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Worksheet

Understand the tech

How does genAI technology work?

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Look into the source

What data, companies, and natural resources are behind the scenes?

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Interrogate data privacy

What kind of data is this tool collecting and what happens to it?

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Consider limitations

What are genAI’s limitations and why do they matter?

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This worksheet is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND.

Using the Toolkit to

Explore the Tech

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Worksheet

Using the Toolkit to

Check in with Yourself

Notice your feelings

What feelings does genAI bring up for me?

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Assess the tool

Is genAI right for my needs?

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Engage actively

Am I using genAI in a way that supports my learning and agency?

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Use AI ethically

Is my use of genAI ethical?

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This worksheet is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND.

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Worksheet

Keep Exploring the Tech

Keep Checking in

What new tools or updates to existing tools do I need to know about to inform my use of genAI?

What resources, people, and networks will I lean on to continue to learn about AI?

How do my answers change when I revisit the questions in this section?

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How are my feelings, thoughts, needs, and skills evolving?

Are your conversations about AI expanding or reinforcing your perspective?

How do my answers change when I revisit the questions in this section?

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This worksheet is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND.

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“I don’t believe in any sort of inevitability, whether it’s technology or anything else.”

–Timnit Gebru

Leading AI expert and Founder of the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute

As quoted in Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure

“AI is neither artificial nor intelligent.”

–Kate Crawford

Leading AI scholar and Senior Researcher at Microsoft

As quoted in The Guardian

“And besides, ‘intelligent’ according to what definition?”

–Emily Bender

Computational Linguist and Professor at the University of Washington

As quoted in The Intelligencer

“I want to take the focus off what generative AI can do… and put it on what it can do to us. Who do we become when we talk to machines?”

–Sherry Turkle

Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT

Wisdom & AI Summit, 2023

Choose a quote above to reflect on. Why did you chose it? What does it make you think and feel? �What do you want to think or learn more about?

GenAI Discussion/Reflection Prompt

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Where do most people get their information about AI? Who puts that information out and what agendas might they have?

What ideas and narratives around genAI do we accept without question? Whose voices and experiences shape these ideas?

What are the intended and unintended consequences of AI? Who is impacted, positively or negatively?

How would genAI tools change or look different if they were built with justice and equity as a core value?

GenAI Discussion/Reflection Prompt

Choose a question above to reflect on or discuss with someone.

Why did you chose it? What does it make you think and feel? �What do you want to think or learn more about?

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About the authors of this toolkit

  • We are users of genAI tools
  • We learn from the work and research of experts in AI and technology
  • We approach technology with curiosity and openness, and are often early adopters of new technologies
  • We believe that technology is not neutral and interacts with systems of inequity that already exist in society
  • We believe equity and justice should be central considerations in schools, and for the development and use of technologies
  • We believe that the future of any technology is not determined or set in stone
  • We are cautious about resources that provide prescriptive do’s and don’ts or take a one size fits all approach
  • We check in with our own emotional responses; things that trigger a strong emotional response are worth examining closely
  • We triangulate what we find, meaning that we look for multiple sources of information to confirm the same thing

Rebecca Mazur

Sahara Pradhan

Casey Daigle

Suzanne Judson-Whitehouse

The GenAI Critical Engagement Toolkit was created by a team at the Collaborative for Educational Services, a non-profit in Western Massachusetts dedicated to supporting teaching and learning in our region and beyond. Our bios and contact information are available on the CES website. Below you will find a brief expression of our stance on genAI and technology in general.