AI for Student Success: Being Productive & Learning Future Skills

Today’s world is changing fast, and artificial intelligence (AI) is driving much of that change. New AI tools have many parents and educators concerned, but when used appropriately, these tools can help students increase their productivity and provide a more personalized education. National AI usage has drastically increased over the last 12 months and will only continue to grow. It is important that parents and students learn to use these tools in ways that support education (Source: CNBC).

This guide will explore ways ChatGPT and other AI tools can be used to improve time management, make study time more efficient, and help students get the help they need with an on-demand AI tutor.

Educators and parents: Guide your students' reflection and discussion with this student worksheet. (Log in to your Google account and select File-->Make a Copy)

Full Event Replay (Parent video)

Why should students learn how to use AI tools?

• AI tools are being incorporated into more applications, including tools that students will need to use for school and future careers
• Many career fields will require strong AI skills as job descriptions change to match current technologies
• AI shouldn’t be used to cheat, but it can be a study assistant to enhance learning and productivity. In many cases AI doesn’t give the answer without teaching how it was found
• Teachers are beginning to recognize the role that AI tools and tools that incorporate AI can have in supporting the learning process. Many are beginning to use these tools more often in the classroom and allowing their use to support additional learning outside of the classroom

AI Fluency: A New Essential in Education (Parent Video)

Major AI Tools for Teens & Parents

ChatGPT

• ChatGPT is owned by openai.com and is the original AI tool
• It can access the web in most circumstances
• It has the ability to create images
• Offers clear explanations, personalized tutoring, and creative writing support
• Can help students grasp concepts they may be struggling with
• Can sometimes "hallucinate" or confidently provide incorrect answers

Gemini

• Gemini is owned by Google and is quickly gaining popularity
• It has full access to the web
• Seamlessly integrates with Google apps (Docs, Slides, Classroom)
• Offers "Guided Learning" to help students learn subjects and not just copy answers
• Tends to be more cautious and less conversational

Claude

• Claude is owned by Anthropic and may currently be one of the best AI tools when it comes to reasoning skills
• It does not have any image creation ability
• Exellent at thoughtful summarization and gentle explanations
• May avoid giving direct answers, which can feel frustrating when students want quick clarity

xAI (Grok)

• The new Grok 4 delivers top-tier academic reasoning
• It's perfect for challenging math problems or science questions with advanced logic
• Grok still struggles with common-sense context and image understanding
• Past content controversies mean users need to use careful oversight

Perplexity AI

• Ideal for real time homework research
• Perplexity provides concise, sourced answers so students learn where its information comes from
• Not built for long form writing or conversational engagement, so it will be less helpful as a writing assistant

Magic School

• Designed specifically for educators and students
• Offers lesson planning, grading assistance, and curriculum support tailored to K-12 needs
• Primarily focused on teacher use, so it's less versatile for student led learning
• Some features may require paid plans or district approval before use

AI Tools That Enhance Learning & Improve Study Skills

• Grammarly - Grammarly uses AI to spot mistakes and give suggestions to make a student’s writing even better, helping them learn finer writing mechanics
• Notion AI - Notion AI is a powerful note-taking tool that uses the ChatGPT API to help summarize notes and brainstorm ideas
• Speechify - Speechify uses AI to convert textbooks, notes, and websites into audio, making studying easier for auditory learners
• Quizlet - Quizlet utilizes AI to tailor flashcards and study sets, helping students master topics at their own pace
• Khan Academy- Khanmigo tutors students and allows students to ask questions about lessons as they go and get help with concepts they are struggling with
• Duolingo - Duolingo employs AI to customize language lessons, adapting to each student's pace and progress

How Students Can Use AI

5 Everyday Uses of ChatGPT for Families

Family Organizer

• “Give me a screen time agreement I can use with my
  12-year-old”
• “Help organize our morning routine to get to school on time”

Homework Coach

• “Explain 7th grade math to me like I’m 10”
• “Walk me through a step-by-step example of solving this algebra problem”

Tutor or Translator

• “Explain this Shakespeare passage in modern language”
• “Help me understand the causes of the American Revolution in 5 bullets”

Study Partner/Quiz Maker

• “Make a 5-question quiz for this vocab list”
• “Pretend to be my teacher and quiz me on this topic”

Time Management Helper

• “Help me break down this science project into 5 steps over 10 days”

Prompt Engineering Tips

• Be as specific as possible
  
  • Provide detailed context, desired format, output length, level of detail, tone, style, and anything else that will help the AI tool understand what you need and why
• Get better answers by providing data/examples
  
  • "Here’s what I want it to look like…"
• Specify your desired output 
  
  • Ex: "Teach me xyz in 20 bullets"
• Take an experimental approach to prompting
  
  • "Try new things" 
• Ask it to refine the answers
  
  • "Simplify it as if I’m a teenager"
  • "Make it shorter"
  • "Now give me links to data you used"

Prompts to Use ChatGPT as a Tutor

• “I don’t understand this math problem [include the problem]. How do I work through the problem to find the right answer?”
• “Explain to me why [historical event] was important.”
• “I found the answer to this problem [include problem], but I don’t understand how I got it. Please explain.”
• “Explain this problem to me in 4 different ways so I can see different ways to solve it.”
• "Summarize the life of ___ in 50 words or less."
• "Explain ____ to me like I am 5 years old."
• "Compare and contrast [event in history, places, people]."
• "What themes are in [this book]?"
• "What steps do I need to take to solve this math problem: [insert math problem]?"
• "Discuss the cause of [this event in history]."
• "How does [this science concept] work in real life?"

