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Free to adapt · a working course policy
My AI Use Policy
This is the actual policy from my syllabus, not a sample. I drafted it, revised it with Claude for 25–26, and updated it again for 26–27. Take it, adapt it, make it yours. That’s what it’s here for. If you use it, I’d love to hear how it worked.
Created by Dr. Jen Lisy
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Generative AI Use Policy
This course policy applies to all AI tools, including but not limited to:
- General‑purpose generative AI tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, DALL·E, etc.
- Education‑specific (“teacher”) AI tools: MagicSchool AI, Diffit, Brisk Teaching, Eduaide.ai, etc.
- Paraphrasing software: Spinbot, QuillBot AI, Wordtune, etc.
The distinction between general‑purpose and education‑specific tools matters for how they fit the permitted/limited uses below: teacher tools like MagicSchool or Diffit are generally well‑suited to permitted uses such as generating student‑facing materials, since that’s what they’re built for. General‑purpose tools like ChatGPT or Claude are more flexible but carry no built‑in guardrails for classroom use — they are just as capable of drafting a reflection or synthesis for you as they are a quiz question, so the responsibility for staying within permitted uses falls entirely on you.
All work submitted in this course must be your own and must comply with the University’s academic regulations.
✅ Permitted uses of AI tools
You are permitted to use AI tools throughout this course. You are especially encouraged to use them for:
- Brainstorming ideas for assignments
- Revising or editing your own written work — this means AI may help with sentence‑level clarity, grammar, and flow after you have written your own ideas, not generating the ideas, arguments, or connections themselves
- Creating student‑facing materials for lesson plans, such as:
- Quiz questions
- Classroom activities
- Generating practice examples, explaining a concept in a different way, or helping you outline a plan for an assignment before you write it
If you’re unsure whether a specific use falls within these permitted categories, ask before you submit the work — it’s much easier to clarify in advance than to resolve after the fact.
Some assignments may require the use of AI tools. In such cases, instructions will clearly explain how to use them.
❌ Limitations on AI use
AI tools should not be used to:
- Write reflections on course readings, personal experiences, or class discussions
- Synthesize learning from reading or other course materials — this includes asking AI to identify connections between readings, summarize what you learned, or organize your reflective thinking into an argument
- Generate the substantive content of any assignment where the point of the assignment is to demonstrate your own thinking, interpretation, or synthesis
The distinction: AI may polish language you’ve already generated. AI may not generate the ideas, connections, or reflective insight that the assignment is designed to assess. If AI is doing the thinking, it’s not permitted use — even if you rewrite it in your own words afterward.
AI tools are not participants in our classroom and cannot replicate the learning that occurs through discussion boards and engagement.
🔒 Data privacy
- Do not upload identifiable student work, names, or other FERPA‑protected information — including from field placements or practicum sites — into any AI tool.
- When testing tools like MagicSchool AI or Diffit on lesson materials, use fictional or de‑identified student examples only.
- Be cautious about uploading your own unpublished coursework or personal information into free/consumer AI tools, as you do not control how that data may be stored or used.
📌 Academic integrity requirements
To maintain academic integrity, if you use AI:
- Disclose it. Include an AI Acknowledgement anytime you use AI in an assignment (see below), regardless of how much or how little you used it.
- Cite it properly if you use direct AI‑generated text: place the text in quotation marks, provide an APA in‑text citation, and include the AI in your reference list (APA guidance).
Note: Direct quotation of AI output is only appropriate for permitted uses (e.g., quoting a sample quiz question AI generated for a lesson plan). It is not an acceptable way to incorporate AI’s words into a reflection, synthesis, or any assignment assessing your own thinking — even with a citation, quoting AI in place of your own analysis does not meet the assignment’s purpose.
Failure to properly cite AI‑generated content, or use of AI in a prohibited context, may be considered a violation of academic integrity under university policy.
On AI‑detection software: I do not use AI‑detection tools to determine whether a submission used AI. These tools produce a high rate of false positives and are documented to disproportionately flag multilingual writers and neurodivergent students, whose natural phrasing and sentence patterns can resemble what the software treats as “AI‑generated.” Academic integrity here is assessed through assignment design and the acknowledgment requirement below, not through detection software.
⚠️ Important considerations
AI‑generated content may:
- Be inaccurate, misleading, or biased
- Contain hallucinations (false or fabricated information)
- Lack proper or accurate citations (e.g., some tools provide incorrect or fabricated references)
You are responsible for verifying the accuracy and appropriateness of any AI‑generated content you choose to include.
📝 The AI acknowledgement requirement
Every assignment must include an AI Acknowledgement — regardless of whether you used AI or not.
If you used AI, your acknowledgement should include:
- The name of the AI tool used
- A description of how the tool was used
- A clear indication of which parts of the assignment were generated or assisted by AI
If you did not use AI, include a brief non‑use acknowledgement instead (see template below). This keeps the disclosure requirement consistent across all submissions and confirms the omission was intentional.
Where to include it
- Written documents (papers, lesson plans, reflections): at the end of the document, before references
- Slide decks: on the final slide, or in the speaker notes of the title slide
- Discussion board posts: as a final line or comment on the post itself
- Other formats: ask your instructor if placement is unclear
Citing AI in APA
Sample AI quotation (for permitted uses only):
“The science of reading encompasses the multidisciplinary study of cognitive, linguistic, and neurological processes involved in comprehending written language” (OpenAI, 2023).
Reference:
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com
For tools without a standard AI‑citation convention (e.g., MagicSchool, Diffit), cite using the same general APA format — tool name as author, year, tool name in italics with a bracketed descriptor, and the tool’s URL.
MagicSchool AI. (2025). MagicSchool [AI tool]. https://www.magicschool.ai
Full APA guidance on citing AI →
AI acknowledgement templates
The simpler, the better. Students fill in the blanks.
Use acknowledgement
I used name of AI tool to help me explain how you used it. It did explain what it did well well. I had to change explain what you had to change because tell me why. I would / would not use it again because tell me why.
Non‑use acknowledgement
I chose not to use AI because explain your reason. I would / would not choose not to use it again because tell me why.
More on why these frames work, and a worked example →
Co‑created with Claude acknowledgment
I hold myself to the same requirement I set for students.
I created the initial draft of this policy, then revised the policy using Claude for the 25–26 school year. I revisited the policy for the 26–27 year using Claude and made additional updates. I provided extensive responses to the prompts to create the final policy. I would use Claude again to help me update this policy because it reminded me to include the data privacy section and updated AI tools.
AI Acknowledgment Statements
The sentence frames in detail, why they work, and a worked example.
See the framework →Policy work with schools
I help departments and programs build policy like this at course, department, and program level.
See consulting services →The tools named here
What I recommend, why, and which ones I put in front of my own preservice teachers.
Browse the library →