The Manitoba government recently hosted the province’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education Summit in Winnipeg to help schools in Altona and across Manitoba use new technology safely. The summit brought together more than 500 educators, school leaders and industry partners to discuss and launch development of a provincial framework — the “Guiding Principles on AI in Education” — to guide how generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT) can be used in classrooms.
The province says the Guiding Principles are intended to move away from reactive “banning” approaches and toward a literacy-first model that teaches students and staff how to use AI responsibly. For families in the Border Land School Division, the framework is meant to provide provincial “guardrails” and clearer guidance that local divisions can use when updating policies on student privacy and data management.
Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt said the goal is to use these tools to strengthen learning while ensuring teachers receive the training they need. The government has engaged Tom D’Amico of AI Leadership Consulting to provide advisory supports, including a five-part AI leadership webinar series and coaching for school leaders to build system readiness. The province also says AI can assist educators with administrative tasks such as lesson planning and support inclusive learning tools (for example, speech-to-text), which local schools like W.C. Miller Collegiate could adopt as guidance and resources are rolled out.
The summit also highlighted concerns about equity and the “digital divide,” with participants from urban, rural, northern and Indigenous communities. Provincial supports and the Guiding Principles are intended to help ensure rural divisions have access to training and resources, and to give educators tools to manage academic-integrity challenges while responsibly using new AI software.
