Using Generative AI to Support Workshops and Camps

Generative AI can be a useful tool when preparing activities, lessons, or materials for STEM camps, workshops, or other types of programming. It can help generate ideas, draft explanations, create visuals, or suggest ways to organize content. However, these tools should be used thoughtfully and responsibly, as well as within your program guidelines of using AI for content generation. Generative AI works best as a support tool for instructors, not as a replacement for their expertise, judgment, or creativity.

Before generating content with AI, check in with your team and/or supervisor and follow any organizational guidelines and policies to ensure you are following program policies in regards to using AI in content or program development. 

When using generative AI to support program planning or content development, ensure that established STEM teaching approaches are still followed. Consider the following strategies:

• Lead with your training and expertise: In addition to Actua’s modules, and your academic and organization's training, lean into your personal experience, critical thinking, creativity and enthusiasm. Remember, only you can provide the heart, empathy, and local relevance our youth audience needs.
• Use AI as a Co-Designer, Not a Replacement: Treat AI as a tool to generate ideas, suggestions, or drafts. Instructors should always maintain control over, and responsibility for, activity content and structure. Review and adapt AI outputs to ensure they align with your teaching style and the needs of the youth participating in your type of program. If the AI suggests something that doesn't feel inclusive or safe for your specific group, trust your gut over the machine.
• Audit the Complexity: AI may not fully account for developmental stages and readiness. Use your judgement to ensure the vocabulary and physical dexterity required for an activity actually match the age of your participants. 
• Check Accuracy and Relevance: Ensure you understand the content. Always verify facts, examples, citations, and claims before using them in your programming. Ensure that explanations are scientifically accurate and that activities align with the intended learning outcomes and age group.
• Consider Bias and Inclusivity: Be alert to stereotypes, cultural assumptions, or exclusions in AI-generated content. Adapt activities to ensure representation, accessibility, and equitable learning opportunities for all participants. 
• Reflect and Iterate: After using AI-supported materials in your program, take time to reflect on the experience. Consider what worked well, what could be improved, and how AI contributed to the lesson development process. Keep notes on AI’s strengths and limitations for continuous improvement.

Review the resource below to explore prompts you can use to guide AI in supporting your content development. 

Open slideshow in a new tab: Generative AI for Lesson Planning.

Activity 11: Prompts to Lessons

Experiment with an AI tool to generate a draft activity or lesson for a STEM camp or workshop. The goal is not to create a perfect lesson, but to practice guiding AI outputs and critically evaluating the results.

1. Select an AI platform: Choose a generative AI tool to use for this activity, such as, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Microsoft Copilot. These tools can generate text-based responses that help draft ideas for lessons, activities, or explanations. 
   1. Note: Some platforms may require an account.
2. Choose a Topic: Consider the age group you are designing for and select a STEM concept you might teach in a camp or workshop. Examples might include robotics, coding, climate science, engineering design, electricity and circuits, or biology.
3. Write an Effective AI Prompt: Using your chosen AI tool, write a prompt asking the system to generate a short STEM lesson or activity. Refer to Generative AI for Lesson Planning(slides above) on preparing effective prompts.
   1. You may want to experiment with refining your prompt to improve the output. For example, you might specify the age group, materials available, time limits, and/or learning goals. 
4. Review the AI Output:Read the lesson or activity generated by the AI. As you review it, consider whether the content would work effectively in a real camp or workshop setting.  As you review it, reflect on the questions below and make notes about what you would keep, revise, or remove.
   1. Clarity and Accuracy: Is the explanation clear and scientifically accurate?
   2. Engagement and Age Appropriateness: Is the activity engaging and suitable for the intended age group?
   3. Practicality: Are the instructions realistic given the time, materials, and setting of a camp or workshop?
   4. Learning Experience: Does the activity encourage curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity?
5. Revise the Activity:Based on your own knowledge and judgment, revise the AI-generated activity to better suit your program. This may include simplifying explanations for younger participants, adding hands-on elements or demonstrations, adjusting the timing or materials, incorporating discussion prompts or reflection questions, or connecting the activity to real-world applications. 
   1. Remember that AI-generated content is only a draft, your role as an instructor is to refine and adapt it to create a meaningful learning experience.
6. Reflect:Consider the broader implications of using AI-generated content. 
   1. Accuracy and Bias: Did the AI include any assumptions, errors, or perspectives that might be incomplete or biased? How would you address them?
   2. Human Agency: How much control did you have over the activity versus the AI? How can you ensure your judgment guides its use?
   3. Ethics & Inclusivity: Are there any privacy, fairness, or equity concerns you should keep in mind when implementing this activity? Does the activity fairly represent diverse perspectives and student needs? What changes might you make?

