Start important conversations about AI, social media, and more with these scenarios.
Every other minute, educators are facing dilemmas. Unless you've been in front of a classroom of students, there's no way to understand the myriad split-second decisions we need to make every day, all the time. Though tech in the classroom often requires forethought, cellphones, AI, digital drama, and more can create conundrums that are tricky to navigate.
In our Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum for students, we offer digital dilemmas to discuss, since thinking through scenarios can help us make better decisions when we face them for real. The same is true for teachers: Considering how we'll handle a tech-based dilemma gives us some breathing room for when we encounter similar circumstances.
Below are some dilemmas you can think through yourself, use in a staff meeting, or apply as a part of professional development around digital literacy and well-being. Each scenario has initial questions as well as "complicate" questions to address nuances and examine scenarios from other angles.
There are two thinking routines we practice with dilemmas: Take a Stand and Feelings and Options. As is often the case, these steps can be helpful for everyone, not just students, especially when the dilemma feels particularly tricky.
Feelings and Options: Supports communication, empathy, and thoughtful decision-making for digital dilemmas in social life.
- Identify: Who are the different people involved in the scenario? What dilemma or challenge are they facing?
- Feel: What do you think each person in the dilemma is feeling? Why might the situation be hard or challenging for each of them?
- Imagine: Imagine options for how the situation could be handled. Come up with as many ideas as possible. There's no one "right" answer! Then, highlight which option might lead to the most positive outcome, where most people feel good or taken care of.
- Say: Think more about the idea you chose for handling the situation. What could the people involved say?
Take a Stand: Supports consideration of one's own and others' perspectives related to privacy, community, and civic life.
- Take a stand: What do you think? Why?
- Stand back: Where do your peers stand? Why?
- Look again: Look again at your original response. What had you not considered that other people brought up? How has your thinking shifted after hearing your classmates' perspectives, even if you haven't changed your mind?
- Look Beyond: Look beyond this specific case. How does this dilemma remind you of other situations we've explored in class or that you've seen, heard about, or experienced?
Apply them if they're helpful or if you want to practice using them yourself for deeper understanding as you walk students through them. But you can also use these dilemmas as open-ended discussions—whatever works best for you.
Use the links below to jump to specific dilemmas:
Dilemma: AI for IEPs
Scenario:
Your fellow teacher has been using generative AI to write IEP and report card comments. They highlighted that this was a huge time-saver and recommended it to other staff. They assure you that they haven't entered students' personal information.
Initial questions:
- What are your feelings about AI use in general? How about for professional purposes? Why?
- What are your thoughts about the use of AI as described in the scenario? Why?
Complicate questions:
- Does it matter if the teacher simply copies and pastes without making any additional edits or changes to the output from the generative AI system?
- Does the teacher need to inform the students or parents/caregivers that they have used generative AI to create the IEP/report card comments?
- What if the teacher just inputs first names to keep the outputs organized?
- How about if an administrator uses AI to write teacher recommendations or observation assessments?
Digital literacy fact: Even entering first names can change AI's outputs because of its inherent bias.
Dilemma: Is It Plagiarism?
Scenario:
A student who doesn't often participate or hand in homework suddenly submits an organized writing assignment with elevated vocabulary, which makes you a bit suspicious. You didn't require evidence of prewriting or drafting, and you don't have much of this student's previous writing to compare it to, so you're not sure if you should suspect AI plagiarism. Other teachers recommend using an AI detector program, but you're not sure what to do.
Initial questions:
- How would you approach this situation? Why?
- Is there an AI policy you can use to help guide the process?
Complicate questions:
- Does a student need to be able to prove there's been a writing process if that wasn't explicitly part of the assignment?
- Does it change anything if this is a "make it or break it" grade for the student, which will determine if they pass or fail the class?
- What if the AI detector indicates that there's a 60% chance that the student used AI for parts of the assignment?
Digital literacy fact: AI detectors aren't reliable and can result in false positives and bias.
Dilemma: Instagram Impostor
Scenario:
A colleague shows you an Instagram account that uses your face as a profile picture and identifies you as an educator at the school where you're employed. The posts from that account contain profanity and false accusations about your colleagues and students, using details that only someone familiar with the school would know. You recently gave two students a failing grade on an assessment because you caught them cheating, and they—and their parents—were very upset.
Initial questions:
- What are your first steps in this situation? How would you handle it?
- Are there policies in place to help guide the process?
Complicate questions:
- Does it change anything if the account contains AI-generated pictures or videos of you?
- What if a student came to you about a similar fake account made with their name and picture?
- What if you happened to see students looking at the account, instead of a colleague showing it to you?
Digital literacy fact: Though you can't directly find out who created an account, there are ways to get more information about the creator(s) and report the account for removal.
