With Artificial Intelligence (AI) becoming more commonly used in daily life and academia, Holy Trinity Catholic School Division (HTCSD) has created an Administrative Procedure to address its use for students and staff.
“With all new technology, I think it’s important for school divisions to pay attention to it, to make sure that it’s used properly,” said Ward Streuby, director of education with HTCSD.
Streuby said that Mark Selinger, supervisor of learning and technology with the division, did an initial audit to look at existing policies, before working with the division’s executive council and administrative council to devise their own policy.
“We just want to make sure that, number one, we’re protecting the privacy of our staff and our students with the new technology,” explained Streuby.
“When you feed in personal information, that information is stored. We want to make sure staff and students are aware that you don’t share personal information when you’re using AI.”
He added that the procedure outlines guidelines around copyright and intellectual property when it comes to the information provided by AI.
“We also want to make sure that we’re using it ethically and respectfully. For example, we don’t want students to be putting AI in on different students and making them say things they didn’t do.”
He said that they’re currently creating professional development sessions for staff and students around using AI. “We know AI is not going anywhere, so we want to make sure that it’s used properly, and really supports and enhances learning instead of some of the negative things that can happen.”
The administrative procedure document outlines that students could face discipline if it’s discovered they submitted AI work as their own. Streuby said what discipline entails will depend on the situation, and that educating students on acceptable uses of AI is one of the primary goals.
“I think it’s better to be proactive - put policies and procedures in place to use it ethically, and responsibly.”