Digital Citizenship Resources
Just like teaching good citizenship in the real world, digital citizenship empowers students to be positive contributors online. This empowers them to become critical consumers of online information, where they can discern fact from fiction by evaluating the credibility of sources and avoiding misleading content. They also develop strong digital safety practices, which involve protecting their personal information, interacting responsibly with others online, and being mindful of their digital footprint. This includes understanding the ethical implications of their online actions. Ultimately, these skills equip them to contribute positively as responsible citizens in the online community, fostering a more ethical and inclusive digital environment.
This article is a wonderful starting place for educators as they explore how to teach digital citizenship.
Explore the following Digital Citizenship lessons!
Common Sense Education K-12 Digital Citizenship Lessons
Be Internet Awesome Elementary Digital Citizenship Curriculum by Google
AI Best Practices for Students, Staff, and Faculty
- Mission Statement Alignment
- What is AI?
- Use Cases for Generative AI for Educators
- AI Info for Educators
- AI Info for Families
- AI Info for Students
- Privacy and Security Considerations
- Considerations with AI
- Workplace Readiness
- Learn more about AI
- Glossary of Terms
- Current list of FNSBSD AI-enabled tools
- How AI was used in this document
- Works Cited
- Works Consulted
Click here for all the questions answered on a single document.
Mission Statement Alignment
Mission Statement Alignment
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District's mission is to provide an excellent, equitable education in a safe, supporting environment, so all students will succeed and contribute to a diverse and changing society. 1
To create a supportive learning environment, students need access to opportunities that are personalized to improve their educational outcomes. AI-powered tools have the ability to provide adaptive learning options, individualized feedback, and targeted interventions to foster deeper understanding in an engaging learning experience.
The 2023 World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report predicted that in the next five years, more than 75% of companies are expected to embrace AI technologies, thus transforming business practices and jobs that will be available and skills required of workers.2 To ensure that students are adequately prepared for the rapidly changing workforce, we need to focus on AI literacy.
This guide aims to empower educators, families, and students by providing information about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and exploring safe ways to use AI tools in the classroom. By working together, we can leverage the power of AI to support student learning and prepare them to be successful contributors to a diverse and ever-changing world.
What is AI?
What is AI?
“Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is a branch of computer science aimed at creating machines that mimic human intelligence. It's used to perform tasks that usually require human thought, like understanding language, recognizing patterns, or making decisions.”3
AI has been in use since 1950 and impacts nearly every part of our daily lives. A few examples of AI include: chess playing, predictive texting, online shopping, virtual maps for navigation, and blind-spot detection in vehicles. Yet it is the recent innovations in Generative AI (GenAI) that have taken the world by storm.
ISTE 3
Generative AI is trained on large data sets to analyze patterns between words. When given a prompt, Generative AI is able to compose original pieces of text based on the statistical probability of certain words being put together. It is not magic, it’s simply doing math.
Use Cases for Generative AI for Educators
Use Cases for Generative AI for Educators
Here’s a list of a few ways that educators can use AI to support student learning:
Personalized instruction
Adaptive programs are powered by AI to deliver learning opportunities to students at their individual level. Ex: Amira and iReady
Lesson Plan Development
AI can adjust assignments to promote high level thinking.
Create Materials
AI can generate teaching materials to promote differentiated instruction.
Ex: Changing the reading level of text to make content accessible to students at a variety of levels, providing scaffolding and/or enrichment.
*Using AI requires compliance with data privacy regulations and ethical use.
*Critically review all GenAI outputs for bias and accuracy before use.
AI Info for Educators
AI Info for Educators
Staff may use GenAI, such as Google Gemini. Before using AI powered tools to provide feedback on student work, you must submit a “Supplemental Software Request” work order for vetting of privacy compliance, as student work is part of a student’s educational record under FERPA.5
AI Info for Families
AI Info for Families
The best way to learn about GenAI is to try using it. Try Goblin.Tools to generate meal ideas based on ingredients or simplify tasks into individual steps.
The adaptive learning programs used by students, iReady for example, use Predictive AI to provide personalized practice to receive the support that they need. Be aware of the tools your student is using at home and review the Terms of Use for digital tools.
AI Info for Students
AI Info for Students
Follow digital citizenship principles. 6 Follow teacher’s expectations of AI use and when used, disclose it by giving proper citation. Use GenAI to support your learning goals by asking it to explain concepts to you and provide examples, similar to how Youtube can support your learning.
Privacy and Security Considerations
Privacy and Security Considerations
Student data privacy is of utmost importance when using digital tools, especially AI.
Never provide personal or confidential information to AI. Think of it like talking to a stranger and the amount of information you’d share about yourself with them. Any information given to a GenAI model in the prompt or otherwise may be used to train the model.
Read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and be aware of age restrictions and required permissions.
