One year after bringing Microsoft Copilot to the classroom, Revelstoke’s school district is starting an important conversation with families about how students can engage successfully with artificial intelligence (AI).
School District 19 (SD19) hosted a 90-minute event Wednesday evening, March 11, where dozens of parents and some school staff joined to hear presentations on AI is and brainstorm its educational use locally.
The district said it’s committed to taking a thoughtful, transparent and values-based approach to AI. Michael Haworth, district vice-principal of technology who’s taught for 27 years, emphasized AI’s potential to be both a collaborator and co-creator for students and teachers.
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“Another way to look at this is as an essential tool,” he suggested.
While programs such as SchoolAI and MagicSchool haven’t entered use in SD19’s programming, Haworth explained how even design tools such as Canva can be useful toward creating academic calendars and brainstorming images, for example.
Copilot, a generative AI-assisted chatbot that helps students navigate and use Microsoft apps, is another program he said the district has been augmenting classroom learning with for about a year, through a paid subscription.
Haworth remembers how, back when Google first came out before the turn of the century, it was still always best practice to fact-check information online via multiple websites for school research.
“This was incredibly important,” he noted. “I think that this has become even more critical in the AI era.”
Marcus Blair, a humanities and English educator who serves as Summerland Secondary School’s generative AI support teacher and a member of Okanagan Skaha School District’s AI working group, also spoke to parents Wednesday.
Blair went so far as describing AI literacy as part of being an educated citizen, and equally valuable to have as skills in critical thinking, ethical decision-making and responsible use of technology.
In B.C., school districts lean on AI principles of transparency, accountability, fairness and safety set by the Ministry of Education. They must also comply with federal data protection and privacy law under Canada’s Artificial Intelligence and Data Act. But districts implement their own AI policies and guidelines as well.
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Parents had a chance Wednesday to discuss SD19’s new AI Scope and Sequence guidelines, developed by teacher librarians for three different age groups spanning K-12.
One concern a parent brought forward asked the district to consider its core values around supporting AI, and its stance on endorsing tech giants such as Google and Microsoft.
Six different question prompts further allowed parents to write their ideas on large sheets and bounce off each other’s thinking. They jotted down points about needing to verify information, establish dos and don’ts for using AI, train teachers in the technology, set age use restrictions, and continue to foster human connection and creativity.
Wendy Rota, an SD19 trustee, recently visited Kamloops for a school trustee conference where other districts shared their approaches to AI.
She told Black Press Media one of the most successful strategies she heard about has been engaging students on AI technology and literacy early in their education.
One Arrow Heights Elementary School educator, who teaches Grade 4, said students can be practising Canva, Copilot and other programs at home with their parents, too.
SD19 superintendent Roberta Kubik concluded that Wednesday’s event was about more than just exploring AI tools, but also engaging as a community to ask hard questions and think critically about how emerging technologies intersect with learning, creativity and well-being.
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But “this conversation does not end here,” Kubik said in her closing remarks. “As AI continues to evolve, so too will our learning, our practices and our commitment to transparency and collaboration. We deeply value your voice in that ongoing process.”
Haworth told Black Press Media that parents’ feedback from the event will be reviewed by SD19’s administration, so next steps can be decided.
In short, he said navigating AI in the classroom will be a marathon over time for Revelstoke’s schools, rather than a sprint.