How to teach students to use AI responsibly: A guide for families and educators

Summary: Learning to use artificial intelligence (AI) is a key skill for students today. AI can make learning more accessible by helping kids understand complex information. It can help them stay organized and give them personalized support. Families and educators should collaborate to teach kids how to use AI ethically and responsibly. 

Using AI ethically means being honest, safe, and fair. Kids need to protect their personal information, question AI’s answers, and be transparent about when they use AI for schoolwork. They also need to balance screen time with real-world activities and relationships. Clear modeling and step-by-step guidance can help kids build these habits.

Remember, AI is just a tool. While it can help with learning, kids also need to make time for human connection and offline activities. By working together, families and educators can help kids use AI as an empowering learning tool.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming part of everyday life — at school and at home. It’s no longer a question of if kids will use AI, but when and how. That’s why it’s important to teach AI as a 21st-century skill. 

For kids who learn and think differently, AI can be a supportive tool that improves accessibility. Instead of avoiding or restricting AI, educators and families can teach kids to be thoughtful digital citizens who use AI responsibly and ethically. Here’s how to begin.

Using AI ethically and responsibly means understanding how to use it in ways that are honest, safe, and fair. It’s about treating AI as a support for learning, not a shortcut or substitute for thinking and doing the work. It’s also about understanding its limitations. 

When using AI, students should remember to: 

• Protect personal and private information. 

• Use critical thinking at all times, since AI can be wrong, biased, or incomplete.

• Tell an adult if something makes them uncomfortable when using AI.

• Be honest about when they use AI to help with schoolwork. 

• Balance screen time with real-world learning and activities. 

All kids will benefit from explicit instruction in how to use AI. Strategies like modeling and providing step-by-step directions, checklists, and reminders can help guide kids to use AI responsibly. 

AI can be a helpful tool to support learning, especially for kids who learn and think differently. Teachers can use AI tools to simplify content, create learning activities, or produce materials in different formats. Students can also learn how to use AI for customized support. 

For example, if a student struggles with reading, AI tools can quickly turn complex texts into short summaries. Or AI can read any text out loud in a clear, natural voice (text-to-speech). When reading is not the primary goal of the assignment, this can help reduce frustration. Students can focus their energy on understanding the subject, rather than on their reading challenges. 

Here are some other ways students can use AI tools for learning:

• Creating practice questions on a topic 

• Quizzing them before a test

• Brainstorming ideas

• Breaking down a complex assignment into steps

• Helping to edit writing 

• Building calendars and checklists for projects 

When combined with teacher instruction and guidance, AI tools can help students become more independent learners. Students can use the tools to set goals, access tailored materials, and manage their overall learning process.¹ AI tools are especially useful for kids who have trouble with executive function, such as planning and staying organized. 

With the right guidance and support from families and educators, students can use AI as a learning tool. Below are key areas to focus on when guiding kids to use AI. 

Data privacy

Before kids use any AI tool, find out what information it collects, saves, and shares. Choose programs that have strong privacy policies. 

Teach kids never to enter personally identifiable information (PII) like their name, where they live, or personal photos. PII also includes details like their school’s name, parts of their daily schedule, or private family information. 

Finally, make it a habit to check the AI tool’s settings. Most programs allow you to limit their use of your conversations to train their models. This is a very important step for keeping kids’ data safe.

AI bias 

Explain to kids that AI learns from the information humans put online. That information sometimes includes stereotypes or unfair ideas. When kids ask AI questions, the tools might give them answers that support these biases.² 

Encourage kids to question anything that seems unfair or wrong. For example, an AI tool might show gender bias, like giving examples of only men as doctors. Have kids make AI defend its answers by asking for opposing viewpoints or by challenging an answer that seems unfair. You can also review the AI responses together and ask questions about the responses. 

When kids apply their knowledge of the real world to question AI, they can help stop biased ideas from spreading. They can also flag the biased answer and tell the AI that the information is wrong. This makes them active partners in improving the technology.

