AI for Educators 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding and Using AI in the Classroom
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the world of education, but for many teachers and school leaders, it still feels confusing and intimidating, a tool to be discovered that requires a hard learning process.
The good news? You don’t need a computer science degree to start using AI tools effectively and safely in your classroom.
In this beginner-friendly guide, we will walk you through the basics of AI, break down key terms like LLMs and hallucinations, and help you understand how to bring this powerful technology into your teaching practice with confidence.
What Is AI, really?
At its core, Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to machines that can mimic human intelligence—things like understanding language, recognizing patterns, or even creating content.
In education, AI often shows up in tools that can help you:
• Summarize complex texts
• Generate quiz questions
• Support students with writing
• Automate administrative tasks
Most of the AI tools you’re hearing about today (like ChatGPT) are powered by something called an LLM.
Key AI terms educators should know
LLM (Large Language Model)
A type of AI trained on vast amounts of text. It can generate human-like responses, answer questions, or assist with writing tasks. Think of it as a supercharged autocomplete tool.
Hallucination
When an AI gives you an answer that sounds convincing but is actually incorrect or made up. For example, it might cite a fake article or invent a statistic. Always double-check sources.
Prompt
A prompt is the instructions you give to an AI tool. A good prompt is specific and clear, and includes helpful details like what you want it to do, how long the answer should be, who it’s for (a student, a teacher, etc.), and the tone (formal, friendly, creative…).
For instance, let’s say we want to create a reading comprehension activity, we could say: “Create a short reading comprehension activity for 5th grade students based on a nonfiction text about the water cycle. Include a short passage (around 150 words) written in a friendly and age-appropriate tone, followed by 3 multiple-choice questions and 1 open-ended question. The goal is to help students identify main ideas and recall key details.”
Model
The model is the underlying AI system that powers a tool. ChatGPT, for example, uses OpenAI’s GPT-4 model.
You don’t need to be a tech expert
Here’s the truth: you can use AI tools without knowing how they work “under the hood.”
If you can use Google or type an email, you can start experimenting with AI.
Start small:
- Use AI to help write lesson plans or summaries.
- Ask it to rewrite reading passages at different grade levels.
- Brainstorm creative writing prompts.
- Create fun activities and games to help your students reinforce what you worked on in class.
Start using it, experimenting, editing your prompts and adapting them to your needs in a simple way.
Think of AI as a teaching assistant, not a replacement. It can be a great source of inspiration to
Best tasks you can train AI to do:
AI tools excel at:
✅ Understanding and generating human language
✅ Summarizing and rephrasing text
✅ Supporting brainstorming and idea generation
✅ Translating languages
✅ Tutoring on basic concepts (especially language-related)
Watch out!
Like everything, we need to act being aware of our actions. Same with AI. Here are a few things to keep in mind when using AI in education:
- Bias: AI reflects the data it’s trained on, and that can include harmful biases. Be critical.
- Privacy: Never input student data into public tools. Use anonymized information.
- Over-reliance: Use AI to teach students to think critically and to learn how to use this tool, not just rely on AI for answers.
- Misinformation: As mentioned, AI can “hallucinate.” Double-check facts.
Ideas to bring AI into the classroom, safely
- Start with teacher use only
Use AI for planning, brainstorming, or content creation before introducing it to students. Schoolhub has created specific chatbots to help teachers with routine tasks.
- Set clear guidelines
Talk with your students about when and how AI is appropriate. Discuss ethical use and encourage them to be critical: it’s a great way to start training them into their future.
- Use age-appropriate tools
Some AI tools like Schoolhub are designed specifically for K–12 environments with safety features built-in.
- Teach digital literacy
Help students understand how AI works, its limits, and how to question the information it provides. They need to understand how to be responsible using this tool.
- Check with your school policy
Make sure your use of AI aligns with district or school-level tech policies and guidelines.
Start small, but start.
AI isn’t the future, it’s already the present. It doesn’t need to be overwhelming. As an educator, your superpower is adaptability. With just a little curiosity and caution, you can start integrating AI into your teaching in ways that support your goals and help students thrive.
Do you feel like exploring tools or get example prompts to try in your classroom? Stay tuned!
Start using Schoolhub now!
