Gemini is Google's AI assistant and is available within our Google Workspace for Education environment.

Gemini can support:

• brainstorming and idea generation

• research exploration

• lesson planning

• writing support

• coding assistance

Because Gemini operates within our GNS Google Workspace domain, it benefits from a secure “walled garden” environment where data remains inside the school’s Google Workspace environment and is not used to train public AI models.

NotebookLM is a research and study tool that allows users to interact with source materials they provide.

It is particularly useful for:

• analyzing research documents

• generating summaries of readings

• creating study guides

• helping students engage with source materials

NotebookLM can be a powerful way to help students work more deeply with primary sources and research materials.

In the early years at Glenlyon Norfolk School, students do not directly use generative AI tools as part of their learning activities. Instead, the focus is on building the foundational thinking skills that will allow students to navigate an AI-influenced world thoughtfully and responsibly as they grow older.

Within the PYP Design curriculum, students begin exploring the broader ideas of technology, systems, and human decision-making. These early learning experiences help students understand that technologies—including artificial intelligence—are created by people, reflect human choices, and should be approached with curiosity and critical thinking.

Students are introduced to age-appropriate discussions about how technology shapes the world around them and how people remain responsible for the decisions technology helps make. These conversations emphasize the importance of human judgment, creativity, and ethical thinking.

At times, teachers may demonstrate simple AI-powered tools in a guided and age-appropriate way to help students understand how AI works. For example, students may experiment with Meta’s Sketch Animated Drawings, where a child’s hand-drawn character can be scanned and animated using AI. Experiences like this help students see how AI systems can interpret human input and generate new outputs, while reinforcing that the creativity and ideas originate from the student.

In addition, the school supports early AI and digital literacy through established digital citizenship programs such as Day of AI and WinAtSocial, which provide structured lessons that help students understand the role of technology in their lives.

At this stage, students are developing foundational competencies such as:

• Digital Awareness: recognizing that many technologies use automated systems and that technology can influence the information we see and use

• Critical Thinking: asking questions about information sources and learning that not everything produced by technology is automatically correct

• Responsible Technology Use: understanding that technology should be used safely, respectfully, and with guidance from trusted adults

• Human Decision-Making: learning that people remain responsible for choices made with technology and that tools should support, not replace, human thinking

• Curiosity About Technology: exploring how tools and systems are designed and how they impact communities and daily life

• Creative Expression with Technology: seeing how digital tools can extend their own ideas and creativity, rather than replace them

These early experiences ensure that students build a strong foundation of digital citizenship, critical inquiry, and ethical awareness before engaging with more advanced AI tools in later grades. As students move into the middle years, they begin to explore AI technologies more directly, supported by the conceptual understanding developed in these foundational years.

In Grade 5, students begin engaging with selected AI-supported learning tools in carefully structured ways that reinforce inquiry, research, and independent thinking. One such tool is Joy Schooler, a guided learning assistant that supports students as they explore ideas, ask questions, and deepen their understanding of complex topics. Joy Schooler is also developed locally right here in Victoria!

Rather than providing direct answers, Joy Schooler is used as a Socratic thought partner—a tool that helps students extend their thinking through prompts, guiding questions, and structured dialogue. This approach aligns closely with the inquiry-based philosophy of the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and encourages students to remain active thinkers throughout the learning process.

This kind of reflective dialogue can be especially valuable as students prepare for the Grade 5 PYP Exhibition, where they undertake a significant independent inquiry project. Through guided interactions with Joy Schooler, students can explore potential research directions, refine their questions, and articulate their ideas more clearly. The goal is not to have AI generate the work for students, but to support them in developing stronger thinking habits and research strategies.

Teachers remain actively involved in guiding how and when the tool is used, ensuring that it supports student agency rather than replacing student effort or original thinking.

When used in this structured way, Joy Schooler helps students develop important academic and inquiry skills, including:

• Question Development – refining inquiry questions and identifying meaningful directions for research

• Research Thinking – exploring ideas, identifying connections, and considering multiple perspectives

• Metacognition – reflecting on their own thinking and learning processes

• Idea Development – expanding and clarifying their own ideas through guided dialogue

• Academic Communication – practicing how to explain and articulate complex ideas clearly

• Intellectual Agency – maintaining ownership of their thinking while using technology as a supportive learning tool

Through carefully guided use of tools like Joy Schooler, Grade 5 students begin to experience how AI can function as a thinking partner rather than a shortcut, reinforcing the importance of curiosity, inquiry, and student voice as they prepare for the culminating experience of the PYP Exhibition.

In Middle School, students begin engaging more directly with artificial intelligence tools as part of structured learning experiences. At this stage, AI is introduced as a learning support and thinking tool, designed to extend student inquiry while reinforcing the importance of human judgment, academic integrity, and responsible technology use.

AI tools are used in carefully guided ways that align with the school’s emphasis on intellectual agency, inquiry-based learning, and ethical technology use. Teachers design learning experiences that ensure AI supports student thinking rather than replacing it, helping students understand both the capabilities and limitations of AI systems.