Critical thinking skills

AI can support and speed up human thinking, but it doesn’t replace it. Kids should consider AI answers as a starting point for learning more deeply, never as the final answer. Help kids think critically and develop their own ideas when using AI by:³

• Double-checking facts. Look together at reliable sources, like textbooks or trusted websites.

• Watching the sources. Remind your child that AI can sometimes get things wrong or make them up.

• Asking why. Talk about why the AI gave a certain answer and what might be missing.

• Explaining in their own words. If AI gives a summary, have kids restate it to show understanding.

• Comparing answers. Ask AI the same question twice and discuss which response makes more sense — and why. Or use two different AI tools and compare answers. 

Academic integrity 

Check if your school has official AI rules that students should follow. Work with kids to decide when and how to use AI for schoolwork. 

Make sure kids understand the difference between getting help from AI and having it do all the work. For example, AI tools are great for breaking down assignments, explaining complex topics, or checking spelling. But turning in work that the AI wrote completely is cheating.

Explain that the original question (the prompt) they type into the AI is their work. Kids should learn to write specific, thoughtful questions that show their understanding of the topic. 

Teach kids how to correctly credit AI’s help in their schoolwork. This is a key part of academic honesty today.

Balancing AI use with human interaction

Talk with kids about the value of real-life experiences. Being able to spot when AI is unfair comes from understanding the world. 

Encourage a healthy mix of online and offline time. Build in movement, time with friends, and face-to-face problem-solving. 

Kids with ADHD may have trouble getting off screens. Timers or planned switches between AI tasks and real-world activities can help. Screen breaks can remind everyone of the importance of human relationships for learning.

Families and educators can help shape how students use AI. First off, remember that kids will model the AI usage they see. The adults in their lives should use AI safely and explain how and why they’re using it. For example, “Today I used AI to summarize this long email so I could focus on the key points.”

Both educators and families should talk with kids about how they use (or want to use) AI for schoolwork. Establish guidelines for when AI is appropriate and what tools are acceptable. Try to make these rules consistent between the home and the classroom. This prevents confusion for the student.

Families and educators should regularly communicate with each other about how kids are using AI for school support. Educators can check that the AI tools are at the right level and aligned with academic goals. By working together, families and educators can help ensure that students use AI as a supportive tool for learning. 

What are the best AI tools for students?

The best AI tool depends entirely on a student’s needs, age, and specific learning strengths and challenges. Consider where the student struggles and how a tool might help them to work more independently. Most popular AI tools offer a free version, so you can try them out before you spend any money. Khanmigo, Google Read Along, and Kai are great tools for kids to begin with.

How should AI use differ for younger students vs. older students?

A student’s use of AI should fit their age and needs. For younger kids, an adult should supervise closely while an AI tool helps with basic skills. As kids grow older, they can use AI more independently for tasks like planning their schedules or reviewing assignments. But they must always double-check the AI’s answers for mistakes or biased ideas before submitting work.

Is it OK for kids to use AI for school assignments?

It’s OK for kids to use AI for schoolwork when it supports learning, but not when it does the work for them. For example, AI can help with tasks like explaining directions, giving feedback, or checking grammar. But kids should be honest when they use AI and cite the tool if required. Copying an assignment into AI and submitting its answer is cheating. Plus, it prevents kids from building real understanding and skills.

Is there a way to tell if a student is using AI?

Yes, most teachers can easily tell when a student turns in work that isn’t really theirs. They know the quality, style, format, and voice of the work a student usually does in class. An assignment made by AI, without the student’s own thoughts or writing style, is often obvious without the use of a detection tool. In fact, most detection tools are not reliable, as they often give both false negatives and false positives.⁴ 

Does using AI make kids too dependent on technology?

Not necessarily. Dependence happens when AI does all the thinking, and this can hurt students’ critical thinking skills.³ Healthy use happens when AI helps kids think for themselves. That’s why it’s so important for adults to guide students in their use of AI. When kids use AI for support — like for staying organized or getting feedback — they gain confidence and learn how to use technology as a tool for growth.

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