What is one technology that has become a huge discussion topic in schools? The answer is ChatGPT. I did not hear much about this AI technology until I started student teaching last semester. I knew of it, but I did not know about its impact. This AI technology allows students to artificially write papers and complete assignments. When I found out about this, I was quite shocked. My first reaction was full of amazement and concern, and this was the reaction of many teachers that I worked with. My take on such a technology is that it can ruin the academic integrity of students. So many students these days have a lack of intrinsic motivation, and they would rather do the bare minimum of their work instead of working hard. I had students who told me this to my face in their own words, and I honestly felt quite upset. I want to be an English professor, but as a future educator, it is worrisome to know that I may have students who will use ChatGPT. I have learned that it is such an easy tool to use, and it can whip up just about any paper. I caught a couple students who had used it, and both my cooperating teacher and I knew since we could easily tell how a student actually writes. If this is what is currently happening in schools, what is the future for students and teaching? For example, “ChatGPT is a definition of a disruptive technology. It is here and it is about to disrupt both the ontology and epistemology of academia, science and teaching. That means that academia is about to reconsider what constitutes knowledge and how it can be acquired” (“ChatGPT and the rise of generative AI: Threat to academic integrity?”). This reading really caught my attention because it brought up so many great questions to ponder as educators. How will students actually learn and memorize any form of knowledge if so many technologies are sitting in their hands? I agree that this AI tool is disruptive because it truly disrupts teaching and learning. This could be a serious problem for our future students and our jobs, but it may be already. This article also discusses how ChatGPT gives students an easy way to lose their integrity. One would hope that students would not want to lose their integrity. However, by knowing the amount of students that have used it because they did not want to do the work, shows that integrity is not of importance to them. I can only respond to this with concern, and hope that there are ways to teach students how to properly and safely use ChatGPT. The other article that immediately gained my attention provides actual student responses about ChatGPT. One student notes, “My ninong recommended using ChatGPT, so I gave it a try. It was very powerful (it can write a sonnet about admission to Harvard, which I requested for fun) but inaccurate. Sometimes, ChatGPT kept changing its answers when I asked it the same question over and over. Nevertheless, I have never used it to answer my schoolwork or write my essays (I like to write, so I do that myself)” (“What Students are Saying About ChatGPT”). This student tried it out, saw how intelligent it is, but quickly found the flaws. I could not believe that it actually changes its answers even if the same question is asked. I do appreciate that they preferred to write on their own. It is a fascinating technology, yet it is definitely imperfect in many ways. Another student’s response was, “Personally yes, I used and experimented with ChatGPT and it is extremely useful for assignments. Not just because it answers all of your questions that you ask, but it completely destroys the use of tutors. However, it should be noted that it can be used productively but unethically because it is easier to cheat and just copy whatever the AI is providing” (“What Students are Saying About ChatGPT”). This student response surprised me a lot. They say it is useful and can be used if done properly. Yet, they admit it is basically cheating. This student understands that ChatGPT has a duality to it. It needs to be used the right way, but how is that fair to teachers at the end of the day? How is it fair to the students who spend hours writing an essay? I may be wrong to assume this, but should we be questioning how many students get into colleges with AI written essays? What about the students who work incredibly hard on their application essays and get turned down? I hope that if this technology is to be used, then schools could have a program that teaches how to use it. This could really help teachers and students in the future. At this point, all we can admit is that ChatGPT is less of an academic friend and more of foe. Technology is constantly advancing every year. We have hover boards, buildable light sabers and droids, and ChatGTP. What is next, robot teachers? Let me know what you think!
Eke, Damian Okaibedi. “ChatGPT and the rise of generative AI: Threat to academic integrity?” Journal of Responsible Technology, vol. 13, April 2023, 100060, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrt.2023.100060
Learning Network. “What Students are Saying About ChatGPT.” New York Times, 3 Feb. 2023.
Hi Sarah,
As a Teacher, I share the same concerns with you and it is extremely upsetting that a great number of students will use ChatGPT as a cheating tool. When I first found out about ChatGPT I remember being mad and thinking that many student are not going to write their own papers again. While this was an ongoing discussion in the school where I worked it still continues to be a topic in our discussions. However, I think listening to all kinds of opinions, and reading online about AI to educate myself about this technology I have come to the conclusion that we teachers should not consider ChatGPT as a threat or forbid its use in our classrooms. If we take on such decisions than most likely students will use it against learning and developing their critical thinking. I can’t recall exactly, but I remember reading an article in the New York Times where some professors had to redesign the syllabus for a college course because some students were caught cheating with ChatGPT. I do not think that’s the way to go, because let’s be honest are there students who even without the existence of ChatGPT used technology to plagiarise and take their easy way out? I’m positive that’s the case, but let’s not forget that there is also a great number of students who use technology properly and do their best to create and present their own original work. Now that I am more convinced that I can design different activities that enable the use of ChatGPT wisely in my classroom just like any other technology tool that helps to enhance the learning I regret my assumption that all of a sudden all my students won’t write their papers. I do not think students will be replaced by a ChatGPT but they will learn new ways to prepare for learning and future careers.
