Comet is the name we’ve given to the AI tools built into Hero. We built Comet to save teachers time on repetitive writing tasks – like drafting teaching ideas.
By “AI”, we mean computer software that can read text and generate a written suggestion in response. It isn’t a person, and it doesn’t make decisions on its own.
Where is Comet used?
Right now, Comet is used in one place in Hero:
Generating teaching ideas – a teacher can ask Comet to suggest teaching activities based on a specific curriculum goal, outcome, or objective.
If a feature in Hero isn’t listed above, it doesn’t use Comet or AI.
How it works, simply
Comet uses enterprise AI models provided by OpenAI to generate its suggestions.
None of the information Hero sends to OpenAI is used to train their models – it is used only to generate a response to that specific request - nor is any information stored or retained by OpenAI.
Hero also keeps a record of who used Comet and when, by school and by teacher, so usage can be reviewed if ever needed.
Human oversight in practice
It is expected that teachers and school staff will scrutinise outputs suggested by Comet, and make the final decision on whether the Comet suggestion is suitable.
For teaching ideas suggested by Comet, a teacher can rate each suggestion (1–5), and those ratings are visible to other teachers, so the best ideas surface over time.
Where is Comet used?
Right now, Comet is used in one place in Hero:
Generating teaching ideas – a teacher can ask Comet to suggest teaching activities based on a specific curriculum goal, outcome, or objective.
If a feature in Hero isn’t listed above, it doesn’t use Comet or AI.
How it works, simply
Comet uses enterprise AI models provided by OpenAI to generate its suggestions.
None of the information Hero sends to OpenAI is used to train their models – it is used only to generate a response to that specific request - nor is any information stored or retained by OpenAI.
Hero also keeps a record of who used Comet and when, by school and by teacher, so usage can be reviewed if ever needed.
Human oversight in practice
It is expected that teachers and school staff will scrutinise outputs suggested by Comet, and make the final decision on whether the Comet suggestion is suitable.
For teaching ideas suggested by Comet, a teacher can rate each suggestion (1–5), and those ratings are visible to other teachers, so the best ideas surface over time.
This will evolve
Comet is a new part of Hero, and we expect to add to it over time. We'll update this document whenever we add, change, or remove a Comet feature, and we'll let schools know directly about anything significant rather than leaving it to a policy update alone.
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Clarification on report comments
Comet is not used in the generation of student reports. In the development of the report-writing workflow, Hero staff used Generative AI to assist in the creation of the rubrics used to help teachers build report comments: this was a one-time generation, and outputs were subject to thorough checking by humans before use. This human scrutiny will continue with any future rubric updates.
While suggested comments are auto-generated, this is a Hero coded process rather than an AI one: Hero simply matches the teacher's selections against the human-checked rubric. No student data touches AI, and the suggestions remain fully editable by the teacher.
Hero's organisational use of AI
Hero staff utilise various AI tools for day-to-day operational efficiency, governed by a Responsible AI Use (Internal Use) policy that applies to all Hero staff and contractors. This policy includes stringent guidance for staff: only company-approved AI tools may be used, personally identifiable data must not be inputted into AI tools, and all AI outputs must be thoroughly scrutinised by a human for accuracy, fairness and bias.
Side projects
Hero will sometimes trial new products or features with a small number of schools and these will use a wider set of AI capabilities. These projects are explained to the school and user at the time and have no impact on the core product.
Safer Technologies 4 Schools (ST4S)
Hero is proud to be certified under the Safer Technologies for Schools (ST4S) AI assessment framework. This credential independently assesses how education technology providers use AI ethically and responsibly in Australia and New Zealand.
