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Chapter 2:
GenAI: A Fundamentally New Technology
GenAI: A Fundamentally New Technology
GenAI tools can create immense amounts of content, but these tools do not “think” for themselves about what they have created. They are not capable of critical thought, they lack contextual and experiential information, and they do not "understand" anything.
So, what are GenAI tools? And, how are they different from traditional AI?
This page offers resources, videos, and insights to help you answer those questions!
How Does GenAI Work?
How Does GenAI Work?
Watch the videos below to learn more about how Generative AI technologies work; and also check out Code.org's full Generative AI playlist of videos.
Resources for Learning More About Generative AI
Resources for Learning More About Generative AI
How to Find GenAI Tools
How to Find GenAI Tools
There are many different types of GenAI tools, check out the links and lists below to discover even more GenAI tools!
Other Interesting GenAI Tools
Other Interesting GenAI Tools
Deepfake-O-Meter - login required.
Ask The Post AI, AI-generated responses about the news from the Washington Post.
Sparky. Google Arts & Culture Experiments.
Clio, a travel app that lets users see landmarks near their location and learn about these places through short articles authored by students, scholars, museum professionals, and local historical societies.
GenAI Tools for Educators
GenAI Tools for Educators
50 AI tools for teachers, educators and classrooms (free and paid).
The AI Toolbox: Best AI Tools for Schools, Eric Curts.
AI Tools for Educators document, Shannon Eastep, Northern Kentucky University.
AI Privacy & Safety Checks - Database curated by Sarah Wood, @myedtechworld, Educational Technology Consultant, Kent ISD.
48 Best ChatGPT Alternatives: ChatGPT is Not the Only Tool for Education!
4 Brand New AI Tools for 2025 with the Potential to Change Teaching.
Padlet TA - Padlet has a new "TA" feature which offers to create lessons, design presentations, create quizzes and worksheets, and more
Estella Explainer Math Bot 2 (EEMB2) - A customized AI reading chatbot for understanding Elementary school math word problems. Developed by Sharon A. Edwards, Robert W. Maloy, & Sai Gattupalli.
How do you go about finding out about GenAI tools AND keeping up to date with the latest changes and advancements in GenAI?
Expand your professional learning network (PLN) to include people, spaces, and tools that can help you do just that! Here's a resource to help you get started: PLN 4 AI.
How to Evaluate GenAI Tools
How to Evaluate GenAI Tools
Every technology you use, including GenAI tools, comes with potential risks, harms, and challenges. Review the resources below to identify potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them in order to protect you, your students, and society!
AI & Ethics Open Access Slide Deck, Torrey Trust, Ph.D.
Teaching AI Ethics, Leon Furze (NOTE: There are updated versions for 2025 for following sections of the Teaching AI Ethics original series: Truth, Bias, and Environmental Impact).
A Teacher and Student Guide for Evaluating GenAI Text Responses.
AI Ethics & Policy News, spreadsheet of news articles curated by Casey Fiesler.
Marc Watkins' Beyond ChatGPT Series.
Civics of Technology "Critical Questions About Technology" & EdTech Audit.
Harvard’s AI Pedagogy Project - Example Assignments.
McMaster University - Sample Assessment Library.
Civics of Technology Blog Post on AI Bias - Stop calling it “AI literacy” if it doesn’t teach history
How to Use GenAI Tools
How to Use GenAI Tools
Wondering whether or how to use a new GenAI tool that you just discovered?
Try out the prompt below to engage in a thought-provoking simulated conversation with a GenAI tool:
Example Prompt: "I found a new GenAI tool that I might want to use in my classroom. The tool is [INSERT TOOL]. First, ask me how I plan to use the tool. Then, help me consider whether to use this technology for teaching/learning (using prompts like: 1) Will the use of the GenAI tool activate, aid, or advance learning? Or will it subvert it? 2) Will the use of the GenAI tool aid teaching? Or, will it replace it? 3) Will the GenAI be used in a liberatory way or an oppressive way?). Stop after each question and wait until I reply. After I respond, provide detailed evidence-based feedback as well as potential risks of using the tool to guide my thinking. Then move on to the next question. Once you are done asking questions, pose one final consequential choice for me to consider based on our conversation. "
OR, use the Claude "GenAI Classroom Tool Evaluator" artifact based on this prompt: https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/fe197bd5-66f4-4087-ad47-05c5cf71806d
Prompting AI
Prompting AI
According to Google's "Prompt your way with Gemini" commercial, "there's no wrong way to prompt...just prompt your prompt in the prompt bar."
But, is this really true?
Ethan Mollick (2023) has proposed three basic rules for anyone using GenAI:
1) Asking AI for more than it “knows” gets you lies;
2) Assuming AI is a person gets you lies;
3) Assuming AI can explain itself gets you lies.
Mollick’s point is that the inputs humans give GenAI tools determine the outputs GenAI tools produce.
To use GenAI tools in meaningful ways, educators and learners must cultivate new educational skills, known as “prompt generation” or “prompt literacy.”
Prompt literate users are able to interact with, direct, and control GenAI systems without needing computer programming expertise. They use natural, everyday human language to unlock GenAI’s resources and guide its outputs.
Prompt literacy makes it possible for anyone to fruitfully interact with generative AI to achieve defined objectives while exercising judgment and responsibility.
To learn more about Prompt Literacy, view our sub-page for this chapter called Prompt Literacy and Strategies for Prompting AI.
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