Officials with the Wild Rose School Division are looking for input from the Government of Alberta and other sources when it comes to developing a policy for the use of Artificial Intelligence in classrooms.

According to Wild Rose School Division Superintendent Brad Volkman, while there is not currently a policy in place detailing how or if students can use Artificial Intelligence, the division does recognize the potential of AI as a tool and wants to make sure students know how to utilize it properly.

“It’s a big topic right now,” says Volkman. “We are just trying to decide how we can best support teachers and students in the proper use of artificial intelligence because it’s here and it’s one of those tools that people need to learn how to use, our students need to learn how to use, but to use it in a way that makes the most sense.”

When asked if there were any concerns about students currently using AI improperly, Volkman said there are steps being taken to maintain the authenticity of work completed by students.

“Our director of learning services has met with some of our teachers to talk about how we can best monitor the use of this tool so that we still have a good sense of what’s student writing and what’s not student writing,” explained Volkman.

He also noted the school division is looking for more input from various sources before moving forward with an official policy.

“We’re just starting the discussions,” says Volkman. “We’ve had some discussions here within our division with teachers, we’re having some discussions with other school divisions. Some of our directors are talking to their directors to determine what’s the best way to move forward. We’re just kind of at that stage right now without any final policies or procedures at this point.”

However, just because there are no official policies in place at the moment, doesn’t mean they won’t be coming later. Volkman says with the pace at which AI is evolving, it’s important to make sure any future policies adopted by the Wild Rose School Division adhere to a coherent standard.

“We haven’t come up with a standard yet, there’s so much happening in this particular area,” admits Volkman. “We are looking to the government for some help and advice, and we’re looking to other organizations like the College of Alberta School Superintendents and the Alberta School Boards Association. It’s being discussed at every level at this point without any policy or procedure that’s been produced yet, at least not in our school division.”

Many school divisions across the province, including the Wild Rose School Division, are expected to have official policies regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence in the classroom established by the start of the 2024/2025 school year.