Ways to Use AI Tools to Help Prioritize Your Time & Be More Efficient

• Use the following prompt when you are overwhelmed with school assignments:
  “I have the following assignments [include assignments, estimated length of time, and due dates]. Please help me create the most efficient plan to finish them over [time period]”
• AI time-tracking tools can be used to help you determine where your time is being spent so you can make changes to be more efficient
• Use AI tools to automate tasks such as scheduling, organization, and more
• AI tools can help students proofread their work while teaching them ways to improve their writing  
• Students can use AI to summarize notes taken during class so they can pull out the most critical information

5 Private Things Not to Share with AI (Parent Video)

• Consider not sharing your full name 
• Avoid sharing your home address
• Keep your phone number private whenever possible
• Don’t mention your school name publicly
• Also, be careful of photos you share as they may identify your location

Dialogue Starters About AI (questions to ask your child)

• “What’s been the most helpful or coolest way a teacher or friend has encouraged you to use AI?”
• “If AI could be your personal helper, what school or life tasks would you want it to help you with first?”
• “Have you ever seen something from AI that turned out not to be true or was made to trick people, like a fake photo or video? How did you figure it out?"
• “How do you decide when it’s okay to use AI for help and when you should figure something out on your own?”
• “Have you ever heard of AI apps that can change someone’s photo?”
• “Have you ever asked AI a question when you are feeling sad, or when you needed a friend?”

AI Benefits for the Future

• Skill Development: Build social, communication, coding, and other practical skills using AI-powered learning platforms
• Research & Writing: Use AI as a study partner to explain complex topics, gather information, and organize ideas for essays or projects
• Personalized Learning: Create custom study plans with AI that adapt to your pace, learning style, and interests, keeping you curious and motivated
• Career Guidance: Explore career paths, get resume feedback, and receive interview tips from AI; then review with a trusted adult
• Career Readiness: Practice networking and interview skills, and learn how AI is used in the jobs you might want in the future
• Personal Development: Tap into AI tools for mindfulness, time management, and goal setting to support personal growth and balance

What Do Experts Say About AI Tools?

Monica Burns - Ed Tech Consultant

“If you are working side by side with your child at home and you don't know the answer to a question, or you're not quite sure how to explain something, AI tools can definitely come in handy.  As a family you might come across things that you're just not quite sure how to explain or need a step-by-step guide or process on how to do something, so you can have ChatGPT generate an explanation. You can put qualifications in your prompt to say, "Give me a simple explanation” or “Give me an explanation for my third grader who hasn't had experience with this before."

Jamie Lewsadder - Associate Superintendent of Technology Services, La Canada Unified

“There's this large fear about cheating. I would argue that cheating existed before ChatGPT. Yes, this is a shortcut tool for kids. But when I interviewed them and asked them about what they liked about it,  they said things like, ‘it's faster than Google’, ‘I have a tutor now’, and ‘I can get answers when my teacher isn't available.’ So there are things that kids are seeing, not as a way to cheat, because these are students that want to do their best as learners.  So we have to separate it. It's not just a tool for cheating. It's a tool that can enable a lot of really positive growth.”

Dan Carsen - 7th Grade English Teacher

"Using AI to brainstorm early in the process—that's probably safer; the earlier in the process, the better. I worry, however, about kids who are not confident in their writing. They're more likely to be like, 'Oh, this is what the computer spat back, and it looks really good. I'm going to maybe change one or two words.' To me, that's not creative. If you're really struggling for ideas, if your teacher gives you a prompt on the motivation of a certain character in a book that you have actually read, but you have no idea what the teacher is asking you, sure, I think it's okay to look at a computer-generated response to that. The only way to handle these admittedly very gray areas right now is through constant communication. As long as that communication is clear, AI-generated text can be useful in an early stage in all these processes."

‍More resources for parents, students, & educators

• ChatGPT Guide (2023): What Parents, Educators, & Students Need to Know
• Positive Ways to Use ChatGPT for Students
• AI Writing Tools for Students: What You Need to Know About Jasper AI, ChatGPT, and More
• Safeguard Your Student's Future with Our Free Social Media Agreement
• How to Use AI for College Prep: What Parents, Educators, & Students Need to Know

Conclusion

It’s understandable that many parents and educators may be hesitant to embrace new AI tools, but artificial intelligence technologies are here to stay. Students need to learn how to use AI tools in an academically honest way to gain important skills they may need in their future career field. When used correctly, AI tools can help students be more productive and allow them to have a personalized tutoring experience on demand.