Generative artificial intelligence has moved quickly from a speculative concept to an everyday reality in education. Since late 2022, AI tools have become widely accessible, prompting both excitement and unease across K-12 systems. For educators, school leaders, and policymakers, the question is no longer whether AI will shape education, but how it should be integrated in ways that are ethical, responsible, and aligned with the core values of schooling.
That question was at the heart of a recent national webinar hosted by the EdCan Network, in partnership with Engaged Learning by École branchée1 and The Dais2. Bringing together voices from research, school leadership, technology services, and policy, the panel explored how Canadian education systems can navigate AI thoughtfully, without fear, bans, or blind adoption.
What emerged was not a checklist of tools, but a shared conviction: ethical AI use in education begins with human judgment, trust, and collective responsibility.
Opening the conversation, Kathleen Lane, Executive Director of the EdCan Network and facilitator for this Webinar series, framed AI not simply as a technological issue, but as a moral one. Ethics in information technology, she noted, refers to the principles that guide how people interact with technology—principles that are especially critical in schools, where issues of privacy, equity, academic integrity, and student well-being are inseparable from learning itself.
Across Canada, AI has sparked polarized reactions. Some educators see promise; others fear loss of control, increased cheating, or deepened inequities. In some cases, calls to ban AI in schools have gained traction.
Yet when asked directly whether AI should be embraced in K–12 education, all four panelists responded with a clear and unanimous yes, with important conditions.
For Sally Smith, Director of Technology Services at Foothills School Division in Alberta, embracing AI is an ethical obligation.
“It’s our responsibility to prepare our students for the world they’re going to live and work in,” she said. “AI will be a foundational part of that world, and ignoring it would leave students unprepared and disadvantaged.”
Smith emphasized that the real ethical question is not whether AI is used, but how. When AI reduces operational complexity and frees educators to focus on teaching and learning, it fulfills its promise. When it complicates practice or undermines professional judgment, it fails that test.
Kara Johnstone, Director of Education Services at New Frontiers School Board, echoed that perspective, stressing that ethical adoption requires intention.
“Embracing AI means understanding its implications and developing thoughtful frameworks around its use,” she explained. “It’s not about adopting every new tool, it’s about ensuring that students develop the digital literacy, critical thinking, and ethical grounding they need to navigate an AI-driven world safely and confidently.”
For Marc-André Girard, Adviser at the RÉCIT national network for school administrators and a school principal in Quebec, the long-term horizon makes the issue even more urgent.
“The kids starting kindergarten next year will retire around 2080,” he noted. “We need to ask ourselves: are we preparing these kids correctly… to be able to face all the challenges that the 21st century will bring, or the 22nd century will bring… we need to prepare them for all kind of opportunities, challenges that might arise… I cannot see why education and how education can avoid facing the use of AI.”
From a research perspective, Viviane Vallerand, education researcher and lecturer at Université Laval and coordinator at the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technology (OBVIA), raised an important concern: who gets to shape AI’s role in education.
“Right now, it’s mostly private companies and people from the field of technology who are shaping the way AI will take place among the world of education,” she said. “If we want to make sure that the place that AI will have is to help teachers and students… we need them to understand this technology so they can be part of this conversation.”
Moving from principle to practice, the discussion turned to classrooms, where teachers face an overwhelming volume of guidance, tools, and rapid change.
Smith urged educators to begin with purpose rather than novelty.
“Teachers should ask: how does this tool enhance learning, rather than shortcut it? (…) AI should serve as an assistant, not an authority.”
Across the panel, several shared ethical anchors emerged:
Vallerand expanded on this framework, drawing on research conducted at OBVIA in collaboration with Quebec’s Ministry of Education. Their guide for educators (available in French) rests on three criteria: educational, ethical, and legal.
Beyond transparency and equity, she highlighted an often-overlooked principle: digital sobriety.
“The use of AI has a huge impact on the environmental,” she explained. “The first question you ask yourself is: do I really need to use it? ” She goes on to explain that sometimes a dictionary—digital or paper—does the job with a much smaller footprint.
She also warned against AI “hallucinations” and stressed the importance of triangulating information, particularly when users lack expertise in a subject area.
Girard returned to the idea of agency—the ability to act intentionally rather than passively accepting technological outputs.
“They (students) need to be working with the AI not to be replaced by it,” he said. He goes on to quote Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan, who warned, “first we build tools, then tools build us.”
From his perspective, AI amplifies the need to teach transversal, or transferable, skills—critical thinking, collaboration, creativity—alongside traditional literacies.
Johnstone emphasized that AI should be approached as a supportive tool that extends teaching practice rather than replacing critical thinking or the human elements of learning. She stressed the importance of building teachers’ confidence with AI so they can guide students toward responsible use, informed choice, and strong data-protection practices.
“AI is a tool. It’s not a replacement for critical thinking or the human aspect of things.”
If ethical AI use begins in classrooms, it is sustained—or undermined—by leadership decisions at the system level.
Johnstone described the dual responsibility facing school boards: awareness and empowerment. She emphasized the importance of awareness and responsible leadership in using digital tools:
“First and foremost within all of that is the awareness… at the same time is that empowerment piece,” highlighting the need to protect students and staff while teaching ethical practices to teachers, students, and the wider community. That includes engaging parents in the conversation and ensuring consistent messaging across departments.
Smith stressed that implementing AI in schools must be purposeful, pragmatic, and ethically guided, with the priority being to “make sure that we’re using AI to enable education and reduce operational burden.”