Dilemma: Alexas Everywhere
Scenario:
A local charitable organization just donated Alexas for all the offices and classrooms in the school. They figured it's a nice way to play music in the offices, help teachers and staff set reminders, and allow students to ask questions. You've personally been liking it and didn't think about any potential downsides until your most recent meeting with your administrator. You shared some personal information about a medical leave you will be taking. You didn't realize until the last few minutes of your meeting, but Alexa was clearly listening to all of your sensitive details.
Initial questions:
- What do you do? Do you say something to the principal before you leave? Should you email afterward? How can you express your discomfort in a respectful and professional manner?
- In terms of the technology itself, and the data Alexa has collected, are there any steps you can take?
Complicate questions:
- Would being a "new" teacher change how you approach this situation? (new meaning nontenured or probationary)
- Do teachers need to be informed that there's an Alexa (or other interactive device) before every interaction with an administrator?
- What about parents/guardians? Students?
- What if this were a disciplinary meeting? Do the same "rules" apply?
- What about all the other "smart" devices that have the ability to listen to your conversations? (smartphones, wearables, etc)
Digital literacy fact: You can delete some or all of your data from Alexa and other voice-based smart devices.
Dilemma: Social Media Oversharing
Scenario:
As you're scrolling Instagram, you're invited to follow a colleague's account. But as soon as you do, you're faced with tons of pictures of your colleague on a beach vacation in a bikini, drinking at bars, and a video of her dancing suggestively. You see that some of your middle school students have liked the photos, and a few have left comments.
Initial questions:
- Even though no one has complained about her account, do you approach the teacher? Why or why not?
- What's your opinion about teachers on social media? Does your school have a policy about it?
Complicate questions:
- What if there was no evidence that students have seen the account?
- Where's the line when it comes to educators' public social media posts? Should teachers be able to post what they want, or should they limit what they post as representatives of the school?
Digital literacy fact: As an educator, having a social media presence can have benefits and pitfalls, so understanding the pros and cons—especially around privacy—is important.
Dilemma: Deepfake Shared
Scenario:
Two eighth grade students are huddled around a phone during device-free class time, so you approach and see a video of a student in seventh grade, scantily clad and doing inappropriate things. The students say it's a fake video someone created with AI, but they're not sure who made it—people are just passing it around.
Initial questions:
- What does your school's AI policy say about deepfakes? Are there clear procedures to follow? Do students receive AI literacy instruction, and are they informed about school policy?
- Since the viewing students either don't know who created the deepfake, or won't say, how can it be traced back to the source?
- Are there set steps to take to care for the victim of the deepfake?
Complicate questions:
- What changes if the deepfake features a nude, AI-generated image of a teacher?
- What if the deepfake was created on a school device and shared in a Google doc or slide?
- What if, instead of a student or teacher, the deepfake is of a politician doing inappropriate things?
Digital literacy fact: If nude images or videos—real or deepfaked—are posted online, victims can use Take It Down to have them removed.
Dilemma: Iffy Stuff on School Devices
Scenario:
A parent sends an angry email about Google ads for vape pens showing up on her son's school-issued device. She feels that, because it's the school's laptop, the ads are the school's responsibility. Because the student is in your class, an administrator asks you to respond and explain that the ads are determined by searches performed on the device, and that the school isn't responsible.
Initial questions:
- When it comes to school-issued devices, where does school responsibility begin and end?
- What would you write in the email?
Complicate questions:
- What if the device had never gone home, and inappropriate sites were accessed at school, despite firewalls?
- Instead of inappropriate ads, kids were using a Google doc to chat with each other in and outside of school about other students and faculty. What, if anything, does that change?
Digital literacy fact: Parents and caregivers need digital literacy, too! Help them understand AI algorithms, digital ads, and much more with family resources.
Dilemma: Rage Bait
Scenario:
You're about a month away from Election Day, and several positions are up for grabs in your district. In an educational Facebook group, you've begun to notice more political posts. Several members have been posting ominous videos painting bleak pictures about what could happen if certain candidates are elected. In one of the more controversial posts, an educator claims that should a certain candidate win, many educators will be out of jobs and students will suffer. You realize that the author is a teacher in your building.
Initial questions:
- Do you address it with them in person, and if so, what do you say?
- How do you handle a Facebook group meant for professional purposes (like seeking help with lesson planning or classroom management techniques) that has turned political and/or toxic?
- Is there anything you could say in the comment thread that would defuse the situation and help bring the temperature down? If so, what would it be?
Complicate questions:
- What if the post were made by an anonymous member and therefore you couldn't reach out to the author?
- What if this conversation were taking place in the teacher's lounge among staff in your building? Does having a political exchange in real life in the workplace look the same, and if so, how might that conversation go?
- What if the comments went beyond jobs and services and into even more volatile territory?
Digital literacy fact: De-escalating instead of rage baiting online is a skill we can all use!
