Inquiry 7.4 Systems: How do I understand AI?
A brief history of AI
AI's presence is widely accepted, but it didn't appear overnight. In this lesson, students can start building an understanding of what AI means to them, exploring, in brief, where it has come from and how it evolved. What vocabulary is associated with AI, and what does it mean? This lays the foundation for the next steps in effectively using Generative AI.
SLIDE: Four Corners activity
This lesson starts with a Four Corners activity for students to recognise where they identify in terms of AI use.
- AI Resistant: Sceptical of AI's role and hesitant to adopt new technologies.
- AI Curious: Interested in exploring AI tools, but cautious about implementation.
- AI Embracing: Open to integrating AI into learning and actively seeking opportunities to use it.
AI Leading: A champion of AI in learning, actively seeking innovative AI-powered strategies.
REFLEXIVITY: Before exploring AI, it's important to check in with our own biases, fears, and assumptions about how we approach technology. Students can discuss with those who feel similarly or completely differently to them. All responses are welcome; this is safe environment for sharing views.
SLIDE: AI Checker
The lesson then moves from students reflecting about their own attitudes to AI to seeing if their mindsets align with their actual useage.
SLIDE: A brief history of AI - It has been around for a while!
Let's establish how AI has developed across three paradigms: Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Generative AI.
SLIDE: Can you identify different uses of AI?
Categorising different AI Using the image below from the excellent 'AI for Education', use the flashcards to discuss and identify different uses of AI in every day use.
SLIDE: Multiple uses of different systems
Permitted AI use for activity: none initially then some
Activity 2: Multi-use of AI
This activity calls on students to think deeply about what they know already and consciously consider familiar settings through a new lens. The final task can be done ‘live’ with students presenting their commentary to the class.
SLIDE: How we understand the successful ethical use of AI, depends on how comfortable we are with the following connected areas:
- Prompt Engineering
- AI’s limitations (and caution)
- Acceptable Use of AI:
In the core, especially the Reflective Project
In DP and CRS courses - Proper ways to cite AI usage in your work
In your student's reflective space, consider the relationship with these areas and how confident they feel using AI.
The following image was created using the short list above in Gemini to create a ‘competency web’ for self-assessment. The prompt was relatively simple at this stage, with no rubric for students to compare
SLIDE: Students can gain new understandings here, but it is not simply a matter of sharing this information. An interesting discussion can arise from considering with whom they feel this information could have the most impact and why. Furthermore, if they were to share any new understandings, how would they do this?
With whom would you share your new understanding? How would you share it?