Council of River Heights students has cabinet minister’s ear on value of AI, other tech in education

River Heights teens want their high schools to embrace technology — the possibilities of artificial intelligence, in particular — rather than ban it.

Grade 11 student Salina Lupu uses AI-powered chatbots to help her strategize how best to manage her time when she’s working on a major project.

Matias Lastra, 17, keeps these tools in his back pocket when he needs to break down a complex math equation or the process to solve it.

The new Kelvin High School student council co-presidents shared how they’re using the technology to do their homework with government officials this week.

“(AI) can be a really helpful tool if used properly and if we’re taught how-to use it properly,” Salina said.

Mike Moroz, Manitoba’s minister of innovation and new technology, has created an inter-school council to hash out policies on AI and other issues affecting students.

The MLA for River Heights has begun inviting public and private school students from his constituency to meet at the legislature on a semi-regular basis.

“Kids don’t get the credit they deserve for how much they think about the world around them,” said Moroz, who taught high school drama and humanities before he ran for public office in 2023.

Kelvin, Gray Academy, Grant Park High School and St. Mary’s Academy make up his newly formed council.

Moroz said it is “critically important” that students from these schools understand their voices have value and the government provides a microphone.

Technology, affordable housing and environmental and social justice issues are among the topics they’ve discussed to date, he said.

On Monday, the last day of the spring legislative session, a half-dozen students gathered at 450 Broadway for the council’s second official meeting.

Student leaders found common ground related to their thoughts on the growing role of smartphones and AI in education and how the technologies are viewed by adults around them.

The Manitoba government banned the use of cellphones during classes, except when teachers approve their use for educational or inclusion purposes, at the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

“It’s difficult to ban technology when we require it,” said Chinanuokum Onyiuke, a Grade 12 student at St. Mary’s.

The 18-year-old noted screens have been deeply embedded into her school experience.

“We use Teams every single day,” she said.

Many teachers across the province use Microsoft Teams as a virtual extension of their classroom. Students can send messages and upload assignments to the software program via phones, tablets and laptops.

Members of the River Heights inter-school council acknowledged their teachers are grappling with how to police phone usage and AI-related plagiarism, but they said outlawing the tools is not the answer.

“There’s a lot of fear from the educators’ side because they don’t know how to approach this and they’re thinking of (technology) more as a threat to our education than a resource,” said Diana Bonakdar, 16.

The St. Mary’s Grade 11 student said she told Moroz about the need “to shift our mindset” to view AI as a tool that can speed up processes rather than something to be feared.

Moroz is planning to have students get together about once every two months throughout the rest of his term.

The setup is unique in that some participants rarely mingle — despite attending schools across the street from one another, in the case of Kelvin and St. Mary’s.

Manitoba Education runs a separate student advisory council. It consists of 30 high school students from campuses across Manitoba.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca