Important points:
In the year and a half since ChatGPT launched, the market has been flooded with AI-powered edtech tools – yet most (if not all) of these products may be missing the most exciting and creative ways to use AI in the classroom.
While 89 percent of teachers in a recent survey said they believe generative AI will have an impact on teaching, recent reports in the Wall Street Journal and The74 have rightly identified some of the limitations of AI in education and questioned the technology’s ability to serve as an effective tutor, for example. But is having generative AI solve math problems or engage students in a tutoring relationship really the best way to use this incredibly powerful technology? We’re overlooking simpler, but more effective, ways to use AI in the classroom.
As an edtech researcher and designer, I have spent the last 15 years exploring how technology can bridge the gap between learning and play, and I am impressed by how generative AI can bring creativity and playfulness into the classroom—a notion that I know runs counter to some of the current criticisms.
Increasing creativity and collaboration with AI
My former colleague and MIT professor Mitch Resnick laments the current use of AI in education, which aims to replicate conventional teaching methods by focusing on problems that have a right answer. For example, the answers provided by generative AI chatbots can sometimes be misleading when it comes to subjects like math, where a student’s solution to a problem is either right or wrong. “Asking ChatGPT to do math is like asking a goldfish to ride a bike—that’s just not what ChatGPT is designed for,” noted Yale professor Tom McCoy.
Rather than replicating current teaching methods and tasks, there is enormous potential in using generative AI in scenarios where students can creatively solve meaningful problems that have no known answer. Zenny Ulloa, a curriculum support specialist in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, told me at ISTELive 24 that part of this creative learning process should require students to explain How They used ChatGPT or other AI tools. For example, instead of banning tools like ChatGPT for essay writing, teachers can encourage students to use AI in their work, but clearly document how their essays have evolved over multiple drafts. Students then participate in “intelligence augmentation,” or improving human Intelligence through AI tools.
Resnick calls for more opportunities for student collaboration by using AI systems to support real-world team projects. This could happen, for example, if students work together as a team but ask AI questions to spark their own brainstorming on a topic. Students can then evaluate the AI tool’s suggestions and share ideas with each other to build on the AI’s suggestions. In this type of exercise, AI provides a scaffold for student collaboration – not a replacement.
When used creatively and collaboratively, AI can help students learn more than just facts. It can teach them important skills for the future, such as working well with others and using new technologies effectively.
The next generation of playful learning
A creative and collaborative approach to AI is consistent with “playful learning” teaching methods, where learners can explore, experiment, be curious, and try new things in a low-stakes environment. Research shows that playful learning helps students collaborate better and share ideas. Using AI in a playful way in the classroom helps students develop an understanding of the technology while building social skills.
What might playful learning with AI tools look like in practice? First, students can get hands-on with AI. In my graduate course, I gave students the opportunity to develop their own AI applications and test them with teachers or learners. Students used the PlayLab platform to experiment with and develop their ideas, using projects such as an exploration-based guessing game for students and a tool to make lessons more culturally relevant for teachers. By developing new tools with AI instead of using existing AI tools, my students had a deeper learning experience and deepened their understanding not only of what AI can do, but also what teaching and learning mean to them.
Sustainable learning through playful AI
Imagine a history class where students use AI to create images of historical figures or events and then collaboratively analyze the accuracy and bias of those representations. Or a science class where students use AI to visualize complex molecular structures and manipulate and explore those models in ways not previously possible. These examples show how AI can enhance learning experiences and make them more engaging and interactive.
While the AI-powered features already built into edtech tools are certainly useful, they often hide the AI technology behind a user interface and focus on the product rather than the process. A more hands-on approach would allow students to experiment directly with AI and learn through trial and error. For example, students could try to “trick” the AI by finding creative ways to ask questions that test its limitations, thus gaining a deeper understanding of both the technology’s capabilities and shortcomings.
While changing teachers’ attitudes toward education is challenging, this gamified approach is part of a much-needed rethinking of what education should be and how it can best prepare students for a rapidly changing future. The combination of gamified learning and AI tools has the potential to empower learners and build future-ready skills, so they take charge of their own learning now and throughout their lives. Instead of focusing on the conventional, let’s get creative.
