Artificial Intelligence (AI), or more specifically, Generative AI, has become a massive talking point in public discourse, questioning whether it threatens jobs, whether the things it produces should be copyrighted, and if it is morally reprehensible to use. While the discussion is mainly focused around the creative and professional fields, it is also directly affecting the education system. 

Tanya Polasek, an English teacher for MacGregor Collegiate Institute, shares how she dealt with students using Generative AI.

"I know that I've seen students already just typing a topic into ChatCPT and, pop, there is an essay and I'm going to send that in as is." Polasek explains, "Last year, at sort of the beginning of when AI just came out, there were several instances of that type of behaviour. There are a lot of tells when students are using this. It doesn't sound like them at all. Every student has their own voice in their writing and I've taught these students for a number of years, so I understand what types of sentences and the words they use."

She speaks on the difficulty of proving whether students used AI.

"That was the hard part for me. I don't like to accuse people of cheating, unless I have undeniable proof. When someone copies and pastes something from the Internet, it's usually fairly easy to find and, boom, this is where you got it from, it's undeniable. But, with ChatGPT or other generative AI, it's original. It's not a students original work, but it is an original piece. It was interesting, actually, to see some of the things that (AI) just invented. Story characters that have names wrong and events that happened in the story were completely fabricated. That was funny to read that. It's like, 'Sorry students, your AI let you down.'"

The English teacher noted that she has shifted a lot of the classwork from written words to in-class discussions, instilling in her pupils the message, "Don't outsource your thinking."

Outside of the English curriculum, other educators have adopted AI in a different way. Applied Commerce Teacher at Portage Collegiate Institute Jasmin Phipps, views Generative AI as a tool for teachers to help them accomplish more.

"I think there are lots of opportunities to do what teachers want to do, but don't have enough time to do." Phipps comments, "For example, I generate articles for background information. So, in the past, what I would have done is find articles somewhere and shorten them or just print them as is, and then write my own questions about them. But the problem could be that they are too long, or they're written for adults. Now I can generate an article to any length I want, in a tone that I want. I can say, 'Make an article about income tax in Canada that is 350 words long and write it in language that can be understood by Grade 10 students.' It will do that."

Phipps is a part of a collaboration group in the Portage la Prairie School Division that has a focus on using AI in education. She shared that some use cases included better translating for French Immersion classes, making simple word problems for younger students, and teaching children how they can better communicate their imaginations.

"One thing we tried in this group is have students generate images. It's a fun activity. It is a great way to practice communication. They start out not explaining in detail what they are envisioning, but when they get an immediate response in form of an image, they know instantly; 'Oh, this is not quite what I wanted, I want this instead.' In the process, they're practicing communication."

The Applied Commerce Teacher left her final thoughts on the subject.

"My main message is, just try it out. Don't be afraid. You will learn about its limitations. It's like talking to a person. It's like having an assistant with infinite time on their hands to help you."

On the topic of Generative AI, both educators shared positive and negative stances. But looking ahead, they are both optimistic that it can be used to benefit the education system instead of a crutch for students to cut corners.