Artificial Intelligence

Students Want to Learn More About AI. Schools Aren’t Keeping Up

By Lauraine Langreo — November 10, 2023 1 min read
Illustration of an AI chatbot assist on the face of a cellphone tutoring a kid student doing homework with subject matter icons floating all around him.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

There’s a wide gap between what students say they want to learn about how to use artificial intelligence responsibly and what schools are teaching them right now, concludes a recent report from the Center for Democracy & Technology, a nonprofit that promotes digital rights.

Seventy-two percent of students said they would find it helpful to learn how to use generative AI responsibly, according to the organization’s nationally representative survey of 1,029 high school students conducted between June and August. Meanwhile, less than half of students (44 percent) said they’ve received AI guidance from their schools, the report found.

Today’s students are often called digital natives and seen as experts in navigating the digital space. But the report found other gaps in the digital-technology guidance that students said would be helpful to get from their schools and what schools have provided so far.

As schools become more reliant on technology for teaching and learning, collecting student data, and monitoring students’ behavior online, it’s important to teach students how to be responsible digital citizens.

In the Center for Democracy & Technology survey conducted over the summer, students were asked what kind of tech guidance and support from schools they would find helpful. Here’s what they said:

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Too Many Initiatives, Not Enough Alignment: A Change Management Playbook for Leaders
Learn how leadership teams can increase alignment and evaluate every program, practice, and purchase against a clear strategic plan.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Beyond Teacher Tools: Exploring AI for Student Success
Teacher AI tools only show assigned work. See how TrekAi's student-facing approach reveals authentic learning needs and drives real success.
Content provided by TrekAi
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
Building for the Future: Igniting Middle Schoolers’ Interest in Skilled Trades & Future-Ready Skills
Ignite middle schoolers’ interest in skilled trades with hands-on learning and real-world projects that build future-ready skills.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Artificial Intelligence Are Teens Just Using AI to Cheat? Well, Not Quite (If You Ask Them)
There’s fear among many educators that students are using AI to do most of their critical thinking.
3 min read
Photo collage of a high school boy dressed in casual wear sitting among open books, concentrating on his tablet with books scattered all around him and a graph chart and asterisk as part of the collage in the background.
iStock/Getty
Artificial Intelligence Moms Across the Political Spectrum Urge Caution on AI in Schools
Mothers of kids in school are concerned about the impact of AI on learning and social skills.
4 min read
Students grab Chromebooks during Casey Cuny's English class at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025.
Students pick up their Chromebooks during an English class at a high school in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Aug. 27, 2025. Pushback against the overuse of technology in schools is growing, fueled partly by the expanding use of AI.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Artificial Intelligence From Our Research Center Are AI Literacy Lessons Now the Norm? What New Survey Data Show
Educators are "meeting the AI moment," one expert said.
4 min read
A student uses a laptop to work on an assignment during class on Aug. 28, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. New EdWeek Research Center data show that many students are already being taught AI literacy.
A student uses a laptop to work on an assignment during class on Aug. 28, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. New EdWeek Research Center data show that many students are already being taught AI literacy.
Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP
Artificial Intelligence Opinion Why AI Hasn’t Transformed Math Instruction (and Probably Won’t)
When it comes to teaching, there are a few things AI can't do well, says this curriculum developer.
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week