She highlighted the importance of clear policies, staff training, and equitable access to AI tools, emphasizing that “AI is a tool. It can accelerate planning, differentiation and feedback but educators need to remain the decision makers in all of that.”
Smith also noted practical applications that streamline administrative tasks, giving educators more time for instruction, and calls for assessment approaches that value students’ learning processes, reflection, and responsible use of AI.
One of the most pressing concerns raised by participants was resistance. Teachers are already overwhelmed. Mandating AI-focused professional development can easily backfire.
Girard argued that resistance is often less about the change itself and more about how it is imposed.
“They (teachers) need to dig in, they need to manipulate it and they need to try things. They need to fail. They need to compare. They need to discuss,” he said. “Everything has to be contextualized.“ In other words, AI cannot be learned in isolation from real classroom challenges.
He introduced the concept of digital illiteracy—or “illectronism”—to describe how educators can fall behind tools that evolve faster than professional learning structures allow.
Vallerand’s research echoed this concern. She noted that when AI use is prohibited or unsupported, it often continues underground, without ethical reflection or shared learning. She emphasized that AI should not be taught as a standalone topic in professional development. Instead, it should be integrated as a supportive tool within existing training programs, helping teachers apply what they are already learning in a practical and ethical way. This approach encourages meaningful use of AI, personalized teaching, and transformative change in classroom practice.
“Teachers who were trained using AI when it was not the main focus… could actually have a change in the way they are teaching.”
Smith reinforced the importance of workflow integration, highlighting that AI adoption in schools works best when it is embedded directly into teachers’ existing workflows (rather than presented as standalone professional development). By integrating AI tools—like generating report card comments or supporting teacher evaluations—into platforms teachers already use, it becomes practical, time-saving, and encourages organic learning and curiosity about AI.
“We need to build these things into the workflows that they’re already using and make them quick and easy to build that curiosity in our teachers.”
At Foothills, AI-supported reporting tools were introduced at report card time, directly addressing a known pressure point. By making AI useful first, curiosity followed naturally.
As the webinar closed, panelists were asked to name the single most important principle to remember about ethical AI use in education.
For Vallerand, the answer was trust. She stressed that the arrival of AI has introduced a sense of distrust in education, particularly toward students and teachers. Rather than focusing on suspicion, schools must protect the core of education—the relationship—by fostering trust, listening to educators’ and students’ experiences, and creating spaces for responsible, ethical use of AI that supports learning and growth.
“The heart of education is the relationship, so I think it’s very important to keep this relationship and build and maintain trust among our teachers and our students.”
Smith returned to professional judgment. She emphasized that ethical use of AI in education should enhance teaching practice and support meaningful work, not replace professional judgment. Building trust, confidence, and curiosity among educators is essential, with a focus on relationships rather than technical steps, since AI use is not linear and depends on professional discernment.
“It (AI) should enhance practice and free educators to focus on teaching and learning. It can never replace professional judgment.”
Johnstone cautioned against extremes and called for a balanced approach to AI in education, rejecting both total avoidance and blind enthusiasm. She stressed the importance of ongoing dialogue, shared learning, and curiosity among educators, while acknowledging that teaching and learning are changing. Embracing AI responsibly is framed as essential to preparing students for future realities.
“Don’t throw the baby away with the bathwater—there’s a happy medium in this.”
Girard closed by stating that AI should strengthen—not replace—the human dimension of education. He highlighted the importance of human agency over machine agency, called for strengthened professional development, and urged educational leadership to focus on opportunities rather than obstacles. He also stressed the need for pedagogical voices to play a central role alongside legal considerations in ethical discussions about AI.
“The artificial has to enhance the human touch in education… and human agency has to surpass machine agency.”
The Zoom chat played a key role in this webinar, allowing participants to share resources, pose questions, and offer reflections in real time. It became a dynamic space where ideas could circulate quickly, complementing the panelists’ insights and enriching the discussion with practical perspectives from educators across different contexts. Participants contributed links to guides, policies, and lessons, while also raising thoughtful questions about workload, AI ethics, and supporting teachers in navigating digital tools.
These interactions highlighted how collective engagement can deepen understanding and create a community of practice around emerging educational challenges.
Some of the reflections shared in the chat included:
“I keep trying to find the magic one thing that will help teachers engage and feel confident with technology.”
“I fear that every time educators find a way to “save time” on a task, decision makers way up on the hierarchy will find something else to pile on our desks…”
“We need to have these spaces to reflect on the roles of teachers and leaders..”
The active participation in the chat reminded everyone that thoughtful dialogue, grounded in both curiosity and caution, is essential for navigating the ethical considerations of AI in education.
AI is not a passing trend. It is a transformative force that challenges education systems to rethink long-standing practices—assessment, pedagogy, professional learning, and leadership itself.
As this conversation made clear, ethical AI use in education is not about controlling technology, but about strengthening the human relationships at the heart of teaching and learning. When approached with intention, humility, and collaboration, AI can become not a threat, but a tool that helps education do what it has always aimed to do: prepare learners for an uncertain future with confidence, competence, and care.
Below, we have compiled the references shared in the chat, along with a selection of relevant Engaged Learning resources, to help extend the conversation and reflection.
How do we integrate AI into K-12 education safely and ethically?
French: Comment intégrer l’IA dans l’éducation primaire et secondaire de manière sécuritaire et éthique ?
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