ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM

Abstract

Having moved from disbelief and distrust through caution and restraint, artificial intelligence has now firmly found its way into Serbian classrooms. It has found particularly fertile ground in the teaching of Serbian Language and Literature, the most extensively taught subject in primary schools and one of the core subjects in secondary education, not least because of qualities inherent in literature itself, such as fictionality, narrativity, imagination, and creativity. This paper explores the pedagogical uses of artificial intelligence and social media in literature teaching, focusing on the interpretation of literary works included in the required reading curriculum for the upper grades of primary school. As students increasingly rely on digital tools to assist them in interpreting works they are required to read and, subsequently, in producing their own literary writing, teachers have found themselves working in a transformed classroom and facing new educational challenges. Rather than lamenting these changed circumstances, the reflective twenty-first-century teacher can recognise humanised bots as digital assistants: tools capable of facilitating teaching and broadening the range of classroom activities. A fundamental prerequisite, however, is an awareness of the ethical imperatives surrounding the use of such innovations, principles that teachers should observe in their own practice and encourage their students to follow. Allowing artificial intelligence and social media into the classroom may have become inevitable, but the ways in which they are used can still be negotiated between teachers and students. By establishing clear parameters for the use of these technologies, students gain greater scope for choice, while teachers can foster creativity within an appropriately structured environment. The aim of this paper is therefore to present examples of good practice in the use of artificial intelligence in teaching and to highlight ways in which AI can foster students’ critical thinking and creative expression. Through examples of specific tools and completed student projects, the paper demonstrates how artificial intelligence can help teachers adapt instruction to students’ needs. It also considers the potential of AI as an innovative educational tool while positioning the teacher as a moderator and facilitator whose role remains essential if modern technologies are to be used purposefully and meaningfully.