{"id":694143,"date":"2026-05-25T19:45:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T19:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/694143\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T19:45:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T19:45:46","slug":"corella-ai-in-queensland-schools-how-the-state-governments-1-5-million-program-works-and-what-it-means-for-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/694143\/","title":{"rendered":"Corella AI in Queensland schools: How the state government\u2019s $1.5 million program works and what it means for students"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Catherine Strohfeldt\" data-testid=\"author-avatar-image\" height=\"64\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/9c50ad1714fc583d93fee87eba4d77bde353c5b8.png\"  width=\"64\" class=\"sc-9a01536c-0 bdzZhU\"\/>Save<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-d1b14060-4 JmUoF\">You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n<p>Remove items from your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brisbanetimes.com.au\/goodfood\/saved\" class=\"sc-3f16ee48-12 sc-d1b14060-2 jyLmZI fPBBmK\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n<p>AAA<\/p>\n<p>Every Queensland state school will have access to a homegrown artificial intelligence program by the start of June, the government has announced, as an expert warned there was a right and wrong way to roll out the technology.<\/p>\n<p>The $1.5 million Corella AI program was created by the Education Department, and offers chatbot and assistant functions for both teachers and students. So far, only year 9 and 10 students have been cleared to use it, with parental approval.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said the rollout would include teaching on how to correctly use AI.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek (right) said the Corella AI software would be available to year 9 and 10 students from June this year.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/97fac15df951147f9ccd114fd3b460289fb83ad801d20ae8b7efded7b4ac71c5.jpeg\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ldCIuB\"\/>Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek (right) said the Corella AI software would be available to year 9 and 10 students from June this year.Queensland Department of Education<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorella is a tool for the future, and we\u2019re embracing this cutting-edge technology to help students learn how to use AI responsibly and think critically about the information they\u2019re working with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>That correct use of the tool was crucial, said Dr Luke Rowe, an expert on AI in learning from the Australian Catholic University\u2019s National School of Education.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know from the research, if you give students chatbots, and they use them willy-nilly in any way they want, they\u2019re not going to use them productively \u2026 it\u2019s too vague,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Corella AI program.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/68a3041e5af3663ee9a6cd16cd08db9d1628da81273140edb09a41306a0b07cc.gif\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ioInpc\"\/>The Corella AI program.Queensland Department of Education<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to attack this issue a lot more directly in our educational settings, particularly primary school and high school settings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe conversations need to start early and often in regard to what it is, what it\u2019s going to be good for in society, what it can be used for in a detrimental sense as well as for the good of people, [and] what does it mean for the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As P&amp;Cs Queensland released a formal position on AI earlier this week, chief executive Timothy Horne said parents felt the state had not been clear about how much would creep into the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>Related Article<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brisbanetimes.com.au\/national\/western-australia\/ai-in-education-shouldn-t-be-feared-it-can-be-a-force-for-positive-change-20240131-p5f1fq.html\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"sc-cba76dee-0 hdiTqm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"There are lots of opportunities when it comes to integrating AI into children\u2019s education.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b69ab7ca13380dbe9c005c1ed1277026a02b4b47.jpeg\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ioInpc\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cParents are clearly telling us they are not yet part of this conversation. There is strong interest in AI, but also genuine concern about how it is being used,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The department said students could use Corella AI to brainstorm, check, draft, revise, research and summarise information.<\/p>\n<p>Rowe said proper use of AI software spanned from learning how to properly craft a prompt in a chatbot, to understanding what subjects the software was \u2013 and was not \u2013 useful for.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the learning about AI question, which is separate from learning with AI,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Rowe suggested schools needed to carve out time to learn about AI itself, not simply as a tool used to learn in other subjects.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ACU National School of Education researcher Dr Luke Rowe.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ca84cd6fc56dd6574b15813ba00902b503e35fb84900695431a3586ed6ee0502.jpeg\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ldCIuB\"\/>ACU National School of Education researcher Dr Luke Rowe.Luke Rowe<\/p>\n<p>If schools could not teach students fundamental research and critical thinking skills that were required to properly use AI, he said students would effectively be outsourcing their learning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe old school computers are the ones between our ears, and they tend to be the best computers to learn from,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot just the ones between our own ears, but the ones in the room \u2013 the teacher, the other students \u2013 so we should not ignore those rich resources in the classroom just because we\u2019ve got a new toy to play with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Related Article<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brisbanetimes.com.au\/technology\/ransom-paid-to-hackers-who-crippled-online-learning-in-australia-20260513-p5zwbh.html\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"sc-cba76dee-0 hdiTqm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The parent company of Canvas, the online learning platform used by hundreds of thousands of Australian students and teachers, has struck a deal with the cybercriminal gang behind a global breach to delete the personal data of an estimated 275 million users.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779738346_587_939d3f604d058c4c215da432caa389649c656f0f.jpeg\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ioInpc\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The minister said the Education Department would expand the program to include year 7 and 8 students from June this year.<\/p>\n<p>The department was also in talks with the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority about integrating the program into senior years.<\/p>\n<p>Teachers have been given training modules on how to use Corella for crafting lesson plans and creating assessment tasks, but have been told they cannot use it for grading.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a totally different story when we\u2019re talking about teachers,\u201d Rowe said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn plain terms, if I can get AI to build the assessment rubric for me, I can reallocate the mental load and effort back to another activity that might enrich my classroom and help with my students more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The department said the software was <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/education.qld.gov.au\/Pages\/corella-terms-conditions.aspx\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">hosted internally<\/a>, meaning students could upload any information they would normally access in a classroom <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brisbanetimes.com.au\/technology\/ransom-paid-to-hackers-who-crippled-online-learning-in-australia-20260513-p5zwbh.html?utm_source=facebook&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=brisbane_times&amp;utm_content=feed&amp;utm_term=metros_social_eds\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">without compromising safety<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It said there were strong safeguards in place to make sure data was secure.<\/p>\n<p>Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brisbanetimes.com.au\/newsletter-signup?newsletter=am&amp;utm_source=EditorialArticle&amp;utm_medium=ArticleText&amp;utm_campaign=Newsletters\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Save<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-d1b14060-4 JmUoF\">You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n<p>Remove items from your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brisbanetimes.com.au\/goodfood\/saved\" class=\"sc-3f16ee48-12 sc-d1b14060-2 jyLmZI fPBBmK\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n<p>From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":694144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,105],"class_list":["post-694143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}