What's Happening at FCTL

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Its Impact on the Classroom

by

There has been quite a bit published recently since OpenAI’s release of their tool ChatGPT, which is marketed as a tool to revolutionize writing. Simply enter a prompt and “BAM” an essay is generated on the topic, varying in levels of quality based on information pulled from the internet.

This technology isn’t different than tools you may already using such as PackBack, a platform commonly used to promote student inquiry in discussion or improve writing skills by utilizing AI “conversation” to provide feedback to students to encourage deeper thinking about a topic. The AI technologies are trained to respond in a conversational tone, mimicking interaction with a human.

Should you worry?

I don’t think it is time to sound the alarm, but it is important that you are aware of these tools and what their capabilities are. Sure, AI can spit out a very convincing sample of writing based on information it gathers from the web. However, it cannot discern credible from non-credible information, nor can it evaluate level of importance in information.  It isn’t capable of the type of critical thinking and information synthesis we value and expect in our student’s writing. And if you’re worried you’ll be fooled by an AI generated paper, don’t worry, a student from Princeton University has already developed an app to help detect AI written content.

So, what do we do?

You know that old saying “if you can’t beat them, join them?” Unfortunately, these tools are out there, whether you are choosing to use the commercially packaged versions marketed to you as a tool to improve things like student engagement; or your students are accessing them on their own from platforms like ChatGPT. We could be leveraging them to support learning. Bringing the conversation to our students is one way to start. Having the conversation around the capability of these tools and their shortcomings is a great start. You might even include examples of what your students should be capable of producing versus what a tool like ChatGPT can produce. You could even go as far as having your students evaluate AI generated content to identify shortcomings. Students truly do want to learn; the more authentic your assessments are the more they learn and retain and the less impact an AI bot will have in your course.

Note: I have verified this post was not written by AI…
Summary of the analysis from the AI writing detection tool GPT Zero that summarizes this document was likely human generated.

Resources to Consider:

References

Bowers-Abbot, M. (2023). What are we doing about AI essays? Faculty Focus. Retrieved https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/what-are-we-doing-about-ai-essays/?st=FFdaily%3Bsc%3DFF230104%3Butm_term%3DFF230104&mailingID=4320

Bowman, E. (2023). A college student created an app that can tell whether AI wrote and essay. NPR. Retrieved https://www.npr.org/2023/01/09/1147549845/gptzero-ai-chatgpt-edward-tian-plagiarism

D’Agostino, S. (2023). ChatGPT advice academics can use now. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/01/12/academic-experts-offer-advice-chatgpt#.Y8HH5nHqtGg.link

McMurtrie, B. (2022). AI and the future of undergraduate writing: Teaching experts are concerned, but not for the reasons you think. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved https://www.chronicle.com/article/ai-and-the-future-of-undergraduate-writing