Students in Aurora and across the region recently gathered to explore the practical use of artificial intelligence during the first ever Prompt-a-Thon hosted by the York Region District School Board. The event, held at the York University Markham Campus, gave students from Grades 7 to 12 the chance to apply their digital skills to real-world challenges.
The competition highlighted the board’s ongoing focus on digital literacy, as students worked in teams to develop solutions using approved tools like Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot. Among the teams participating, Aurora Heights Public School and Thornhill Secondary School were recognized as the winners of the inaugural event.
This initiative follows the board’s release of its Student AI Guidelines in January 2025. These guidelines were created to help students navigate technology through three main pillars: building knowledge, applying critical thinking, and maintaining accountability. Because there is currently no provincial policy mandating how these tools should be used in classrooms, school boards like this one are developing their own frameworks to ensure students can use technology while maintaining academic integrity.
To support this responsible approach, the board-approved tools are specifically selected because they do not use student data to train their models. Students are also taught that when they use generative AI to support their learning, they must clearly disclose and cite its use, following standard academic practices like APA or MLA style. This emphasis on transparency is designed to ensure that while students use these tools for support, they continue to rely on their own critical thinking and originality in their school work.
