Lesson 14: Responsible AI - Building an AI Use Policy for Your School
How to Use These Cards
For the opening activity: Present scenarios one at a time. For each scenario, students move to positions in the room: one side for "Acceptable," the opposite for "Not Acceptable," and the middle for "It Depends." Ask students from each position to explain their reasoning.
For group discussion: Cut cards apart and distribute 3-4 per group. Groups discuss each scenario, mark their position, and write their justification. During the policy drafting phase, groups should reference these scenarios to test whether their policy provisions address them.
Scenario 1Academic Integrity
The Whole Essay
Marcus has a 5-page history essay due tomorrow on the causes of World War I. He's been busy with basketball practice all week and hasn't started. He opens ChatGPT, types "Write a 5-page essay on the causes of World War I for a high school class," copies the output, adds his name at the top, and submits it. He doesn't change a single word.
Discussion Questions:
Does Marcus's situation (being busy with other activities) change whether this is acceptable?
How is this different from copying an essay from a website or buying one from an essay mill?
What did Marcus actually learn from this assignment?
If the essay gets an A, does that make it okay?
Acceptable
Why:
Not Acceptable
Why:
It Depends
On what?
Scenario 2Brainstorming & Planning
The Brainstorming Partner
Aisha is stuck on what to write for her persuasive essay. She asks ChatGPT: "Give me 10 interesting persuasive essay topics related to technology and society." She reads through the suggestions, picks one that interests her, and then does all her own research, outlining, and writing. The final essay is entirely her own words and ideas - AI just helped her pick a direction.
Discussion Questions:
Is using AI to brainstorm ideas different from asking a friend, parent, or teacher for ideas?
At what point does AI "help" cross the line into AI "doing the work"?
Should Aisha disclose that she used AI to brainstorm? Why or why not?
Would your answer change if the teacher specifically said "come up with your own topic"?
Acceptable
Why:
Not Acceptable
Why:
It Depends
On what?
Scenario 3Teacher Use
The AI Quiz Maker
Ms. Rodriguez teaches 5 sections of biology. She uses ChatGPT to generate 30 multiple-choice questions about cell division, reviews them carefully, edits several questions for accuracy and clarity, removes 5 that were misleading, and uses the remaining 25 on her unit test. She doesn't tell students that AI helped create the quiz.
Discussion Questions:
Should the same AI rules apply to teachers as to students? Why or why not?
Does it matter that Ms. Rodriguez reviewed and edited the questions? What if she hadn't?
Should teachers have to disclose when they use AI to create materials?
Is this different from a teacher using a test bank from a textbook publisher?
Acceptable
Why:
Not Acceptable
Why:
It Depends
On what?
Scenario 4Language Access & Equity
The Translator
Jun recently moved to the United States from South Korea. He speaks conversational English but struggles with academic vocabulary. For his social studies homework, he uses AI to translate the assignment questions from English to Korean so he can fully understand what's being asked. He writes his answers in Korean first, then uses AI to translate his answers into English. He reviews the translation and fixes a few awkward phrases.
Discussion Questions:
Is Jun's AI use fundamentally different from other students' AI use? Why?
Should AI translation be treated as an accommodation, like extended time or large print?
If the learning objective is understanding social studies content (not English writing), does that change the answer?
What if Jun is in an English Language Arts class where the goal IS to develop English writing skills?
Acceptable
Why:
Not Acceptable
Why:
It Depends
On what?
Scenario 5Computer Science
The Code Debugger
Priya is working on a Python programming assignment for her computer science class. Her code has a bug she can't figure out after 30 minutes of trying. She pastes her code into an AI assistant and asks "Why isn't this code working?" The AI identifies the error (a missing colon on line 12) and explains why it caused the problem. Priya fixes the bug and completes the assignment.
Discussion Questions:
Professional software developers use AI coding assistants (like GitHub Copilot) every day. Should students learn to use these tools?
Is there a difference between using AI to find a bug and using AI to write the code in the first place?
Did Priya learn something from the AI's explanation? Is that different from learning from a textbook or a tutor?
How should the policy handle AI use differently in a computer science class vs. an English class?
Acceptable
Why:
Not Acceptable
Why:
It Depends
On what?
Scenario 6Creative Arts
The AI Artist
Devon needs artwork for the cover of the school literary magazine. He uses Midjourney (an AI image generator) to create a stunning image by typing detailed prompts, refining them over 20 iterations, and selecting the best result. He submits it for the cover. The art teacher, who didn't know it was AI-generated, says it's the best submission she's received. Devon's classmate Mia, who spent 15 hours painting her submission by hand, comes in second.
Discussion Questions:
Is creating detailed prompts and selecting the best output a form of artistic creativity?
Is it fair to Mia that AI-generated art competes with hand-made art?
Should AI-generated art be labeled? Should it compete in a separate category?
What about a student who uses AI to create a rough sketch and then paints over it by hand?
Acceptable
Why:
Not Acceptable
Why:
It Depends
On what?