I’m going to start my response with a few lines I wrote in response to Kim, since some of the points that you covered here were similar. We’re all (all teachers or would-be teachers) kind of in the same boat here, and it is a journey that we are on together. I also see teachers go through stages of dealing with GAI. While it would be preposterous to compare it to a grieving process, there are similarities. (I don’t think GAI is death, but there have been several high profile articles where teachers lament “the death of the essay” and the “death of college writing courses.” This is not an exaggeration.) I started with annoyance and concern (this is way back in the dark ages of Dec. 2022). We had just gotten over the pandemic and the last thing I wanted to deal with is a new crisis. But we had to, so first I (like many) focused on “what is my syllabus policy going to be?” It came down to, this is not “banned” but if you use its writing output as your own, that is academic dishonesty. (I still think that.) I may have briefly told students they could use it to brainstorm, but I did not show them how to use it because, at that time, I felt it was like introducing them to something that could lead them down a path of poor choices. I wasn’t convinced that they all knew how to use it (this was last spring). Many did not show a lot of interest in it, even though I told them they could research it for their research projects. That has changed this fall, as quite a few students have chosen to research it, and several have admitted to using it–some to play around, others to “cheat.” This has allowed us to have conversations about it, and although in class they are shy to talk, they will discuss it at length during conferences, almost with a sense of relief that they can admit to being interested in it and they won’t be shamed for it. A few of my students have parents who work in the AI industry, and quite a few are engineering/computer science majors, so it makes sense they would have interest. Lately I’ve tried to encourage them to use it to help get over some brainstorming and paper planning humps, like researching stakeholders. This week I’m planning to go a step further and use it to help them come up with arguments for their researched argument (they’ve already done research and have a question, but this about finding argument with certain delimitations about how they can and cannot argue; for example, the argument can’t simply be getting the audience to agree with statement or become aware of an issue). I’m going to offer them a chance to let ChatGPT talk to them about “arguability” and I think in some cases, it will be useful, and in others, not so much (having tested it out myself). So it will show them benefits and limitations of using it for various tasks. I’ve already had one student tell me that ChatGPT writes bad essays in his experience and “you can always tell it’s been written by it” which I thought was funny. (Try telling that to the numerous teachers who claim otherwise!) Since my writing assignment require certain specific tasks of students, they are something that ChatGPT cannot just “do” for them although undoubtedly, if they know what to prompt it for, it could make their tasks easier.
Hi Sarah,
Funny enough, your ending question is very similar to a question I just left commenting on another blog post. The idea that teachers may be replaced by robot instructions or tutorials is a scary idea. Who needs a teacher when there is a way to get instant replies to questions we may have?
Pulling from Malik’s journal article “there will always be reasons to engage.” The context of this quote is in discussion with financial services, but the ideas remains relevant even here. There will always be a reason to engage in human interaction, as ChatGPT can only mimic humans to a certain extent. It does not have feelings, emotions, or originality. Although, it may develop “original” poems or essays, the language remains static and at some points it can not even answer our questions.
It is because of this that we still have a place as educators and will not be replaced by robots like AI. Not to mention that the technology still has its issues, for example making up inaccurate sources or not having information following 2021. Human educators are able to give us real life, real time connection and answers that AI simply cannot.
HI Sarah:) Your reflection on the impact of ChatGPT in educational settings resonates deeply, shedding light on the complex and concerning implications of AI technology in academic integrity. Your firsthand experiences and concerns about ChatGPT’s potential to undermine academic integrity among students highlight a pressing issue. The technology’s ease of use and capacity to generate academic content raise valid concerns about students’ intrinsic motivation and ethical decision-making. The readings you referenced echo the disruptive nature of ChatGPT, thoughtful questions about its influence on teaching, learning, and the very essence of knowledge acquisition in academic settings. The firsthand accounts from students about ChatGPT’s capabilities reveal its strengths and flaws, underlining its potential for aiding or impeding the learning process. The ethical dilemma posed by ChatGPT, where it offers an easy way to complete assignments but potentially compromises academic integrity, is indeed a point of contention. The concerns about fairness to hardworking students and the implications for college applications are crucial considerations. Your suggestion about instituting a program to teach responsible and ethical use of ChatGPT in schools appears to be a proactive step towards addressing these challenges. Indeed, the swift advancement of technology, exemplified by ChatGPT, poses complex dilemmas in educational settings, prompting us to reconsider the dynamics of learning and teaching. The evolving landscape of technology in education, as witnessed through ChatGPT, invites reflection on the ethical and pedagogical challenges in integrating AI in academic environments. AS future educators we can relate to the concering aspects that is ChatGPT.