• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Many Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore encourage students to use technology in a way that respects academic integrity. (OSV News illustration/Dado Ruvic, Reuters)

Catholic educators help students navigate ethics of newest tech

September 12, 2024
By Katie V. Jones
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Feature, Local News, News, Schools

It’s never been easier to cheat on school assignments.

With free Artificial Intelligence (AI) resources online, for example, all a student has to do is type in the topic for an essay, give a word count and suggest a few salient points, and within seconds the service can generate an essay.

AI, which uses human-like reasoning, can even write in whatever style is suggested by the user, be it Edgar Allan Poe or Ernest Hemingway.

“The fact is, even before AI, students could go online and pay someone to write an essay,” said Brian Marana, upper school principal at Loyola Blakefield in Towson. “It is a continuing point of conversation. Hoping it goes away is not an option.”

Many Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore encourage students to use technology in a way that respects academic integrity.

“AI use is on the increase with students,” said Jill Seaman, assistant head of school at St. John’s Catholic Prep in Buckeystown. “It’s easy to access and hard to verify. It is difficult to navigate how to deal with these academic integrity issues as there is no 100 percent way to check for use.”

Educators have seen a rise in AI misuse in recent years. Marana noted that when students who are suspected of writer fraud are confronted, they often confess to using AI to write a paper, explaining they had a tight deadline or didn’t realize it was wrong.

Yet Marana discourages teachers from running assignments through online programs to check for plagiarism.

“There are false positives and false negatives,” said Marana, who also expressed concerns about adding a student’s voice and rhythm to AI databases when their work is uploaded to be checked.

Many teachers are requiring handwritten assignments now, he said, to “get to know the student’s voice.” Work done in the classroom is also becoming more popular.

“Our teachers are turning to more in-class writing assignments, conferences on papers to determine authenticity, formative assessments in class, and more discussions about authenticity of voice and creativity within the classroom,” Seaman said.

At Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, President Brian Kohler said AI is an opportunity “to teach students the value of choosing their own knowledge and not the easy way.”

“I applaud all teachers on the frontline trying to deal with these issues,” Kohler said. “It is a matter of educating not just our students, but parents, too.”

Teachers at Loyola Blakefield are encouraged to attend conferences and classes on how to use AI effectively in the classroom. Recently, a history teacher and his class used AI to write a paper. After grading the paper together, he told the class to do better, Marana said. Other teachers are learning how to use AI as a tool to help with writing.

“We are very much early in the process,” Marana said. “We’re dipping our toes in it.”

Email Katie Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org

Read More Schools

school choice

ANALYSIS: ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ gives school-choice advocates partial victory with more to do

DUAL ENROLLMENT

Double the learning: Dual enrollment provides college credit to high school students

2025 Stellar graduates

2,156 seniors graduate from Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Thank you to a one-of-a-kind teacher

Radio Interview: Dominican sister at Mount de Sales shares faith journey from astrophysics to religious life

Copyright © 2024 Catholic Review Media

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Katie V. Jones

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Hunt Valley parishioner recalls her former student – a future pope

  • superman Movie Review: ‘Superman’

  • Deacon Gary Elliott Dumer Jr., active in men’s ministry, dies

  • Loyola University Maryland graduate ordained Jesuit priest

  • Pope Leo visits Italian Carabinieri station, Poor Clares during summer break

| Latest Local News |

Father Robert Wojsław dies at 52

Scopes Monkey Trial ignited century-long debate on evolution and belief 

Deacon Gary Elliott Dumer Jr., active in men’s ministry, dies

Radio Interview: The music and ministry of Seph Schlueter

Hunt Valley parishioner recalls her former student – a future pope

| Latest World News |

Church of England weighs proposal to place St. Thomas More’s skull in shrine for veneration

Stop the hatred; humanity is at stake, Pope Leo says in video message

As excavation begins at Irish maternity home, Catholic experts urge fact-based news reporting

White House agrees to exempt PEPFAR from rescissions package

From Boston to Baton Rouge, faithful unite to help Texas flood victims

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Church of England weighs proposal to place St. Thomas More’s skull in shrine for veneration
  • Father Robert Wojsław dies at 52
  • Stop the hatred; humanity is at stake, Pope Leo says in video message
  • As excavation begins at Irish maternity home, Catholic experts urge fact-based news reporting
  • Question Corner: Can we bring the Precious Blood to the sick?
  • Impact of DOGE cuts on migrants, refugees
  • White House agrees to exempt PEPFAR from rescissions package
  • From Boston to Baton Rouge, faithful unite to help Texas flood victims
  • New Catholic scouting patch honors Pope Leo XIV

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED