There’s no doubt that Australian teachers would like to have more time.
Some tasks, including reviewing just one student assessment, can take teachers up to 30 to 40 minutes to complete.
But what if there were a tool that could do the same work in mere seconds?
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, like ChatGPT, present opportunities for greater efficiency in a variety of different sectors.
And while AI’s ability to produce realistic, human-like content has long sparked concerns about its impact on students’ learning, a framework exists in Australia to guide the responsible and ethical use of it in ways that benefit students, schools, and society.
Tech giants have also accelerated their plans to embed generative AI in our education systems.
Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic recently announced they were funding a $US23 million ($35 million) AI teaching hub in New York for educators, to help them learn how to better integrate AI tools in classrooms.
So could there be a future where generative AI is embraced in schools, more than it’s feared?
‘Genie not going back in the bottle’
After ChatGPT was launched by OpenAI in November 2022, education departments across Australia swiftly banned its use by students.
There were concerns that, due to the sophistication of the tool, it would be difficult to detect when students were using AI to plagiarise content.
“Students have certainly taken to the technology very quickly. The concern, of course, is that this genie is not going back in the bottle,” David Braue, a technology journalist at Cybercrime Magazine, tells ABC Radio National’s Download This Show.
When it comes to AI, teachers need to be aware of their obligations regarding data and the fairness of content, says David Braue. (Supplied: David Braue )
The Australian Framework for Generative AI in Schools was released by the federal government in late 2023 to address the challenges and opportunities presented by these tools to teachers and students. There is a plan to review the framework annually.
But RMIT computing professor Michael Cowling says we need to consider the opportunities these tools present as well.
“When we first started talking about generative AI, we were very focused on academic integrity … that’s one component,” he says.
“But another is teaching the teachers what they can use this tool for effectively. In doing so, you help them to understand what it’s used for.
“And that means, ultimately, your students understand better what it’s useful for as well.”
South Australia’s use of AI in schools
While many Australian schools had banned generative AI use by 2023, the South Australian government took a different approach.
They were the first state to trial a generative AI chatbot they developed with Microsoft, called EdChat.
EdChat is a generative AI chatbot tool that is customised for a school environment. The chatbot has access to the same data as ChatGPT, but it doesn’t send out user information.
Students and teachers prompt the tool by asking questions they’d like to learn more about.
Adelaide Botanic High School uses EdChat today, and principal Sarah Chambers says that she is grateful to be working in a school that engages with this issue differently.
Adelaide Botanic High School has embraced the generative AI tool, EdChat. (ABC Radio Adelaide: Laila Ferrier)
“I think the thing I appreciate about the approach is to not shy away from this challenge, to really look to the reality that this is a technology that will influence how we work, from now and into the future, because it’s not going anywhere,” she says.
“And to acknowledge that and create a tool that responds to some of the challenges that we do know exist around AI.”
Other challenges, besides plagiarism, include ensuring the security of students’ data and filtering content that is presented to students adequately.
The EdChat tool being used in South Australia includes safety features to address these challenges, including a content filter that the department says “blocks inappropriate requests”.
The challenges of teachers using AI
While generative AI is a challenge for educators, it’s not dissimilar to issues they have always faced.
“For teachers to design assessments of learning that are genuinely capturing a student’s growth is a high-level skill,” Ms Chambers says.
“We always have challenges around plagiarism and students using other sources … generative AI has just simply provided a more sophisticated tool for students to be able to do that.”
As Australian schools cautiously embrace AI tools, another challenge could be that teachers will rely on AI too much.
Professor Cowlings believes “it’s OK for [teachers] to be reliant on AI as long as they understand how to use it”.
Mr Braue says that isn’t enough to safeguard against the risks.
Michael Cowling says we need to be open to the opportunities AI can provide. (Supplied: Michael Cowling)
“Even if they know how to use it, they [teachers] may not be aware of their obligations for data protection,” he says.
Fairness of content is another issue schools must consider when it comes to AI applications, according to Mr Braue.
“We know that a lot of the AI models that are out there are biased in terms of gender and ethnicity … that is a reality for these models,” he says.
“So teachers need to be very aware that what they’re producing needs to be objectively looked at through these lenses… It can’t just be about getting stuff done faster.”
Do we need a national approach?
Following South Australia’s AI trial, several states and territories have announced their own, including Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales.
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But this approach is not adequate, according to the Productivity Commission (PC). It handed down an interim report last week recommending that AI integration in schools needs to be Australia-wide.
“A national approach would aid innovation, support equal access to high-quality tools, and spread the benefits to all,” the report stated.
Ms Chambers says generative AI is a tool that schools need to adapt to quickly.
“It’s a ‘learning with’ model that’s needed … we actually have to recognise that the technology is developing faster than the expertise.”
She says she hopes future expansion of these tools is based on feedback from schools, like Adelaide Botanic, which have been using it for some time.
“We should be listening to the voices of people who are leading in this work, but also ensure that we’ve got opportunities to share that emerging work that’s happening on the ground.”
Ms Chambers says it’s important students learn how to navigate generative AI tools for their futures.
“We know the access to the knowledge is there, but their ability to understand what is good quality information, what is valid information, reliable sources, this presents a really broad perspective or ethical moral consideration of the issue at hand.
“Those thinking skills and creativity skills, they are even more important than ever.”