnessed this range of reactions first-hand through countless workshops and conversations with fellow educators. Some teachers dive in head first, others cautiously dip their toes in the AI waters, while others stand on the sidelines in opposition to AI adoption. But here's what I've learned: regardless of where you stand, educators need a clear, practical path forward.

That's why I've distilled my thoughts and learnings with AI in education into a straightforward four-part series - practical insights for busy teachers who need to understand not just the 'what' of AI, but the 'how.' In this article series, I'll explore four things:

a) WHAT educators need - to know, do, and know HOW to do
b) WHAT students need - to hear from teachers and develop for themselves
c) HOW educators can use GenAI - where to start and how to progress
d) HOW students can use GenAI - ethical, responsible, and critical use

Let's get started.

Part 1: What Educators Need

What do educators need to KNOW, DO, and KNOW HOW TO DO? The first, important part has to do with a certain awareness, a pragmatic mindset, and a key understanding of what we are talking about.

Need to know »

Surprisingly, many educators may have dipped their toes into AI waters, but have not progressed beyond a brief test of ChatGPT. Let’s move beyond that. All educators need to know how good generative AI (GenAI) multimodal tools are, what things they are capable of (even if inaccuracies are still possible), and what functionalities are already available for free. In my workshops, I show how powerful free text-to-video tools are or how good audio transcription tools have become. Also, I demonstrate how easy it is to get answers from a photographed worksheet. There is an audible and visible wow when I do this. :) They need to know that students can easily get answers for worksheets with free mobile versions of ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Claude. Expecting writing homework assignments to be done by the student without aids seems increasingly naive. And yes, they need to know that there is more than just ChatGPT and explore alternatives to see how they perform daily tasks.

They also need to know that GenAI is being integrated everywhere, so there is no sense in ignoring it. All text-based software will have AI functionality sooner than later. Free and freely accessible. Doing things we could not previously imagine.

Essentially, teachers need to become AI literate - know what tools are out there, and what the potential and the limits of these tools are. In my workshops, we go through the difference between traditional AI and generative, talk about the speed of innovation, and go through the current capabilities of frontier models. This moment is for many quite eye-opening. Many have only heard of ChatGPT and are not aware of alternatives. Also surprising for most, is how many of our peers are already using it for various reasons across all subjects and disciplines.

Teachers also need to know about data privacy and issues such as bias, or reliability of AI output. They should be aware that many tools do not officially allow users under 18, so strategies for the classroom will either be parental authorization or virtual rooms where certain AI tools are accessible without recourse to student accounts.

Need to do »

An important thing educators need is training, and luckily many free online AI courses explain the basics and help gain an understanding of the technology. I've done many myself and continue to visit webinars online to expand my knowledge.

Some educators I meet ask for tools for detection, while others ask for strategies against cheating. I understand why they ask, but in my view, they need to start developing ways to work differently with classes and need to stop wanting to check work for AI use. It is not going to be possible to detect 100 % AI use in student work. The tools that exist cannot guarantee with certainty that a text has or has not been fully generated. The pragmatic way forward, in both cases, is to develop an open way of working, acknowledging the AI elephant in the room and designing learning so that the thinking and learning of the student are evident. We need to start becoming more process-oriented and not focus on a result - in the same way that Maths teachers want to see the path the student took to get there and sometimes require a student to explain their process.

As we endeavour to integrate AI tools into our lessons, there is a need to develop AI policies for our learning groups. For this, we do not have to reinvent the wheel, as many institutions and educators have shared their policies online. Such a policy outlines what may be allowed in what circumstances, and how a student should cite and attribute tool results and use. I have developed several in English and German and I also discuss these at length with classes, while also providing opportunities for them to practise during in-class activities.

For this purpose, I have created a CustomGPT called Classroom AI guide, which can be found here. It helps teachers develop their own AI policy.

Need to know how to do »

I truly empathize with educators who feel overwhelmed by the rapid changes and innovations. It is not easy to keep up. They need to know how to keep up - in a viable and balanced way - how to know which tools to try and which trends will affect them. I advise educators to follow the experts online, subscribe to newsletters summarizing what’s new, and team up with colleagues at their school to share experiences and resources.

Using LLMs means needing to know how to prompt, and we should not underestimate how difficult it is for some to develop this skill. Luckily, there are many frameworks out there, but there are also prompt libraries and customized chatbots (here are a few examples of CustomGPTs) that deliver results for the user without the need to develop detailed prompts oneself. Of course, it would be great for all to know how to formulate and iterate input, but pre-packaged prompts are a helpful boost to get started.

Finally, educators need to know how to use AI tools for their own workflows, for example for planning, co-creating, or generating ideas and scenarios. I will talk more about that in part three of this series.

Key Takeaways »

• Educators need to move beyond basic ChatGPT exploration to understand the full landscape of AI tools available

• Detection tools aren't the answer - we need to focus instead on process-oriented learning and transparent and ethical AI use by both students and teachers

• Developing clear AI policies and guidelines for your classroom is essential

• Staying updated is doable - find reliable sources and start small

• The goal is to become AI literate to be able to guide students effectively

The fact of the matter remains clear: generative AI is here, it's not going away, and it's freely accessible to young people. While there are no easy answers to questions about data privacy, copyright, assessment, and skill development, one thing is certain - taking a reactionary stand against AI or avoiding discussions about it with students (whether for reasons of 'resisting tech companies' influence' or 'saving energy resources') is not the answer. Instead, it's crucial we engage with these very issues alongside our students and commit to becoming AI literate ourselves. We cannot guide our students if others know more than we do.

The path forward with AI in education requires three things: awareness, pragmatic action, and continuous learning. As we've explored, educators need to move beyond basic ChatGPT experimentation and understand the broader landscape of AI tools that are already transforming education. The need for detection tools and anti-cheating strategies is giving way to a more fundamental shift in how we approach teaching and assessment.

My hope is that educators acknowledge that AI is already part of our students' world - it's in their phones, their apps, and increasingly in their learning processes. I advise beginners to take one concrete step this week: explore an AI tool like ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, Perplexity, Claude or Gemini, and see first-hand what is already possible. Use it for 'everything', to see what it does well and what its limitations are.

In next week's article, we'll explore what students need - from ethical use guidelines to critical thinking skills. Until then, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Have I missed something? Share your thoughts in the comments below or reach out - let's learn from each other as we navigate this transformation in education.

Image created using Canva.