THE PREP PERIOD

Quick tips, tools & tricks you can take to the classroom on Monday

How to Google in the Age of AI | This week's tip comes from K-12 Dive​

"I'll just Google it!"

Google has really gained our trust over the past couple of decades. However, I'd argue Google AI Overviews have not yet earned that trust.

Students are seeing Google AI Overviews when conducting searches in Google whether they intend to use AI or not. AI summaries now land at the top of almost every search, and one school librarian found they get things wrong in pretty concerning (if not sometimes hilarious) ways.

Amanda Kordeliski, who directs libraries and instructional technology at Norman Public Schools in Oklahoma and serves as president of the American Association of School Librarians, told K-12 Dive that students end up doing more work with an overview than without one, because they have to go back and find what's wrong.

One of her own searches on iron deficiency returned advice to carry rocks in her pocket.

This is something we can prepare students to navigate. One best practice is to review the sources linked to the end of the AI's claim.

Pair up students and have them trace every claim in the summary back to the linked source(s), marking each one as supported by the source, missing from the source, or offered with no source at all.

The takeaway should be that the overview can get you started, but it's important to vet the sources and not take Google AI Overviews at face value.

SARAH'S PICK

The 74

​Survey: 5 Ways AI Is Cutting Into Students' Ability to Learn​

In a new Common Sense Media survey, many students responded that AI is having a negative effect on their learning and cognition.

While, yes, this is obviously concerning, I do see a ray of hope. Students answering this survey were still thinking about their own thinking! Metacognition is an important skill! And not one that's easily developed.

The fact that students are recognizing this phenomenon happening in their own thinking is encouraging to me. It's a wedge into breaking down reliance on AI, pinpointing where thinking begins and ends, and forming new habits that encourage deeper learning.

In other words, not all is lost! Many adults feel the same way and some even experience severe effects on their mental health. Recognizing these effects is the first step to addressing the problem.

And while many students are choosing to reject AI altogether, this may not always be possible for them in the workforce. Let's take this opportunity to find common ground and learn together before we all forget how to think.

LOUNGE READS

The AI headlines that matter for your classroom

A major survey quantified the worry that AI is eroding critical thinking, while other reporting showed teachers experimenting in classrooms with promising results. Meanwhile, districts are spending big on AI tools.

The 74

​Survey: 5 Ways AI Is Cutting Into Students' Ability to Learn​

New survey data names exactly how AI use is undercutting the skills students most need to build.

"Among the 70% of teens who use AI, 77% say they use it as a support tool, using it for brainstorming, checking their work and getting feedback on writing, for instance... But 63% separately report going straight to a chatbot for an answer rather than working their way to it themselves."

The 74

​When AI Makes Young People Think for Themselves, Real Learning Happens​

A counterpoint: here is what AI looks like when it actually deepens student thinking instead of skipping it.

"How much students’ confidence in using AI grew had almost nothing to do with how much they had retained."

Government Technology

​AI Pushes Educators to Focus on the Art of Teaching and Lesson Design​

Teachers say AI handling routine tasks is pushing them to get better at the parts only humans can do.

"But with good governance, teachers say AI can level the playing field for students with differing needs by putting an assignment in a student's native language or simplifying the language for a student with special needs, or adding rigor to assignments for gifted students."

A NOTE BEFORE YOU GO...

I'm glad you're here! If something resonated this week, hit reply and tell me. If you know a fellow educator who would find this useful, forward it their way. The village grows when educators share with other educators.

Never hesitate to send me an email if you're looking for some human-forward, AI thought partnership!