AI, CS, & Digital Literacy

Thanks to one of the latest ChatEDU episodes, I recently came across a post by Carla Engelbrecht Fisher that felt really relevant as we look at infusing AI into existing engineering lessons for this year's for Oregon STEM Week:

14 Ways to Remind Yourself (and Your Kids) AI is a Machine, Not Your Friend

This article is full of simple, relatable ways to help students (and us!) understand what AI is (and isn’t).

At its core, the post reinforces a few key ideas that are essential for students: AI doesn’t think - it predicts. AI doesn’t understand - it patterns. And sometimes, it gets things wrong in ways that feel surprisingly human.

What I appreciate most is how actionable her approach is. Here are five of the 14 ways she suggests we can start talking about AI with kids:

1. AI is an it.

As conversations around AI in education continue to grow, it’s easy to get swept up in tools, efficiency, and what’s possible. But there’s a quieter - and arguably more important - question sitting underneath it all:

What happens to human connection as chatbot use continues to grow amongst students and models become more "lifelike"?

Recently, I came across the Rithm Project's Sparks Toolkit, and it felt like a really timely resource for educators navigating this exact question.

At its core, the Sparks Toolkit isn’t about technology at all. It’s about relationships, empathy, and helping students better understand themselves and each other. It offers simple, classroom-ready activities designed to build connection between students, and between students and educators.

And connection feels like exactly what we need right now.

Most schools across our region rely on Google Classroom and Google tools, so the updates Google announced today at BETT 2026 are likely to touch a significant number of our classrooms. At a high level, Google is weaving Gemini (their AI assistant) more thoughtfully into Classroom, assignments, feedback, and student learning tools. The goal is to provide practical support, improve accessibility, and offer better insight into learning — while also navigating important ethical considerations around student AI use.

Before diving in, one important assumption:

👉 For our youngest learners (especially K–2), this is not about giving students direct access to AI tools or independent use of Google Classroom.

Instead, these updates are best viewed as teacher-facing supports that may — or may not — fit existing classroom practices. With that, here are some highlights of the new tools and functionality we'll be seeing:

K–5 (Especially K–2): AI as a Teacher Tool

Even without student…

After sharing Alex Kotran’s thoughtful letter to teens about AI and jobs, it felt only right to shine a spotlight on our younger learners, too. 🎉

Enter Amanda Bickstaff from AI for Education, who recently sat down with none other than Ruff Ruffman for a fun, kid-friendly conversation about AI literacy. 🐾🤖

If you’re a K–5 educator, this one’s a total win: approachable, engaging, and perfectly pitched for curious elementary minds. You and your students are going to love it!