How an Ottawa school board is paving the way for AI in the classroom

When students return to Catholic schools in Ottawa this week, they'll have the option to use artificial intelligence (AI) to assist with math problems and create essay outlines.

Teachers will also have access to AI tools to help generate lesson plans, tailor content to individual student needs, and provide feedback on assignments.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board is leading the way in integrating AI into classrooms, with newly developed guiding principles for AI use across all grade levels. This comes at a time when many school boards in Canada are still figuring out how to responsibly incorporate this rapidly advancing technology.

The board aims to find the right balance in ethically using AI, including generative AI, while also educating its 45,000 students on digital literacy.

“AI is integral to almost everything students and teachers will encounter in their lives,” said Tom D’Amico, the board’s director of education, in an interview.

An expert pointed out that no other school board in Ontario seems to be taking such concrete steps in developing AI policies.

“I’ve been in touch with many Ontario school boards and the Ministry of Education over the past six months, and everyone is looking to the Ottawa Catholic School Board as a model,” said Mark Daley, chief artificial intelligence officer at Western University.

Students will be able to use AI to brainstorm ideas for projects or essays, summarize complex documents, or create visuals for presentations.

For younger students in kindergarten through Grade 6, AI use will be primarily guided by teachers. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini will be restricted to students aged 13 and older, following the service providers’ guidelines.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board emphasizes that AI will not replace fundamental literacy skills like reading, writing, and using books.

“There may be opportunities for younger students to use AI in ways that reshape or re-envision classroom activities,” said Julian Daher, a learning technologies consultant for the board. “But a Grade 1 student won’t be sitting at a device using AI every day.”

Teachers will have access to programs like Brisk Teaching and SchoolAI, which can help them organize their classes, develop instructional materials, and make lessons more accessible for students with disabilities or those learning English.

The board has set a rule that AI can only contribute up to 80 percent of lesson planning, with the remaining 20 percent personalized and directly provided by the teacher, who must validate the AI's input.

D’Amico also mentioned that the board has established a privacy and data security framework for staff to follow before using any additional AI tools.

“Staff will review any AI tool they plan to use with students to ensure it doesn’t sell information to third parties or mishandle student data,” D’Amico said.

He stressed that AI is not intended to replace teachers but to free up their time so they can focus more on students.

“We see AI as a way to save time, allowing teachers to better connect with students, which will lead to improved student achievement,” he said.

The board’s new digital literacy lessons, emphasizing critical thinking, aim to help students understand the risks of AI, such as academic cheating, deepfakes, and misinformation.

“We view this as a valuable teaching opportunity for students to critically assess AI-generated content and consider whether it perpetuates existing biases or if they can use it to create a better world,” D’Amico said.

Daley from Western University added that digital literacy lessons are the most crucial aspect of the board’s AI education goals.

“It’s about preparing students to navigate a world where they have access to powerful technology, and understanding the responsibility that comes with it,” he said.