In the past, students in schools would submit essays and teachers would grade them. The work is done.
Go into “thinking mode”. Now, in some schools in Australia, when students complete an assignment, AI chatbots ask them questions about it, engaging them in an on-the-spot two-way conversation to make sure they really understand what they’ve written.
“Can you explain this a little more?” A chatbot might say, “What does that word mean?”
It’s not just about teaching classes. This is also a way to ensure students do their own thinking without relying on plagiarism or ChatGPT.
At Hills Christian Community School in the Adelaide Hills, this technology is just one of the ways teachers and students are using artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to advance learning.
Students also use sensors, drones, and coding to learn about natural ecosystems, from rivers to pollinators and shrubland habitats. Students with disabilities such as language limitations have access to Meta AI glasses with built-in speakers that explain what’s happening without disrupting the classroom.
Colleen O’Rourke, the school’s head of digital innovation, says her philosophy is that “educators use AI tools to amplify good practice, not dilute it.”
“You can’t lose the human element in this,” she says. “AI is a co-collaborator of the three elements: teacher and student.”
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However, while AI is being implemented in innovative ways in Australian schools, it is not being implemented in all schools or evenly.
The independent schools’ peak body is calling on the federal government to tackle national AI exams. Otherwise, we risk creating a “two-speed system” and widening educational inequality.
An Independent Schools Australia (ISA) paper released on Monday analyzed how schools across the country are integrating generative AI into teaching and learning, three years after the release of ChatGPT.
We found that the speed at which schools adopt AI varies widely depending on geography and resources.
After the ban on AI technology was lifted at the end of 2023, only two jurisdictions, New South Wales and South Australia, have introduced AI programs in public schools.
ISA CEO Graham Catt said Australia was at a critical point in determining whether AI would become a tool of equity or inequality.
“If we don’t act intentionally now, we risk creating a two-speed system,” Catt said. “Some schools will make strides, while others will struggle to catch up.”
The newspaper called on the federal government to launch a national, sector-specific pilot AI program and provide a pathway for how the technology can be adopted ethically and where funding should be directed.
The latest Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), released in 2024, found that two-thirds of Australian secondary school teachers and just under half of primary school teachers use AI in their work, ranking Australia among the countries with the highest adoption rates of the technology.
However, teachers also expressed caution about the negative impact AI could have on student well-being, privacy issues and the potential for plagiarism, suggesting the need for better instruction and safeguards.
In independent schools, large-scale language models (LLMs), a type of AI system, are already being used to help teachers mark, provide feedback to students, identify learning gaps, and act as one-on-one tutors.
NSWEduChat, a department-owned generative AI tool, will be deployed in all public schools in New South Wales and can ask guided questions to encourage critical thinking to support teachers’ lesson planning and student learning.
South Australia’s EdChat chatbot was also rolled out across the state in 2025. Early results show it saves teachers time and particularly helps students with language and learning barriers.
Rourke said teachers are scrambling to understand how technology is changing and need proper training.
“If teachers don’t know how to use things responsibly, they can’t teach children how to use them responsibly.”
