Busting the Myths:  What K-12 Students Really Think about the Potential for AI and Learning

While education leaders and classroom educators continue to debate policies and guidelines for AI usage in school and bemoan the increase in AI-fueled cheating, a stealth learning revolution has been taking place right under their noses, but many of these leaders and educators are unfortunately blind to it. Today’s middle school and high school students are using AI tools and resources every day to personalize their learning outside of school, to self-remediate on academic content, and to develop the types of durable workplace skills employers desperately want and need. Armed with a strong pre-existing fluency with a wide range of digital tools and social media apps, our students have already embraced AI to transform their own personal learning processes. But that revolution has happened outside of school, not within their classrooms that still are more reminiscent of 1986 rather than projecting a 2026 world view. We need to hear more from the experts about this revolution, namely middle school and high school students who are living this split screen reality every day.

In this panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Julie A. Evans, Chief Executive Officer of Project Tomorrow, a live panel of students will share with us how they are using AI to support their learning in meaningful and purposeful ways, their perspectives on the pros and cons of AI for schools and our society, and their aspirations for improving classroom learning for all students. Dr Evans will also share some of their latest findings from their Speak Up Research Project, collected from K-12 students, educators, administrators and parents across the country.

Come prepared to take notes. The future is speaking and it is now.