Monroe Township: Responsible Use of AI Tools

 Monroe Township 

District Policies & Regulations

Responsible Use of AI Tools

Summary of the Responsible Use section of the Monroe Township Public Schools AI Plan.

ELANOnline District Policies

What students can use: district-approved AI tools

• MagicSchool
• SchoolAI
• snorkl
• AI features built into Google Workspace for Education
• Learn about Gemini in Google Classroom - Classroom Help
• Google Classroom - AI in the Google Classroom with Gemini

The standalone Gemini app is not on the student list. Students may use Gemini only within Google Search AI Mode.

What teachers can use for their own planning

The district list above covers student use. Teacher planning is a separate question.

• MagicSchool and SchoolAI are provided to teachers by the district at no cost.
• Gemini works with a school Google account only if the district has turned it on for teacher accounts. To check, sign in at gemini.google.com with your school login.
• Teachers who plan with AI still choose which approved tool students will use, and under what conditions, in each lesson.

What the district says

• Responsible use of AI varies with the context, such as a classroom activity or assignment.
• Use caution when asking students to use AI tools that are not district-approved.
• Students in grades K-12 may use district-approved AI tools in assignments under the direction of a teacher.
• Teachers clarify if, when, and how AI tools will be used, and must specify the conditions for AI use for each assignment.
• Students use AI only under the conditions their teacher sets.
• If a teacher requires students to use a third-party AI tool, the teacher is responsible for getting parental permission, including the terms of use and privacy policies for that specific tool.
• Parent consent for student use of AI is granted at the beginning of each school year through the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).
• All staff, students, and guests are bound by the standards of use in the district's existing AUP.

Putting it into lesson plans

Add this line to every AI lesson-planning prompt:

State whether students will use AI, which district-approved tool, and the conditions for its use.

Plan, then post

Step 1: Plan (teacher use)

• Gemini: brainstorm ideas and test prompts, if it is turned on for your school account.
• MagicSchool or SchoolAI (teacher side): turn the idea into a lesson plan, vocabulary, a rubric, and critique questions using the built-in forms.

Fill-in-the-blank prompt: Create a [grade] art lesson of [minutes] minutes on [artist], using [materials], with a warm-up, main activity, critique question, and differentiation. State whether students will use AI, which district-approved tool, and the conditions for its use.

Step 2: Post (student use)

• SchoolAI: build a Space, an AI-guided activity students open from a link, such as questions about an artist or a reflection on their drawing.
• MagicStudent: the student side of MagicSchool, where teachers set up rooms with their own instructions.
• snorkl: students explain their thinking and get AI feedback. Try it yourself before assigning it for art.
• Google Classroom: not an AI tool, but a place to post the lesson, the link to the approved AI tool, and the conditions for its use.

Whatever the tool, say what students may do with AI and what must stay their own work. For art lessons, that is usually: AI for background and questions, and the drawing is the student's own.

Quick guide to the tools

• Gemini Standalone: open-ended brainstorming. Results depend on your prompt, and it works on a school account only if the district has turned it on.
• Gemini within Google Classroom: educator planning and content creation
• MagicSchool: the easiest start for planning, with 80+ teacher tools. Check what it generates before you use it.
• SchoolAI: a deeper teacher chatbot, and Spaces for student questions inside rules you set
• snorkl: students draw and talk, then get AI feedback. You write and review the feedback criteria. Try it with a drawing first.

Recommended for art teachers: MagicSchool to plan, snorkl for student reflection, and SchoolAI Spaces for questions about artists.

Which one works with Gemini? None of these connect directly to Gemini, since each runs its own AI. MagicSchool fits best with Google tools: you can sign in with Google, export to Google Docs, and share to Google Classroom. If Gemini is turned on in your school account, you can also use it inside Google Docs and Classroom.

A note on cost: Free versions of AI tools usually have limits, and plans change often. Use your district-provided accounts for school work, and check what your own account includes.

Keep student information out of AI tools

Do not enter student names, photos, or identifying work into AI tools.

Acceptable Use Policy links

• Student AUP (PDF)

Source: Monroe Township Public Schools, AI Plan, Responsible Use section.ES