The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a Medium for Digital Literacy in Learning at SMP Negeri 5 Sidoarjo

Abstract

This study examines the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, specifically ChatGPT and Gemini, as digital literacy media in secondary education, focusing on the learning process and its impacts at SMP Negeri 5 Sidoarjo. Employing a mixed-methods design, data were collected from 85 ninth-grade students and 15 teachers through Likert-scale questionnaires and in-depth interviews, which were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative triangulation. The findings reveal that AI adoption is predominantly driven by students' independent initiatives (informal learning) with high technical readiness, standing in contrast to the inconsistent instructional integration by teachers. While AI serves as an effective procedural scaffolding tool that improves information retrieval efficiency and problem-solving speed, it does not replace direct educator interaction in developing foundational conceptual understanding. Importantly, students exhibit a positive shift toward critical AI literacy by habitually verifying and re-curating AI outputs. However, challenges such as digital distractions, limited prompt literacy, network constraints, and fears of cognitive dependency remain. These results underscore the necessity of implementing a Human-in-the-Loop Pedagogy, enhancing teacher capacity through the AI-TPACK framework, and formulating institutional AI ethics guidelines to address Digital Divide 2.0 in developing contexts.