Pennsylvania schools are using artificial intelligence, or AI, to support teaching and learning. This guidance helps educators, families, and students use AI safely and responsibly.
AI can support learning and save time, but it can also generate information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading, and it can create privacy and safety risks if used carelessly. AI should support teachers and student learning, not replace them. This guidance explains safe classroom use, privacy protections, fairness and access, and healthy technology habits.
Artificial Intelligence (or “AI”) refers to computer systems that are designed to do things that usually require human thinking, such as recognizing patterns, answering questions, making suggestions, or helping organize information. In schools, AI tools might be used to support learning, analyze information, or help educators with planning and communication.
Examples: suggest feedback on writing; translate and/or read text aloud; generate extra math practice problems; explain a science concept in different ways; help debug code by explaining what went wrong.
Generative AI is a type of AI that can make new and edit existing text, images, audio, or video. Generative AI can sound confident even when it is incorrect, and it may leave out key details or make up information.
Examples of how generative AI can be used: draft a paragraph; suggest edits to improve a document; create an image from a brief description; generate practice problems and explain steps (with teacher review).
AI can support more responsive, student-centered learning by personalizing learning to individual needs and strengths. AI-enabled tools can analyze student performance to help make personalized practice and learning supports. These systems can adjust pacing, format, and complexity quickly, supporting educators in meeting diverse learning needs. AI can also assist in identifying early indicators of learning gaps or disengagement. AI may also support student readiness by expanding opportunities for career and skills exploration and applied learning.
AI may enhance access and inclusion by reducing barriers to student involvement in learning. Accessibility features such as speech-to-text, text-to-speech, real-time translation, and captioning can support students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and students with diverse learning preferences. AI can also support interactive learning, such as simulations and virtual explorations.
AI can support educators so they can spend more time helping students. Automation of routine tasks, like summarizing information and making drafts, can assist educators with their workload.
Students shouldn’t overuse AI to do their work. If AI does the work, students don’t build the skill.
Public AI tools are not private. Using them can expose student or educator information if someone enters sensitive details. Some AI tools also work in ways that are hard to understand, which can make it harder to know why the tool gave an answer and whether it can be trusted.
Because AI learns from human-created data, it can reflect or repeat bias.
Schools and teachers need training and practice to learn skills so they can understand AI and its proper use.
Students having too much “screen-time”, including the overuse of AI tools, can affect student well-being. Schools should keep human interaction and relationships at the center of learning.
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