Data is currency in a digital world, even free services can track you with cookies for ad purposes and may disclose your data to other services. To keep students safe, all digital tools need to be vetted for data privacy compliance.4 Educators should submit a “Supplemental Software Request” work order prior to use.
Considerations with AI
Considerations with AI
GenAI does not understand the words it is trained on and simply looks for patterns in word usage; as a result, GenAI can produce biased or inaccurate information. Be aware of this and verify the output for accuracy.
Workplace Readiness
Workplace Readiness
-The use of AI builds on the foundation of Digital Citizenship.
World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report states that “Technology literacy is the third-fastest growing core skill.”2
To prepare students for future success in the workplace, we need to teach AI literacy. This includes not only how AI works, but also how to use it responsibly.
The 2023 World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report stated they’re expecting a 44% change of core skills for workers over the next five years.2 This means we need to emphasize transferable skills to prepare the next generation.
Learn more about AI
Learn more about AI
Glossary of Terms
Current list of FNSBSD AI-enabled tools
Current list of FNSBSD AI-enabled tools
AI features are rapidly becoming more widely adopted into existing technology, so this list is subject to change. The following district provided curriculum materials include elements of AI. The included AI features enhance the student learning experience through personalization.
Amira, used in K-5, is an AI-powered reading tutor that listens to the student and provides feedback specific to their performance.
iReady, used in K-9, gives students a placement test and uses Predictive AI to create an individualized learning path with the exact skills that they need to practice in both reading and math.
NWEA MAP, an assessment tool for grades 3-10, uses Predictive AI to identify the instructional needs of students and provides actionable data for teachers.
How AI was used in this document
How AI was used in this document
These are examples of prompts used with Google’s Gemini (AI chatbot) for this document.
“Can you check this piece for logical thought organization.”
“How can I make this more clear?”
“Can you clean this up and make it more appealing to the reader?” (Gemini, March 4, 2024)
Works Cited
1 FNSBSD Strategic plan / 2020-25 strategic plan. Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. (2019). https://www.k12northstar.org/strategic-plan
2 The Future of Jobs Report 2023. World Economic Forum. (2023). https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/
3 ISTE. (n.d.). Bringing AI to School: Tips for School Leaders. https://cdn.iste.org/www-root/2023-07/Bringing_AI_to_School-2023_07.pdf
4 FNSBSD Instructional Technology / Software requests. Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. (n.d.-a). https://www.k12northstar.org/Page/8696
5 Artificial Intelligence and the future of teaching and learning. Office of Educational Technology. (2023, May 24). https://tech.ed.gov/ai-future-of-teaching-and-learning/
6ISTE, (n.d.). I am a Digital Citizen. https://cdn.iste.org/www-root/Blog/iamdigitalcitizen.jpg
These sources are provided for informational purposes. Inclusion does not imply FNSBSD endorsem*nt of all content found on these sites.
Works Consulted
Works Consulted
AI guidance for schools toolkit. AI Guidance for Schools Toolkit. (n.d.-a). https://www.teachai.org/toolkit
AI Toolkit. Innovate Ohio. (n.d.). https://innovateohio.gov/aitoolkit/toolkit-resources/02-part-2-introduction-to-resources-for-policymakers-teachers-parents
Artificial Intelligence. Wayne RESA. (n.d.). https://www.resa.net/teaching-learning/instructional-technology/ai
Gemini [Version 1.0 Ultra]. (2023). Google AI. https://gemini.google.com/faq
Murray City School District. Guidance and View of Artificial Intelligence in Education https://www.canva.com/design/DAFzCZ8qALE/view
VIEW of AI in Canyons: A Guidebook Designed for Educators, Students, & Families. Canyons School District. (2023). https://www.canyonsdistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Canyons-VIEW-of-Artificial-Intelligence-A-Guidebook.pdf
These sources are provided for informational purposes. Inclusion does not imply FNSBSD endorsem*nt of all content found on these sites.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy empowers students to:
- Think critically:Analyze information from AI tools, identify biases, and use them responsibly for learning.
- Be informed citizens:Navigate the digital world, spotting misinformation and advocating for ethical technology use.
- Become future-ready learners:Gain skills for careers requiring critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and adaptability in an AI-driven world.
AI literacy isn't just about the tech - it's about empowering students to thrive in the future!
AI Literacy Resources
ISTE- Educator AI Lessons & K-12 Projects
MIT Media Lab- AI + Ethics Curriculum for Middle School
AI4ALL- AI Learning Curriculum for Grades 9-12
Common Sense Education- AI Literacy Lessons for Grades 6–12
AI4K12- Activity Resource Guides for Teaching Artificial Intelligence in Grades K-12
AI for Education- AI Literacy for Grades 7-12
Stanford University- AI Literacy for Grades 9-12
aiEDU- Intro to AI for Grades 9-12
Code.org- Learn about Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Grades 3-12