Students are encouraged to approach AI tools critically—recognizing that AI-generated responses can contain inaccuracies, biases, or incomplete information, and that responsible users must verify and evaluate what these tools produce.

Recommended AI Tools

Flint AI

Flint provides a guided AI environment designed specifically for educational settings and is the primary recommended platform for AI-supported learning in Middle School. Flint allows teachers to create structured AI interactions that support classroom activities while maintaining strong oversight of how the tool is used.

Within this environment, students may use AI to support activities such as brainstorming ideas, exploring concepts, practicing explanations, or receiving guided feedback on their thinking. Because Flint operates within a teacher-designed framework, it allows educators to maintain clear boundaries around appropriate use while helping students learn how AI tools function.

Google Gemini (with teacher oversight)

Gemini may also be used in Middle School classrooms when integrated into teacher-guided learning activities. When used in this way, Gemini serves as a research assistant, brainstorming partner, or tool for exploring complex topics.

Teachers provide clear guidance about when and how Gemini can be used, ensuring that students remain responsible for the ideas, analysis, and work they produce. Activities often focus on helping students evaluate AI responses, identify potential inaccuracies, and compare AI-generated information with trusted sources.

Core Skills Developed Through AI-Supported Learning

When used in structured and intentional ways, AI tools in Middle School help students develop important academic and digital literacy skills, including:

• AI Literacy – understanding how AI systems generate responses and recognizing both their strengths and limitations

• Critical Evaluation – learning to question AI-generated information and verify accuracy using reliable sources

• Inquiry and Research Skills – using AI tools to help explore ideas, refine questions, and deepen understanding of complex topics

• Prompting and Communication – learning how to ask clear, thoughtful questions to guide productive AI interactions

• Ethical Technology Use – understanding the importance of responsible, transparent, and appropriate use of AI tools

• Intellectual Agency – maintaining ownership of their ideas and thinking while using AI as a supportive tool rather than a substitute for their work

Through these guided experiences, Middle School students begin to develop the knowledge and habits necessary to use AI thoughtfully and responsibly as they progress into the Senior School years.

In the Senior School, students engage with artificial intelligence tools with greater flexibility as part of their learning, research, and creative work. At this stage, AI tools are treated as advanced learning supports that can extend student inquiry, improve research efficiency, and help students explore complex ideas across disciplines.

Senior School students are expected to demonstrate increasing independence, responsibility, and critical judgment when using AI tools. While students may use approved AI platforms more freely than in earlier grades, their work must continue to reflect their own thinking, analysis, and creativity. AI-generated content should support the learning process rather than replace original student work.

All AI tools used by students must be approved through the school’s privacy and data security review processes, ensuring alignment with institutional data protection standards and responsible technology use policies.

Recommended AI Tools

Google Gemini

Gemini is one of the primary AI tools available to Senior School students and may be used to support research, idea development, drafting, and concept exploration. When used appropriately, Gemini can help students brainstorm perspectives, clarify complex topics, and generate starting points for deeper investigation.

Students are expected to approach AI-generated responses critically, verifying information against reliable sources and recognizing that AI outputs may contain inaccuracies or biases.

NotebookLM

NotebookLM is recommended as a powerful research companion that allows students to interact with curated sets of sources. By grounding AI responses in documents selected by the student or teacher, NotebookLM helps support more reliable research practices and encourages students to engage deeply with the materials they are studying.

Students can use NotebookLM to organize research materials, explore connections between sources, generate summaries, and develop insights based on the documents they are working with.

Additional Approved Tools

Perplexity

Perplexity may be used in specific curricular contexts where AI-supported research and citation exploration are appropriate. Because Perplexity integrates AI-generated responses with cited sources, it can help students explore research topics and identify starting points for further investigation.

Students are expected to treat Perplexity as a research aid rather than a final authority, using the sources it provides as entry points for deeper reading and verification.

Core Skills Developed Through AI-Supported Learning

In the Senior School, AI-supported learning focuses on helping students build the skills necessary to navigate a world where AI tools are increasingly common in universities and professional environments. These experiences support the development of:

• Advanced AI Literacy – understanding how AI systems work, their limitations, and their broader societal impact

• Research and Information Evaluation – critically analyzing AI-generated responses and verifying information through trusted source

• Prompt Design and Communication – learning how to craft effective prompts and guide productive AI interactions

• Academic Integrity and Attribution – understanding when and how AI use must be acknowledged in academic work

• Idea Development and Synthesis – using AI tools to explore perspectives and synthesize information while maintaining original student thinking

• Responsible Innovation – learning to use emerging technologies thoughtfully, ethically, and with awareness of their impact on society

Through these experiences, Senior School students learn to engage with AI not simply as a tool for convenience, but as a powerful intellectual resource that requires thoughtful, ethical, and critical use as they prepare for post-secondary learning and the evolving technological landscape.