Learning objectives
- Apply ethical guidelines for AI use in schools.
- Build a personal weekly AI-assisted teaching workflow.
- Detect and discuss AI-generated student work appropriately.
- Plan continuous learning as AI tools evolve.
The five ethical pillars
| Pillar | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Privacy | Never input student names, grades, health info, family details, or exam content before the exam. |
| Accuracy | Verify every fact AI produces. AI hallucinates confidently. |
| Transparency | Disclose AI use to students and parents when appropriate. |
| Equity | Make sure all students benefit, not just those with devices at home. |
| Originality | Preserve genuine student work and your own teacher voice. |
The "never paste" list
Treat public AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude on free tiers) like an open café table — assume anyone could see what you put on it. Never paste:
- Student full names and addresses
- Student grades attached to names
- Health, family, or counselling notes
- Confidential staff information
- Exam questions before the exam
If you must use real data, anonymise it: replace names with Pupil A, Pupil B; remove all identifiers.
Detecting AI in student work
Tools like GPTZero exist but are unreliable — they produce false positives, especially with non-native English writers. A better approach:
- Watch for tone shifts: perfect grammar from a usually-struggling student is a flag.
- Generic content: assignments that feel "too clean" and lack personal voice.
- Ask follow-up questions: request a verbal defence or oral explanation of one paragraph.
- Design assessments differently (see next section).
Don't accuse without evidence. Open a conversation, not a court case.
AI-resistant assessment design
Instead of fighting AI in submissions, design tasks AI can't easily complete:
- In-class timed writing
- Oral defence of an essay (5 minutes per student)
- Process portfolios — drafts, sketches, journal entries
- Hand-drawn diagrams or maps
- Personal reflection tied to a specific class activity
- Group presentations with Q&A
- Practical/lab work with on-the-spot observation
Your weekly AI workflow
The whole point of this course: reclaim hours of your week. Here's a workflow used by experienced AI-using teachers:
| Day | Task | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Generate the week's lesson plans | 30 min |
| Tuesday | Build worksheets and quizzes | 20 min |
| Wednesday | Create visuals and slides (Gamma / Canva) | 20 min |
| Thursday | Draft parent communications and feedback | 15 min |
| Friday | Reflect, save best prompts, plan next week | 15 min |
Total: 1 hour 40 minutes a week. Compare that to the 10–20 hours many teachers spend now.
Staying current
AI tools change fast. Don't chase every new app. Follow 2–3 trusted sources:
- MagicSchool AI blog
- ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education)
- Common Sense Education
- Harmony Digital Consults newsletter
30 minutes a month of reading keeps you current.
The Harmony Teacher's AI Pledge
"I pledge to use AI as a tool that supports — never replaces — my professional judgement. I will protect my students' privacy, verify every fact, disclose AI use when appropriate, and continue to develop my own teaching craft. I will use the time AI saves me to give more attention, care, and creativity to my pupils."
— Sign your name and date in your workbook.
✍ Exercise 6.1 — My AI teaching system
Create a personal folder (Google Drive, OneDrive, or a printed binder) containing:
- Your top 5 reusable prompts (lesson plan, quiz, worksheet, parent letter, rubric)
- A 1-page weekly AI workflow
- A signed Harmony Teacher's AI Pledge
- A reflection: "How will I use AI in my classroom for the next 4 weeks?"
Deliverable: Folder submitted as the final course project.
Knowledge check
Unit 6 — Ethics & Workflow
4 questions. Choose the best answer for each.
Question 1 of 4
Which of these should NEVER be pasted into a public AI tool?
Question 2 of 4
Which is the strongest way to handle AI use in student submissions?
Question 3 of 4
The five ethical pillars of AI use in schools are:
Question 4 of 4
A workable Monday task in a teacher's weekly AI workflow is:
Course wrap-up
You've reached the end of the six learning units. You now have:
- A working understanding of AI and generative AI
- The R.O.C.C. framework for every prompt
- Lesson plans, schemes, and notes generated in minutes
- Differentiated quizzes with Bloom's tagging and answer keys
- Visual slides, posters, and infographics
- A weekly AI workflow and an ethical compass
One step left: the final assessment. Score 70% or higher to earn your HDT-207 certificate.