Schools warned of ‘homework apocalypse’ at Learnovation conference
Schools are experiencing a ‘homework apocalypse’ because of the way artificial intelligence is being used by students, parents and teachers, attendees at this year’s Learnovation Conference heard this week.
The warning was issued by Rita Bateson, co-founder and director of Education at Eblana Learning, which provides AI guidance for international schools and teachers.
Bateson said tinconsistent AI policies, cognitive offloading by students and the untrustworthiness of AI-generated information had to be combated through collective responsibility, critical thinking and ethical AI adoption.
“We are in a homework apocalypse. While AI has many benefits, especially for students with special education needs, it has also created a situation where some teachers are turning away from homework entirely,” said Bateson. “It’s now so difficult to detect AI work. You might sense it but if you’re going to accuse a child of using AI, especially in a high-stakes assessment, you need to be completely sure.
“AI is effectively impacting every single part of teaching and learning; teachers and schools, who are already incredibly busy, cannot keep up with the speed, scale and risks involved. Teachers are being inundated by sales pitches for AI platforms and torn between parents who are either wildly for or wildly against AI. One teacher is using AI to develop teaching resources while the next is scaring children about the evils of AI. There’s no consistency.
“It’s about figuring out how do we get downstream of that? How do we have a culture of trust and figure out what sustainable and ethical AI looks like in a school context? How can we protect what is worth protecting and innovate where we can? Conversations need to be held with the whole school community to agree how AI is being used by the school body as a whole. Schools are crying out for guidance.”
Bateson added that many young people struggle to see what’s real as they are assuming everything is ‘fake news’.
“We need to teach children to have the mental discipline to know when not to offload to AI and when not to trust AI. We don’t want to make the same mistakes we did with social media; being so slow to regulate. It feels like we are sleepwalking into mistakes we’ve made in the past. We need to be more considerate and judicious. This is the perfect moment to put guard rails on AI. We have a really unique chance to get it right this time,” she said.
Learnovate managing director Nessa McEniff added: “At Learnovation, we create a space for educators, policymakers and industry to come together and explore how AI can be adopted responsibly. We need to protect what matters in education while also preparing our children for a new and different future of work and learning. If we get this right, Ireland has the chance to lead globally in showing how AI can be implemented thoughtfully and ethically in education.”
Learnovation is organised by Learnovate, a research centre exploring the future of work and learning, based at Trinity College Dublin.
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