Equipping Students to Drive Community Change with AI

Overview

Learning is more engaging when students can see how content in the classroom is relevant to their world – and even more impactful is the opportunity to see how they can apply their learnings to impact their communities. AI presents a powerful opportunity to increase relevant application of learning to issues students deeply care about and are affected by. Students must have opportunities to actively create with AI versus simply passively consuming AI-generated content, in order to develop a higher level of AI literacy. One way to achieve this with AI is by providing opportunities for students to build chatbots that can address real needs in their communities, developing their AI literacy skills in a way that makes learning more relevant for students.

Example From the School Teams AI Collaborative

DSST Public Schools civics teachers Zach Kennelly and Gianna Geraffo incorporated a project into their coursework in which students developed a bot to address a need they identified in the community. This was the cumulative project for a unit on political, social, and civic power and its connection to storytelling and AI. Lessons in the unit built students’ understanding of AI, explored the ways AI can be used for negative purposes (e.g., spreading misinformation), and asked students to consider the impact AI could have on human relationships. Read more about this unit.

Students worked individually or in groups to identify a problem they saw in their own community as a starting point. The teachers introduced students to Playlab, an AI tool that enables educators and students to build their own AI-enabled applications. Students learned how to develop bots by inputting instructions on what the bot should ask users and the guidelines it should follow. Teachers and students gave each other feedback throughout the development so students could iterate on the work they produced, and industry partner Tinman Kinetics also worked with students to turn some of their bots into apps. A real-world connection was also deepened by having students identify a public official whose work connected to the problem they were working to address. Students contacted these public officials to share information about their bots and the impact they could have on community issues.

Examples of community issues that students created bots to address include:

• Voter Registration and Education (bot and app): Students discovered that youth and immigrants were less likely to vote when compared to averages for the overall population. They incorporated language translation options for Spanish and Vietnamese into their solution to ensure language was not a barrier. Their bot guides users through the steps to register to vote, check their registration status, and make a plan to vote. Links to resources are populated for the user to support these steps. The bot also provides the option for the user to get more information about the candidates and ballot measures in the upcoming election. Read more about the development of this app.

• Pathways to Citizenship: Students created a bot to help community members explore ways they can achieve citizenship in the U.S., which was particularly relevant as the community DSST serves has many students and family members who are immigrants. The chatbot served as a way to consolidate information in one simple location so students can determine options for themselves or family members by receiving tailored advice for different immigration statuses.

Apply This Strategy in Your Context

1. Identify a Relevant Unit or Project: Think about units where students could apply their learning to real-world challenges. Consider topics related to community needs, social issues, or practical life skills where a chatbot could offer support or solutions. For example, in an environmental science class, students could develop a chatbot that helps community members learn how to recycle and about resources in their community. In a financial literacy or math class, students could develop a budgeting chatbot to help students get advice on managing their money and setting financial goals.

2. Frame the Project with Clear Outcomes: Set clear expectations for students by providing clear outcomes. For example, “Your task is to create a chatbot that addresses a real need in our community. The chatbot should do a clear task such as providing resources, offering guidance, and/or supporting a specific group.” In a health class, for instance, students might build a bot that provides mental health resources or answers questions about nutrition.

3. Choose the Right AI Tool: Consider tools like Playlab, Gemini, or other AI platforms that allow students to build chatbots. Look for platforms that are user-friendly and offer resources to guide the creation process.

4. Guide Students Through the Process

   • Research and Identify a Problem: Have students explore issues they care about in their community. They could conduct surveys, interview community members, or analyze local data.

   • Design and Build the Chatbot: Support students as they outline the bot’s purpose, draft potential prompts, questions and responses, and input them into the AI tool.

   • Iterate With Feedback: Create opportunities for peer feedback and revision. Encourage students to test each other’s chatbots and provide constructive input.

5. Deepen Real-World Connections: Consider partnerships with local organizations or public officials. Students could share their chatbots with community stakeholders or present their work in public forums. These connections not only provide students with authentic audiences but also help them see the real-world impact of their work.

6. Reflect on the Learning Experience: Close the project with reflection activities. Ask students to share what they learned about AI, the community issue, and how they felt about contributing to a real-world solution. To go a step further, provide students with opportunities to share their learning with other peers, school staff, and community members affected by the issue.

By guiding students to build AI tools that address real needs, teachers can foster both AI literacy and a sense of agency, showing students that their learning has the power to create positive change beyond the classroom.

This AI-enabled strategy was developed by a member of the School Teams AI Collaborative — a partnership between Leading Educators and The Learning Accelerator (TLA). The Collaborative was developed to bring together innovative educators from schools across the country to share ideas and discover effective ways to use AI in the classroom.