Just because you can use something doesn’t mean you should. According to Gallup, 60% of teachers reported using AI tools in the 2024-2025 school year. But as AI continues to dominate conversations in education, more teachers will explore how it can help them and their students. Before we go any further, let’s distinguish between AI and generative AI.
Artificial intelligence (AI) - A broad term for anything we think of as “smart,” from suggestions on YouTube, to auto-grading a multiple-choice quiz, to filtering spam from your email. Typically, these tools follow strict rules or look for patterns in data.
Generative AI - A type of AI that doesn’t simply follow rules but can create. Think ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude, as they can generate new content based on what you request by prompting. You’ve probably already seen these models powering features in your favorite edtech products, like IgniteAI for Canvas and Mastery.
Here are five foundational questions to help teachers decide when and why to use generative AI.
1. Should I Use AI in This Situation?
Not every digital task a teacher does needs AI to be done well. If there’s a human or pedagogical advantage to doing it yourself, like giving specific feedback on a writing assignment or responding to a sensitive email from a parent or caregiver, don’t hesitate to do it yourself and better show nuance, empathy, and understanding.
Other times, though, generative AI offers real benefits. Cengage Group research indicates that the five main areas K-12 teachers use GenAI are lesson plans, administrative tasks, supporting resources, student activities, and assessment creation. For a teacher tasked with a new prep or unit this year, GenAI can help create formative check-ins for a class novel, curate a list of news articles for students to explore during a project, or give instructions on a craft related to a community unit for elementary learners.
Another caveat to consider is the last part of the question: in this situation. Sometimes, time is running out, and you need some extra support. Other times, creative juices run low, and you need ideas to breathe new life into the unit you’ve taught seven years in a row. Intentionality has always been at the heart of good instruction because it considers your material, your students, and the tools available to support student achievement.
2. How Can I Use It Responsibly and Safely?
When looking at how to use it, start with your district or school guidelines, if applicable. Some tools store data in ways that may not be compliant with your local policies. A little research into the tool you’re considering using goes a long way in helping you build up your locally-compliant “GenAI toolkit” that you know you can return to throughout the year. Some tools offer settings for you to opt out of sharing data, which may also be an avenue to explore.
Next, think about what you hope to get out of it. Are you looking to save time? Get some new ideas? Better differentiate for students? The clearer your goal, the more helpful GenAI can be. The more specific your prompt, the better the output. Using voice-to-text can help save time as you’re able to verbally process the situation and what support you need.
3. When in My Teaching Process Should AI Play a Role?
Using GenAI doesn’t necessarily mean you use it throughout the entire process. Maybe you’re tweaking a rubric you’ve previously used and need help thinking about how one area of the assessment should be differentiated in different scores. Or you just need a brainstorming partner to see some new options you could add to a choice project. Or you want help rewording an email to make sure your communication is clear.
Using GenAI doesn’t have to mean creating something wholesale or even using it for a large chunk of the task at hand. Whether you use it to plan, deliver, or assess learning, a 2-minute exchange with AI can spark your personal creativity and communication.
4. How Will This Benefit Me or My Students?
Will AI save you time for high-value work like building relationships with your students or giving individual feedback? GenAI could help draft recurring parent communication that you can copy and paste. Or you could ask for ideas on extending a lesson in meaningful or differentiated ways so you have more time to meet individually with students and give feedback on a recent assignment. Some teachers find that a few minutes going back and forth with GenAI sparks their own creativity to find the solution they need for the current problem they’re solving.
Training students to use GenAI deserves more words than this blog post. Still, it is worth considering how it can be used to cultivate students’ creativity, self-assessment, or access to learning materials. Maybe they can upload a few writing samples from a portfolio and ask for strong work patterns and possible areas for improvement. Perhaps one part of a science project is asking AI for feedback on their initial idea, and students include what AI suggested, what, if anything, they implemented, what they disregarded, and why. Post-AI reflection can provide the critical thinking that we must protect for students.
5. What Guardrails Do I Need to Put in Place?
Every tool comes with risks and rewards. And like any tool, it’s easy to rely too heavily on or overhype them. It’s wise to again consider your local policies around AI and privacy. Depending on the tool and its privacy policies, you may be able to do more with some than with others regarding student data. For Canvas-native AI, AI Nutrition Facts help you know if the output aligns with your organization’s AI vetting criteria and use case.
When testing AI features, stick with fictional examples or anonymized data if you’re inputting information. For output, check for biases and accuracy. The reality of GenAI’s current shortcomings also incentivizes not overrelying on AI, since the larger the output, the greater the odds that you’ll find stereotypes or demonstrably false information. The more time you spend fact-checking, the less efficient the tool becomes, so whenever possible, find the pointed, intentional ways you can use it in your context.
A Time and Place for AI in the Classroom
With IgniteAI features rolling out to Canvas, Mastery Connect, and Intelligent Insights, we believe there is a time and place for GenAI in education. But educators must remain in the driver’s seat as they help create student-centered outcomes. These five questions can help you form a better personal framework for where, when, and why you use AI in your classroom.
And when you find the right tools that align with your values, support you in practical ways, and allow you to flourish in your classroom relationships, you can confidently lean into all that GenAI offers.
