Understanding AI — for you and your students
Plain-language explanations, a shared classroom language, and age-appropriate guidance. No jargon, just what's useful.
Start with the basics
Six ideas that ground every confident AI decision.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Systems that recognize patterns, analyze information, generate outputs, or support decisions in ways that resemble tasks usually handled by people. AI doesn't think like a human and doesn't always get things right.
Generative AI
AI that creates new content — emails, summaries, lesson starters, study materials, images, or first drafts — in response to prompts. ChatGPT-style tools are one part of a much bigger landscape. GPT is only the beginning.
Agentic AI
AI that goes beyond a single answer to carry out multi-step work — making plans, taking actions, or coordinating tasks with less constant direction. This makes human oversight, policy, and role clarity even more important.
Hallucination
When AI confidently produces information that is wrong or made up. This is why human review and source-checking always matter, especially before sharing with students or families.
Prompt
The instruction or question you give an AI tool. Clear, specific prompts with context and examples produce far better results than vague ones.
Approved enterprise tools
Tools like Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini used in your institution's protected configuration. These offer stronger protections than consumer tools — but approved does not mean unlimited, and judgment still matters.
The red / yellow / green model
A simple, shared language that helps students and staff know when AI supports learning and when it gets in the way. Set it per assignment.
Red — No AI
The task is meant to measure independent thinking, original production, or a foundational skill.
Example: A timed in-class essay, an original reflection, or a first attempt at a new skill.
Yellow — Limited, teacher-defined
AI is allowed for specific purposes such as brainstorming, outlining, or revision support. The final thinking must still belong to the learner.
Example: Brainstorming topic ideas, generating practice questions, or getting feedback on a draft.
Green — Encouraged with transparency
AI use is encouraged, with disclosure, reflection, and evidence that the student understands the work.
Example: Using AI as a study partner, a coding assistant, or to translate and explain concepts.
Age-appropriate guidance, K-12
What responsible AI use looks like at each stage.
GPT is only the beginning
Many people first meet AI through ChatGPT-style chatbots, but those are one part of a much larger and fast-changing landscape. Tools are becoming more connected to documents and workflows, and the next wave — agentic AI — will take multi-step actions with less prompting. That is exactly why AI literacy is bigger than learning a single tool: it is about understanding how to evaluate and use a growing set of tools wisely.