Written by
Jason Van Leest
There can be no denying that Generative Artificial Intelligence, or GenAI, has become pervasive in our day-to-day lives. It is almost impossible to browse online without seeing advertisements for the latest app that is “powered by AI.” As educators, Loyola College staff understand that this bombardment requires guidance and instruction. Then our students can be equipped with the skills and knowledge to evaluate and critically use AI as part of their education.
In this landscape, as a Microsoft Lighthouse School, Loyola College students have access to the full suite of Microsoft Office apps under the cyber protection of their student accounts. Microsoft’s version of GenAI chat, Copilot, is a safe and secure way for students to access the benefits of GenAI with the reassurance of keeping their data protected.
Loyola staff mentor appropriate use of Copilot, but ultimately, we want our students to be independent users of GenAI. To guide them in this process we have created the GenAI Guidelines for Students and the accompanying poster. These resources provide an overview of how and when students can use Gen AI in a safe and responsible manner to ensure it maximises the potential of their learning.
Because true understanding comes from the process of thinking and creating, our GenAI guidelines include one essential rule:
Generative AI is not to be used by students to produce work
This rule is not about restricting our students; it is about preserving their learning.
At Loyola College we value authentic learning. We want our students to produce work that reflects their own thinking, a skill that will remain relevant from VCE exams to real-world problem solving. Students who bypass the drafting process miss out on the valuable opportunity to build their own individual perspective, voice and confidence.
We encourage students to be critical users of GenAI by crafting prompts that inspire the students to be responsible for their own thinking, drafting and workload. GenAI can be used to answer questions and provide insights but, as it is a tool that hallucinates, learning to cross-check AI output is itself part of developing digital literacy.
Technology changes daily, and at Loyola College we all aspire to be lifelong learners by adapting to change and understanding it. By using secure GenAI tools, learning how to appropriately incorporate them into our learning and avoiding using them to produce work for us, GenAI does not replace learning. It amplifies it.
