Artificial intelligence in secondary schools

How is artificial intelligence used in Icelandic secondary schools and what is needed to take the next steps? 

In August, APRÓ invited teachers, administrators, consultants, and others involved in school work to a conversation about the use of artificial intelligence in Icelandic secondary schools. The goal was not to hold a general presentation on AI, but to hear real-world experiences from Icelandic schools—what is already being tested, what has gone well, what challenges have arisen, and what we can learn from each other. It quickly became clear that AI is no longer a future concept for the school system. Teachers and students are already using the technology, and in many places, new approaches are being tested in teaching, materials creation, project work, and feedback.

The question is therefore not whether AI will increasingly become a part of school work, but how we utilize it in a responsible and targeted manner in a modern school system.

New tools call for new skills

Gísli Ragnar Guðmundsson from Almannarómur discussed how artificial intelligence is changing the conditions for learning and teaching. One of the questions he posed was simple but important:

"What can a teacher or student now try that previously would have required more time or expert assistance?"

As it becomes easier to produce text, analysis, and other content, it simultaneously becomes more important to look to the skills behind it: judgment, professional expertise, critical thinking, and the ability to evaluate and verify results. The same theme was clear in teachers' experiences. Tinna and Fríða from Fjölbrautaskólinn í Garðabæ pointed out that students need, among other things, to learn how to formulate good questions, critically evaluate AI answers, work with the technology, and continue to take responsibility for their submissions. In this way, AI does not replace the student or the teacher, but is a new tool that teachers and students must learn to use.

Real-world use has already begun

At the event, various examples were shown of how teachers are already using AI in their work. Tinna and Fríða from Fjölbrautaskóli Garðabæjar demonstrated, among other things, how they have used the technology for project design, creating assessment rubrics, feedback, and customized chatbots that know the curriculum and can guide students without solving the tasks for them. Bogi Ragnarsson showed how AI can be useful in developing teaching materials and projects. There, the focus was clear: the teacher provides the professional expertise and learning objectives, the AI assists with processing and formatting, and the teacher is responsible for the final product. Leifur Ingi, deputy headmaster of Menntaskólinn við Sund, also discussed the opportunities inherent in new possibilities for teaching materials design, meeting students in new ways, and developing school work in step with society.

The examples showed that the discussion is already shifting from asking what AI can do to a much more practical question: Where can it improve learning and teaching?