P.E.I. teachers go back to school to learn the best ways to use AI in the classroom

P.E.I. teachers go back to school to learn the best ways to use AI in the classroom

More than 2,000 public school staffers have signed up for educational courses

Navigating artificial intelligence in P.E.I. classrooms

Artificial intelligence appears to be here to stay, and P.E.I. teachers and the education department are trying to keep up with the technology.

Hundreds of teachers in the province have signed up for courses on AI being offered by the department, giving educators some guidance on how to use it in classrooms.

Manager of English education services Jane Hastelow said there are challenges that come with AI, but there are also "some exciting opportunities." She said the department has made efforts to keep up with new developments to ensure a safe environment for students and teachers.

"Some teachers are using this to streamline their own kind of paperwork and their workload, that allows them more time to work individually with students, some are using it very confidently in the classroom, others … do as much as they need to do, but really don't engage as much."

Adam Dubé, professor of learning sciences at McGill University, said he sees schools adapt to AI, but it shouldn't change how students learn and teachers teach, adding "we know what good learning looks like."

"It looks like you doing the work. It looks like doing meaningful work," he said.

"We need to leverage what is good teaching and learning and then use technologies where appropriate within that process."

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Dubé said it is good to ask questions about how AI is being used in classrooms, and that people should speak up.

"Artificial intelligence isn't some abstract tool that just exists. It's a product that's made by a company," he said. "They're made by companies with profit motives, and that's important to consider when we talk about the future of AI in education."

The education department has a professional development day this week with three AI courses on streamlining work, how to assess students who may have used AI and other topics. More than 2,000 have signed up for the courses in the two years they have been offered.

Hastelow said educators are dedicated to their occupations and are using AI as a means to "enhance learning and not replacing it."

"It's not a passing fad. It's here to stay. It's only going to develop and it develops very quickly," she said.

"We need to, at the department, make sure that we keep on top of what the latest developments are so that we can ensure that teachers have the information that they need and are able to support students with that."

Lucas McInnis is a journalist at CBC Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at lucas.mcinnis@cbc.ca.