Scenario 7Research & Summarization
The Research Summarizer
Kenji has to read 5 scientific research articles for his AP Environmental Science class and write a literature review. The articles are long and use complex academic language. He uploads each article to an AI tool and asks it to "summarize the key findings in simple language." He reads the AI summaries, then writes his literature review based on the summaries rather than reading the full articles. He cites the original articles in his paper.
Discussion Questions:
Did Kenji read the articles? Does reading an AI summary count as reading the original?
What might Kenji miss by only reading summaries instead of the full articles?
Is this different from reading the abstract of a paper instead of the whole thing (which researchers commonly do)?
Should the policy differentiate between using AI to understand sources vs. using AI to write about them?
Acceptable
Why:
Not Acceptable
Why:
It Depends
On what?
Scenario 8Privacy & Surveillance
The Facial Recognition Attendance System
Your school district purchases an AI-powered camera system that uses facial recognition to automatically track student attendance. Cameras are placed at every school entrance and in every classroom. The system logs when each student enters and leaves every room. The district says it will save teachers 10 minutes per class and help identify truancy patterns. Student and parent consent was not obtained - a notice was sent home in the weekly newsletter.
Discussion Questions:
Should schools be able to use facial recognition on students? Does age matter?
Who owns the biometric data the system collects? How long is it stored? Who can access it?
Is saving teachers 10 minutes worth the privacy tradeoff? What other benefits might there be?
Is a notice in the weekly newsletter adequate consent? What should consent look like?
Some cities (like San Francisco) have banned government use of facial recognition. Should schools be included in such bans?
Acceptable
Why:
Not Acceptable
Why:
It Depends
On what?
Scenario 9Tutoring & Learning
The AI Math Tutor
Sofia is struggling with quadratic equations. Her family can't afford a private tutor, and her school doesn't offer after-school tutoring on Tuesdays when she's free. She uses an AI chatbot to work through practice problems. When she gets stuck, she asks the AI to explain the step she's missing. She never asks it for the answer - she asks it to teach her how to solve the problem. Then she does her homework on her own. Her grade goes from a D to a B.
Discussion Questions:
Is using AI as a tutor different from using it to do your work? Where's the line?
Sofia's wealthier classmates have paid tutors. Is AI helping level the playing field?
Should the school provide recommended AI tutoring tools to all students?
What if Sofia used the AI tutor during the actual homework instead of just for practice?
Acceptable
Why:
Not Acceptable
Why:
It Depends
On what?
Scenario 10Teacher Feedback
The AI Writing Coach
Mr. Thompson teaches English to 150 students across 5 classes. He physically cannot provide detailed written feedback on every student's essay in a timely manner. He starts using an AI tool to generate initial feedback on student essays - identifying areas for improvement in thesis statements, evidence use, and paragraph structure. He reviews the AI feedback, adjusts it where needed, adds his own comments, and returns it to students within 2 days instead of his usual 2 weeks.
Discussion Questions:
Students receive faster, more detailed feedback. Is that a net positive even though AI generated it?
Is there value in knowing your teacher personally read every word of your essay?
Should teachers disclose when they use AI to help with feedback?
Does the policy need different rules for how students use AI vs. how teachers use AI?
Acceptable
Why:
Not Acceptable
Why:
It Depends
On what?
Scenario 11Disability & Accommodation
The Accommodation Tool
Zara has dyslexia and ADHD. Her IEP (Individualized Education Program) includes accommodations for extended time and use of assistive technology. She uses an AI tool to help her organize her thoughts into a structured outline before she begins writing essays. She also uses AI-powered text-to-speech to review her own writing and catch errors she might miss due to her dyslexia. Her classmates see her using AI and complain that she's "cheating" while they can't use the same tools.
Discussion Questions:
How is Zara's AI use different from using glasses, a wheelchair, or a calculator?
If AI helps Zara access the same learning opportunities as her peers, is it creating an unfair advantage or leveling the playing field?
How should the policy address AI as an accommodation tool? Should it be treated differently?
What about students who struggle but don't have a formal IEP? Should they also have access to AI support tools?
Acceptable
Why:
Not Acceptable
Why:
It Depends
On what?
Scenario 12Plagiarism Detection
The AI Plagiarism Detector
Your school subscribes to an AI detection tool that claims to identify AI-generated writing with 95% accuracy. Liam, who has always been an excellent writer, submits a research paper he wrote entirely by himself over two weeks. The AI detection tool flags his paper as "98% likely AI-generated." The teacher gives him a zero and reports him for academic dishonesty. Liam insists he wrote every word himself, but the teacher says the AI detector doesn't lie. Research shows these tools have a false positive rate of 5-15% and are particularly inaccurate for non-native English speakers.
Discussion Questions:
Should AI detection tools be used as evidence of academic dishonesty? Are they reliable enough?
Is it fair to assume a student is guilty based on an algorithm's prediction?
What happens when AI detection tools are wrong? What recourse should students have?
If the tools are biased against non-native English speakers, is using them an equity issue?
How should the policy address AI detection - should it be used? With what safeguards?