Ethics and Responsible AI 

AI offers many opportunities for learning and innovation, but it also raises ethical and societal questions about how these technologies  are designed, used, and experienced. Being aware of these issues can help you guide thoughtful discussions with youth about how AI affects individuals, communities, and the environment.

Creating space for reflection helps make AI more relevant and meaningful for youth. When participants recognize how AI shapes the apps, platforms, and tools they use, it can shift the conversation toward how they can question, influence, and shape the technologies around them, encouraging critical thinking about technology and its impact on society.

The following topics below highlight some of the most commonly discussed concerns related to AI. While this is not an exhaustive list, they represent key issues that are often raised in conversations about responsible AI use. As you review them, consider why these issues matter, how they might affect youth, and how they could be explored through discussion or activities in your programs.

Open slideshow in a new tab: Ethics Overview.

Activity 12: AI All Around

Review Actua’s AI in Context: Responsibility and Ethics in Artificial Intelligence guide, which explores ethical considerations and responsible use of AI technologies. Then select one AI-powered technology that you or youth participants might use regularly. 

Examples include:

• GPS and navigation apps
• Smart home assistants (Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant)
• Recommendation systems (Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, Netflix)
• Voice-to-text or translation tools
• Photo filters or facial recognition features

Reflect on the following questions. You may use your Activity Workbook to track your thoughts:

• Understanding the System: How do you think this AI system works? What kind of data might it use to make decisions, and where might that data come from?
• Implications and Risks: What assumptions or limitations might this AI system have? Could there be potential issues related to bias, accuracy, privacy, or environmental impact?
• Connections to Youth Experiences: How might youth encounter or interact with this AI system in their daily lives? How could it influence what they view, learn, or believe?
• Supporting Responsible AI: How could you use this example to encourage youth to think more critically about AI and the technologies they use?

When introducing AI to youth, it is important to create a learning environment that encourages curiosity, critical thinking, and thoughtful discussion. The strategies below can help instructors guide conversations about AI in ways that are empowering, inclusive, and engaging.

• Framing AI as a Tool: AI systems can perform certain tasks efficiently, but they are tools created and guided by people. Humans ultimately decide how AI is designed, improved, and used. Framing AI this way helps youth understand that technology supports human work rather than replacing it.
  • Example: Ask youth questions such as: What tasks can AI do well? What tasks still require human judgment, creativity, or empathy?
• Highlight Human Strengths in an AI World: AI can analyze large amounts of data and generate responses quickly, but humans bring skills that technology cannot easily replicate, such as creativity, empathy, collaboration, and critical thinking. Emphasizing these strengths helps youth understand the important role people play in how AI is used and applied.
  • Example: Encourage collaborative problem-solving, creative design challenges, or group discussions that allow participants to share ideas and perspectives.
• Encourage Youth Voice and Agency: Help youth envision themselves as active participants in shaping technology, rather than just users of it. Encourage them to think about how AI could be applied to real-world challenges in their communities.
  • Example: Use scenarios and activities that connect to youth interests and lived experiences. For instance, invite youth to identify a challenge in their community, such as climate change, accessibility, or transportation, and brainstorm how AI could be used responsibly to help address it.
• Use Empowering Language Over Fear-Based Language: Discussions about AI can sometimes focus heavily on risks or negative outcomes, which may create anxiety for youth. Instead, encourage balanced conversations that explore both the opportunities and challenges associated with AI.
  • Example: Reframe questions such as,  “Will AI replace jobs?” to “How might AI change the way people work?”
• Model Responsible AI Use: Instructors can demonstrate how AI tools should be used thoughtfully and responsibly. Modeling good practices helps youth develop healthy habits and a more critical understanding of digital technologies.
  • Example: Be transparent when AI tools are used to brainstorm ideas or prepare materials, verify AI-generated information before sharing it, and avoid entering personal or sensitive information into AI systems.
• Learn Alongside Youth: AI technologies are evolving quickly, and instructors do not need to have all the answers. Position yourself as a co-learner and create opportunities for shared exploration and problem-solving.
  • Example: Encourage youth to experiment with AI tools, ask questions, and troubleshoot together.

Now that you’ve explored foundational ideas about AI, continue your learning by reviewing the materials in the Developed Resources section. These resources provide additional activities and tools to support your understanding and facilitation of digital skills and technology.