Durham College professors bring GenAI into the classroom in Oshawa

Some Durham College professors believe the starting place for AI literacy is the classroom, using generative AI tools as tutors to help students improve their work and prepare for the workforce, The Chronicle reported on November 10, 2026.

A May study by Academica Group found about 58 per cent of Canadian post-secondary students in a 1,100-person group reported they were permitted to use generative AI in some capacity for their coursework, up from the group's 2024 results. Durham College's own generative AI policy supports faculty exploring the tools in relation to course evaluations and adopting them where they deem it helpful, under specific guidelines.

Corey Gill, program co-ordinator and professor in the college's Human Resources cluster, uses Microsoft Co-Pilot as a tutor for his students. He said the tool is set up so it will not answer questions for students but coaches them toward finding answers and refining their work, and that he has seen the marks of students who use it climb.

Jonathan Carrigan, Marketing program co-ordinator and founder of HuminAI, said generative AI must be embraced because it represents the future of the workforce. In his courses he uses the tools to offer a learning process involving both professor and AI that teaches critical thinking. "I can't think of a single role from creative to strategy to technology that's not going to be touched by AI in some way," he said.

Students described mixed experiences. Ahanae Lydner, in the Entrepreneurship and Small Business program, said her program encouraged her to use generative AI to build resumes and structure ideas, but that it should not function beyond being an aid. Aaliyah Alexander, a Paralegal student, said her courses encourage using the tools to summarize long legal cases, but warned that without strong foundational critical thinking, the tools risk replacing human thinking rather than assisting it.

Carrigan acknowledged the next step is finding the best use for the tools in every program, and that concerns remain, from environmental sustainability to the future of society.