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‘The feedback from students reflects a growing desire for partnership. They aren’t just asking for permission to use AI, they’re asking for guidance, collaboration, and trust.’ Last year we published an article about Queensland teachers working with academics on an action research project into student use of generative AI and their motivations for turning to the tech. In this update, Georgia Wignall – Senior Education Officer of Pedagogy at Queensland Department of Education – shares fresh insights from students, and how focused professional learning communities are being used to help teachers respond to this feedback.

In 2024, Balmoral State High School partnered with the UQ Learning Lab to investigate student motivations for using generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot in their learning. The goal was simple: to better understand how and why students were leaning on these tools, and to use that insight to inform teaching practice.

The findings revealed a clear need to build teacher capability, rethink assessment design, and provide students with explicit guidance around the ethical use of AI.

A year on, we still recognise the importance of explicit instruction around ethical and responsible use of AI tools. However, our current focus centres on building teacher capability through professional learning communities (PLCs) and exploring how assessment can be redesigned to reflect the realities of AI-enhanced learning. 

These PLCs, established across Balmoral SHS, Holland Park SHS, and Brisbane Bayside State College, have become a space for teachers to share practice, experiment with AI tools, and reflect on how to support students in meaningful, ethical ways. Most importantly, they’ve reminded teachers that we are co-learners in this space. We’re not just teaching students about AI, we’re learning alongside them.

To ensure our understanding of student attitudes and behaviours remains accurate, we’ve continued to collect data. This year, we expanded to include student voice from Holland Park SHS and Brisbane Bayside SC (711 participates across year levels – 352 females, 318 males, 14 non-binary and 27 unidentified).

The most recent results offer insights into how students are using AI, what they believe about its ethical boundaries, and how they want teachers to support them.

What’s changed? What’s stayed the same?

Across all 3 schools, student use of AI tools has become more widespread and nuanced. Similar to the 2024 findings, students are using AI across a range of subjects – English, Science, and Maths top the list, with 49% of students reporting using AI in 3 or more subjects, and female students tending to use AI more diversely across the curriculum.

When it comes to the perceptions of cheating and using AI tools ethically, only 24-34% of students believe using AI is cheating. Younger students (years 7 and 8) are still more likely to view AI use as dishonest, while senior students tend to see it as a legitimate support tool. Regardless of age, students consistently agree that copying and pasting AI-generated work is unethical. However, using AI for feedback, grammar checks, or idea generation is seen as acceptable and even helpful.

The most common uses of AI across the schools were for explaining hard concepts (69%), generating ideas (67%), and supporting grammar and punctuation (49%). These numbers reflect a shift from novelty to utility. Seemingly, students are choosing to use AI not to shortcut learning, but to scaffold it.

It helps me learn by explaining hard concepts in a simple way where teachers can’t always provide the same kind of detail. – year 11 student

Trying to answer questions by Googling is too inefficient nowadays. AI allows you to ask a question and get an immediate relevant answer. – year 10 student

AI helps me get going with assignments and generate ideas as well as sources that I can use. – year 11 student

What students want from teachers

One of the most encouraging continuations we’ve seen is in how students view their teachers’ role in supporting AI use. Emerging last year, students want greater clarity and precision around ‘what’s ok’ and ‘what’s not’ – and they want us to be honest about how we’re using it ourselves. Most of all, they want support, not suspicion. Based on our survey students want: 

• Clear boundaries between ethical and unethical AI use

• Practical demonstrations of how AI can support learning
• Transparency about how teachers themselves use AI
• Non-judgmental support when students are exploring AI tools

Encourage AI in situations where it is valid, and demonstrate the many mistakes made by AI and the importance of fact-checking. – year 12 student

Stop accusing students of using it over stupid things like (em) dashes … maybe ask the student if they know what the word means. – year 10 student

Support it while setting boundaries. – year 9 student

The feedback from students reflects a growing desire for partnership. They aren’t just asking for permission to use AI, they’re asking for guidance, collaboration, and trust.

Where to next?

As we move forward, our next steps are grounded in the work we’ve already begun through our PLCs. They have allowed us to build capability in a collaborative, low-pressure environment, where experimentation and shared learning are encouraged.

Each school’s goal now is to gradually transition from these PLCs into whole-school capability building. We want every teacher to feel confident not only in using generative AI themselves, but in guiding students through its ethical and effective use. This shift will support the redesign of assessment practices and ensure that explicit instruction around AI is embedded across subjects, not just in isolated pockets.

Most importantly, we’re embracing the idea that we are co-learners in this space. AI is evolving rapidly, and none of us have all the answers. But by learning together, asking questions, and staying curious, we can shape a learning environment that is both future-focused and grounded in integrity.

Finally, I would like to thank the staff and students at Balmoral SHS, Holland Park SHS, and Brisbane Bayside SC for their participation in this work. Their insights, openness, and willingness to engage have been invaluable. This collaboration continues to shape our understanding and strengthen our shared commitment to co-learning, ethical practice and future-focused education.

Bitcoin’s price has seen a dramatic drop over the past month, dragging its elusive creator’s purported net worth down with it.

Just over a month ago, Satoshi Nakamoto’s total Bitcoin holdings were valued at $137 billion, according to Arkham Intelligence data, based on wallets believed to be connected to the pseudonymous creator.

This made Satoshi the 11th richest person—if it is a single person, that is—in the world, when compared to the Forbes billionaires list, ahead of the likes of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. (Forbes doesn’t track Satoshi, to be clear.)

However, with Bitcoin’s decline of more than 30% to a recent price of $87,281, from its all-time high of $126,080 set in early October, Satoshi’s net worth has fallen to $95.8 billion in just over a month. This now places the mysterious founder as the 20th richest person in the world, poorer than Gates at $104.4 billion.

Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym adopted by the creator of Bitcoin when they wrote the white paper in 2008, as well as when talking on forums or via email. Despite countless attempts to unmask Satoshi’s true identity—including a high-profile HBO documentary last year—no one has successfully convinced the public that they have found the right person.

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Crypto experts have been able to determine how much Bitcoin the creator holds. Identified using what is called the Patoshi Pattern—a distinctive pattern of mining only found in the earliest Bitcoin blocks—experts estimate that Satoshi owns approximately 1.1 million BTC, close to the 1.096 million BTC tally that Arkham Intelligence tracks.

That said, Satoshi’s real net worth could be potentially much different from this figure, as we do not know of any off-chain or non-Bitcoin holdings. Equally, Forbes calculates the net worth of billionaires using the individual’s public holdings and estimates the value of private holdings, which could be inaccurate. 

Regardless of Satoshi’s exact net worth, it’s safe to assume that $95.8 billion is a significant portion of their net worth. For that reason, some believe the elusive creator may step out from the shadows as quantum computing advancements threaten to break Bitcoin, also known as Q-Day. 

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Proposals have already been made to freeze Satoshi’s Bitcoin due to the looming quantum “existential threat.” Others have suggested a Bitcoin hard fork to quantum-proof the entire network.

However, Joseph Chalom—the co-CEO of SharpLink Gaming, a leading Ethereum treasury company—previously told Decrypt that he believes Satoshi may reveal themself as this hurdle is attempted.

“I have a wild idea that at some point—five, 10 years from now—when the Bitcoin network needs to be quantum-proofed, there will be some really important decisions around standards and encryption,” Chalom said in September. “There’ll be decisions about whether you need to hard fork the protocol [and] what you do with wallets that are dormant.”