A huge part of Information Literacy Skills (ILS) is the collection of reliable and relevant evidence that support your research topic and question. For student who struggle with ILS, especially neurodiverse students, sifting through the vast amounts of available sources can be difficult and daunting (Streatfield, 2021). However, there is positive research being conducted which indicates students gain self-efficacy, reduced anxiety, improved writing skills, and language learning benefits using generative AI chatbots (Lo & Hew, 2023; Mageira et al., 2022; Mollick & Mollick, 2023; Wang et al., 2021). AI tools can provide practical strategies—like tutoring, coaching, mentoring, and simulating—that promote and enhance learning outcomes (Mollick & Mollick, 2023; Lo & Hew, 2023; U.S. Department of Education, 2023). The U.S. Department of Education (2023) and Hiristiani (2019) found that AI systems enable new forms of personalized interactions and adaptivity that can strengthen and support learning. Generative AI chatbots can benefit learning by helping struggling students feel more relaxed through valuable practice and helpful feedback as they write with greater ease and efficiency (Leos, 2023). The merger of education and technology can provide a framework where students use AI tools to filter through vast amounts of information in order to find evidence that supports their topic.

The tandem use of HI and AI can develop aspects of creativity, critical thinking, academic and emotional intelligence, innovation, adaptability, teacher-student relationships, and clear communication in the learning process. While AI provides potential benefits, human intelligence (HI) should not be replaced or ignored. Human intelligence involves creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, innovation, and adaptability (Human Intelligence Movement, 2024) that allows humans the ability to imagine, anticipate, feel, judge changing situation, and shift from short-term to long-term concerns without external databases (De Cremer & Kasparov, 2021). The premise is that AI will complement rather than substitute HI. 

AI has the opportunity to do good as well as harm, so students are not only facing learning academic content but also learning about their character as they wrestle with moral and ethical implications of plagiarism, biases, and privacy risks (Chamberlain, 2023; Mollick & Mollick, 2023; Paige, 2023; Schuurman, 2023). Teachers and students can use AI technology through responsible use and norms that teach how to maneuver and discern through distortions, biases, and pitfalls (Schuurman, 2023). Guidance by teachers can help regulate student use of generative AI chatbots and ensure academic integrity against the improper use of AI technology that can lead to misconduct or moral issues (Yu, 2023).

Brisk Chrome Extension has provided me a tool that gives students quick, personalized, informal feedback to writing assignments that are shared through Google Docs.

Here are a few GenAI tools that I have found beneficial personally and for my students.

Neurodiversity includes the different ways people’s brains process information and interact with the world around them. The idea is that there is no "correct" way for the brain to work and that differences should be embraced and encouraged. Eckel provides a different perspective about neurodiversity in that it identifies someone who is “differently abled” (Eckel, 2020). Another perspective shifts viewing neurodiversity as an impairment or deficit in brain function to recognizing the natural variations as unique strengths and challenges of individuals (Christner, 2024). Within the neurodiverse world, some common neurological differences among students can include autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), auditory processing disorder, sensory processing disorder, nonverbal learning disorder, language processing disorder, and visual perceptual or visual motor deficit. The overarching goal is to enhance the educational experience by providing educational strategies that can meet the unique needs of neurodiverse students. Often these practical strategies that are implemented in the classroom prove beneficial to other students’ learning as well. 

AI has the potential to support neurodiverse learners who access, process, and interact in different ways, by providing different learning paths that fit their strengths (Mollick & Mollick, 2023; U.S. Department of Education, 2023). Mollick and Mollick (2023) proposed seven approaches for utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom describing AI as: tutor, coach, mentor, teammate, tool, simulator, and student. 

We should not let GenAI chatbot concerns "stop us from embracing possibilities and fall behind schools and countries who use it to supercharge creativity, solve increasingly tough problems, and accelerate growth" (Coxon, 2023). According to the AI Index Report 2023, eleven countries, including China and South Korea, have responded by officially endorsing and implementing AI curricula across part or all the primary, middle, and high school levels (Maslej et al., 2023). Korean 5th grade students performed significantly better using chatbots for writing practice over a 15-week period than learners who did not. Improved writing with generative AI chatbots resulted from more hands-on writing practice and a less threatening method that reduced the fear of making mistakes or being judged by others (Kwon et al, 2023). Similarly, student writing skills were improved when asked to assess generative AI chatbot responses for misinformation. Learning was also enhanced through practice and retrieval triggering deep engagement, understanding, organized knowledge, and clarified thinking (Mollick & Mollick, 2022). With generative AI, educators have a tool to teach and guide students how to use technology responsibly as they maneuver and discern through distortions, biases, and pitfalls. Teacher guidance and perception are key in student learning and effective use of generative AI chatbots.