← BackGrades 10-12 | Chapter 1: AI Tools

AI Tools for Students 🤖

Using AI Responsibly in Your Work

Session 1: Productivity & Learning

The AI Tool Revolution 💡

AI tools are transforming how we work, study, and create. Understanding how to use them responsibly is a critical skill for success in college and career.

Why This Matters:

  • These tools are freely available - you're behind if you don't know them
  • Teachers expect you to understand these tools
  • Using them responsibly is the key - it's not cheating
  • Learning to use AI tools increases your value in any job

ChatGPT for Research & Brainstorming 📚

ChatGPT is an AI that can answer questions, explain concepts, help outline ideas, and brainstorm solutions.

GOOD Uses (Not Cheating):

  • Brainstorm essay topics before writing
  • Explain a concept you don't understand
  • Create an outline for a research paper
  • Get feedback on your draft (not the original draft!)
  • Summarize complex material
  • Generate study questions to test yourself

ChatGPT: What's NOT Okay ❌

Using ChatGPT for academic dishonesty will be caught and punished severely.

DON'T:

  • Submit AI-written essays as your own work
  • Use it to solve math problems without understanding
  • Copy-paste AI answers directly into assignments
  • Use it to avoid doing the actual learning
  • Hide that you used AI when you should disclose it

Teachers use AI detection tools - they WILL catch this!

Perplexity for Research with Sources 🔍

Perplexity is like ChatGPT but better for research - it cites sources for everything!

Why Perplexity is Great:

  • Searches the internet for current information
  • Shows sources for every claim (with links!)
  • Great for research papers - no more guessing where facts come from
  • Free to use
  • Perfect for fact-checking claims

Use Perplexity to find sources, then read them yourself!

Grammarly for Writing Improvement ✏️

Grammarly is an AI writing assistant that checks grammar, style, and tone. It's like having an editor watching everything you write.

What Grammarly Does:

  • Catches spelling and grammar errors (better than Word!)
  • Suggests tone adjustments (too aggressive? too casual?)
  • Improves clarity and readability
  • Checks for plagiarism (some versions)
  • Works in Word, Google Docs, Gmail, everywhere you write

Notion AI for Organization 📋

Notion is a note-taking and organization tool. Notion AI helps organize, summarize, and structure your notes.

Useful For:

  • Creating organized notes from class lectures
  • AI summarizes long articles for you
  • Auto-generates study guides from notes
  • Organizing research into databases
  • Planning projects and assignments

When is AI Help Okay? 🤔

Here's the simple rule: If you're learning, it's okay. If you're cheating, it's not.

Examples:

  • ✅ OK: Use ChatGPT to understand a concept you're struggling with
  • ✅ OK: Use it to outline an essay (then write it yourself)
  • ✅ OK: Use Perplexity to find sources for research
  • ✅ OK: Use Grammarly to improve your writing
  • ❌ NOT OK: Submit AI-written essays as your own
  • ❌ NOT OK: Use it to avoid understanding material

Citing AI-Assisted Work 📖

If you use AI tools in your work, you should disclose it. Different teachers have different policies.

How to Cite AI Tools:

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (Version 4.0). https://openai.com/
[Accessed December 25, 2024].

Always ask your teacher: "Should I disclose AI tool use in this assignment?"

Hands-On Activity: Essay Outlining 🎯

Let's practice using ChatGPT responsibly for essay writing.

Steps:

  1. Choose an essay topic (history, literature, current events, science)
  2. Go to ChatGPT.com and ask it to create a detailed outline
  3. Edit the outline - make it YOUR outline with your ideas
  4. Write the essay using your modified outline
  5. Use Grammarly to improve the writing
  6. Cite ChatGPT in your work if required

Result: You learned the topic, wrote your own work, improved your writing!

The Future: AI Literacy Matters 🚀

Real Talk:

  • Companies are asking: "Can you use AI tools?"
  • College professors will expect you to know these tools
  • Ignoring AI tools puts you at a disadvantage
  • But using them unethically destroys your reputation
  • The winners: People who use AI responsibly and ethically

What We Learned 🎓

  • ChatGPT is useful for brainstorming, outlining, explaining concepts
  • Perplexity is better for research with sources
  • Grammarly improves your writing quality
  • Notion AI helps organize and study
  • Using AI responsibly: Learn with it, don't cheat with it
  • Cite AI use when your teacher requires it
  • AI tool literacy is a career skill NOW!

AI Tools Unlocked! 🎉

You now know how to use AI responsibly in your work

Next Session: Prompt Engineering - Getting Better Results