24 January is International Day of Education, created by the UN in support of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) - the right to equitable and inclusive education for all.
According to UNESCO, 250 million children and youth are out of school, and 763 million adults are illiterate. The day is an important opportunity for us all to acknowledge the role education plays in fostering peace and social equality, and to recognise the continued importance of improving access to education worldwide.
Each year the theme highlights a current trend or pressing issue, to encourage both international discussion and action. The theme for 2025 is AI and Education: Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation, which asks us all to consider how education can equip us to better understand and utilise technologies.
“As computer and AI-driven systems become more sophisticated, the boundaries between human intention and machine-driven action often blur, raising critical questions about how to preserve, redefine, and, ideally, elevate human agency in an age of technological acceleration.” - UNESCO
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to ‘computer systems that can absorb information, process it, and respond in ways similar to humans’. Generative AI is a subset of AI that can learn to create entirely new images, audio, video or text using vast amounts of training data,
While generative AI has been used to create overviews on topics, essays, and artwork, the information it generates is not always correct. Therefore the use of generative AI for schoolwork raises important questions about how schools should regulate the use of these programs and how curriculums might need to change to reflect this new reality.
Developing Media Literacy for Well-being, Relationships and Democracy
Learning to Navigate Generative AI
Conscious of these opportunities and challenges, we have included a lesson on Learning to Navigate Generative AI in our 10-lesson unit Developing Media Literacy to Support Well-being, Relationships and Democracy.
The two-part lesson asks students to explore what generative AI is and the impact that it can have on both education and society. In the first part of the lesson, students reflect on inventions, learn about generative AI and consider how it can be used in schools. In the second part, students reflect on how they verify information, consider the potential for generative AI to spread misinformation, and learn about steps to verify information they see online. The lesson concludes by exploring how generative AI can impact the world of visual media.
UNESCO also has a number of online resources to encourage you and your students in exploring how through education we can better understand and utilise AI technologies in support of human rights, sustainable development and progress.
