AI in the Classroom

By: Addie Morris

In Buckfield Junior Senior High School, artificial intelligence affects students in many ways every day. It can help in good ways, such as becoming a better writer or solving math problems, and sometimes in bad ways, like using AI to write an entire assignment and cheat.

On one hand, students might find many positives in using AI. They can use it every day to improve their work, make their writing stronger, and even learn to use better vocabulary. While it is true that some students might try to use AI to cheat, many students simply use it as a tool to get better and learn more. For these students, AI acts as an open doorway to new ideas, helpful suggestions, and ways to improve their learning without doing anything wrong. One student who would not like to be named says, “I like AI because it helps me get my work done on time, because it makes my work easier.”

On the other hand, students might find AI to be mostly negative. Nowadays, it might be hard to write or do things without AI because they may have become dependent on it, and when they get caught, they are left without knowledge of how to do what they are told independently.

Staff have also found some positives in AI. It can help them come up with ideas for lessons, and some teachers enjoy showing their students how to use it the right way. For example, an English teacher, Mr. Nolette, really enjoys having AI in the classroom and teaching students how to use it effectively.

But some staff see using AI as only negative, such as a middle school teacher at Buckfield, who states, “I see AI as just a way for kids to cheat, I don’t like it at all.” She also says that “I can never tell the difference between real writing and AI, so I can’t tell who puts in the real work or not.”