New ways to leverage AI in your classroom

Published April 3, 2023
Last updated August 21, 2023

AI has been hot topic in education lately, and for good reason! Recent advances in this technology are creating exciting new opportunities across many industries. In the classroom, AI can be a huge time saver and a tool to gather information quickly and effectively, but it can also understandably raise some questions. Like any technology, AI presents both benefits and risks, and it should be implemented in a responsible way. The Flip team is proud to be part of Microsoft where the AI principles of fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, accountability, and transparency are applied to all of our products.

If you are just getting started and interested in learning more about the use of AI in education, here are a few simple ways to get started.

Free courses and events on AI

Check out this helpful, hour-long course on Microsoft Learn, which is aligned to both ISTE and UNESCO standards for educators and designed to de-mystify the basics of Generative AI and empower educators to confidently implement AI-powered tools in their classrooms. You can also watch our recent Flip Events with Holly Clark and Microsoft’s Dena Saunders to understand the benefits and best uses of AI in education.

Bing Chat

Microsoft just announced that Bing Chat Enterprise is now available in preview for Microsoft 365 A3 and A5 faculty users at no additional cost so you can improve your search results and save time. And at a time when information literacy is more important than ever, we’re excited about Microsoft’s newest Learning Accelerator, Search Progress. Learn all about this and more on the Microsoft Education blog. And don’t worry–if you are not using Microsoft 365 for Education in your school, you can simply use the free version of Bing Chat alongside Flip in your classroom. Follow @FelyTeachnology for tips or visit Discovery Library for a list of fun topics you can use to introduce your students to AI using Bing Chat.

Check out Flip’s AI-powered* Topic Copilot

With Topic Copilot, just enter a list of keywords, and it will generate a list of suggested topics and descriptions for you...automagically! You can choose one of the topic suggestions and edit to your liking before posting, or enter new keywords to generate a fresh list of ideas.

Choosing the right keywords

When you enter your keywords, you are telling the AI that powers the Topic Copilot what types of discussions you are hoping to prompt in your classroom. Here are a few tips on how to choose your keywords so you get the best list of topic suggestions:

Be as specific as possible. If using broad phrases like “social emotional learning” or “growth mindset”, be sure to pair them with a keyword that provides more context like “develop growth mindset working in teams”
It only takes a few keywords, not full sentences. Try “impressionist art reflection" rather than “Ask my students to reflect on lesson 5.2 on impressionist art.”
Think about the outcomes you want from students and include those as keywords too, e.g. “self-reflection”, “critique”, or “creative problem solving”

Early reactions

Since introducing this Topic Copilot, it’s been so fun to see our community’s reaction!

"AI is exploding onto the scene and being able to leverage it to support student learning is a must!"

Laney Park
@LPark_edu

"It helps bring out engagement and creativity in the wording that I might not have even thought about."

Joy Gaines
@j_rosser5

"Any means to save time while you're in the classroom with a room full of students and trying not to lose their attention is worth trying out."

Zeny Ulloa
@zeny_ulloa

"Flip literally changed everything for me and changed me as an educator for the better. I found what I was missing. My outlook has changed, and so has my confidence level. The spark is there again"
"Flip literally changed everything for me and changed me as an educator for the better. I found what I was missing. My outlook has changed, and so has my confidence level. The spark is there again"
"Flip literally changed everything for me and changed me as an educator for the better. I found what I was missing. My outlook has changed, and so has my confidence level. The spark is there again"

To learn more about Topic Copilot, just start a new topic and click on Topic Copilot link or visit our Help Center for step-by-step instructions.

Note: Content is generated by AI and might contain inaccuracies or sensitive material. Be sure to verify information.