From the Deputy Principals

Artifical Intelligence (AI) in Education

It is impossible to ignore the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on various aspects of our lives, including education. As technology increasingly becomes an integral part of the teaching and learning process, it is helpful to identify AI's advantages and disadvantages to student learning.  As a starting point for learning, apps such as ChatGPT are useful for students to critically evaluate a piece of generated writing against assessment criteria. This critical evaluation assists in developing the skills required to identify areas of strength and weakness within the written text. 

However, there are significant concerns regarding student dependence on the use of this technology, particularly with assessment. While AI offers numerous benefits, balancing technology and human interaction is crucial. Assessing student understanding is a critical component of the teaching and learning process. If a student is heavily reliant on AI to produce written work, then this does not reflect their ability, or improve their skill development.

AI-based apps can potentially enhance the efficiency of completing written assessment tasks however, responding to written assessment tasks often involves human judgement, considering factors such as creativity, critical thinking, and unique perspectives. AI relies on predefined algorithms and may produce written work which lacks the human perspective, contextual understanding, and critical evaluation. Skills which are required in assessments within the senior years. 

Keeping this in mind it is important to reflect on our assessment procedures here at Camden High School. Ensuring that the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) requirements are met for years 10, 11 and 12, students must submit work that is not plagiarised and is reflective of their ability. Using AI programs to produce written responses would not constitute the students own work and be deemed malpractice. If malpractice is suspected, students will be required to provide evidence that the submitted work is entirely their own.  Our assessment policy has been updated to reflect the increasing use of AI in education.