The world of technology says that generative artificial intelligence is essential for future of work And learning. But as an educator, I still wonder: is it really worth bringing it to class? Will these tools really help students learn or create new challenges we have not yet faced?
As Many other people in higher educationI was skeptical but I knew I couldn't ignore it. So, instead of waiting for all the answers, I decided to dive and discover what students' preparation for a world propelled by AI really means beyond the media threw. The last semester, I developed a class of commercial technology where the latest generative AI tools were woven in the program.
What I have found is that AI productivity products have a learning curve, much like other applications that students and, ultimately, white passes use knowledge work. But I needed to adjust the way I taught the class to underline critical thinking, a reflection on how these tools are used and check the errors they produce.
The project
It is not a secret for anyone that generating AI changes the way people work, learn and teach. According to the 2025 mcKinsey Global Survey on AI78% of respondents said that their organizations used AI in at least one commercial function, and many are actively their workforce or form them with new skills to respond to requests from this change.
As program director of the Baccalaureate Program for Commercial Information Technologies at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, the Polytechnic University of Wisconsin, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to prepare students for the workplace. I am also passionate about AI, but skeptical. I believe in the power of these tools, but I also know that they raise questions about ethics, responsibility and preparation.
So, I wondered: how can I make sure that our students are ready to use AI and understand it?
In the spring of 2025, the University of Wisconsin-Stout launched a pilot for a small group of teachers and staff to explore Copilot Microsoft 365 for business. Since it works alongside tools such as Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneDrive and Teams, which are products that our students already use, I also saw the opportunity to bring them these latest AI features.
To do this, I built an exploratory project in our senior capstone course. The students were invited to use Copilot for business throughout the semester, to hold a review reflecting on their experience and to develop practical use cases on the way AI could support them both as a student and future professionals. I have not allocated specific tasks. Instead, I encouraged them to explore freely.
My goal was not to transform them into AI experts overnight. I wanted them to strengthen comfort, mastery and critical awareness of the way and the time to use tools on AI in real contexts.
What my students and I learned
What marked me the most was the speed with which students have gone from curiosity to confidence.
Many of them had already experienced tools such as Chatgpt and Google Gemini, but Copilot for Business was a little different. This worked with their own documents, emails, meeting notes and class equipment, which made the experience more personal and immediately relevant.
In their journals, the students described how they used Copilot to summarize the video meetings of the teams, write PowerPoint slides and write more polite emails. A student said it had saved them time by generating summaries they could examine after a meeting instead of taking notes during the call or reviewing a recording. Another used it to check their assignment against the section – a rating tool that describes the criteria and performance levels to assess students' work – to help them feel more confident before subjecting their work.

Denise Jans on UNCLASH
Several students admitted having had trouble at the start to write effective prompts – the dactylographed requests that guide AI to generate content – and had to experiment to obtain the results they wanted. Some have thought of cases where Copilot, like other generative AI tools, has produced inaccurate or composed information, or hallucinationsAnd said they learned to dismiss his answers. This helped them understand the importance of verifying the content generated by AI, in particular in academic and professional contexts.
Some students also said they had to remember using Copilot instead of falling on other tools they knew more. In some cases, they simply forgot that Copilot was available. This feedback showed me how important it is to give students of time and space to build new habits around emerging technologies.
What is the next step
While Copilot for Business has worked well for this project, its higher cost compared to previous office productivity applications can limit its use in future classes and raises ethical questions about access.
That said, I plan to continue to extend the use of generative AI tools on my lessons. Instead of treating AI as a unique subject, I want it to be part of the flow of daily academic work. My goal is to help students Build the literacy of the AI And use these tools responsible and thoughtful, as a support for their learning, not a replacement for this.
Historically, software has enabled people to produce content, such as text documents, slides or similar, while generative AI tools produce “work” according to user prompts. This change requires a higher level of awareness of what students learn and how they engage with the equipment and the AI tool.
This pilot project reminded me that the integration of AI into the class is not only to give students access to new tools. It is a question of creating space to explore, experiment, reflect and criticize in a critical way of the way in which these tools integrate into their personal and professional life and, above all, how they work.
As an educator, I also think of the deeper questions that this technology raises. How can we make sure that students continue to develop original thoughts and critical thinking when AI can easily generate ideas or content? How to preserve significant learning while taking advantage of the efficiency that these tools offer? And what types of work can students help effectively use AI while demonstrating their own thought?
These are not just theoretical concerns. The first studies identified the risks of “cognitive unloading“During the execution of tasks, such as writing tests with AI. Studies have also shown that using AI can reduce cognitive efforts and even affect Students' confidence levels in their thoughts. This highlights the importance of Incorporate critical thinking activities Alongside the use of AI.
These questions are not easy, but they are important. Higher education has an important role to play in helping students use AI and understanding its impact and their responsibility to shape how it is used.
Draw the good balance between promoting original thought and critical thinking with AI can be difficult. A way I touched on this is to encourage students to first create their content by themselves, then use AI for examination. In this way, they maintain the property of their work and see AI as a useful tool rather than a shortcut. It's about knowing when to take advantage of AI to refine or improve their ideas.
A advice that I received that really marked me was as follows: starting small, being transparent and speaking openly with your students. This is what I did, and this is what I will continue to do by entering this next chapter of teaching and learning in the AI era.