AI is a new tool used in schools to help students. Although AI has its benefits and students have been able to use it for the good, teachers have also found that some use it to abuse it. There are new sources used to combat the issue.
ChatGPT is one of the main AI sources in the classroom. It is a free browser that is easy to use on any device. Users can type in a prompt into the text box and the AI generator provides an immediate and accurate response. Students use the source to write essays, cheat on tests, and do research for them just to make their school work easier. AP Human Geography teacher, Abby Yates has seen this happen firsthand in her classroom.
“It makes research projects a lot easier because you can ask ChatGPT to provide you with sources or links to websites to pull your research from which takes away the struggle to try and find acceptable resources for your topic. That’s kind of the point of doing research. Being able to figure out what are good sources for yourself,” Yates said.
The reliance students have on ChatGPT has the potential to hurt their education and their ability to learn from doing. AI can do work for students instead of using their own judgment to do the work they are assigned.
Kids who utilize ChatGPT for good can recognize the source can be used for bad and junior Eloise Powell thinks it should be monitored more, but that it is still a helpful source.
There are issues with students abusing the privilege to use AI, but some say that the resource has helped them improve their learning. High schoolers have a large workload and many say that ChatGPT has made the workload easier to manage, providing them with resources and ideas.
Junior Isabelle Kargel finds it helpful to use ChatGPT to structure her English essays. Kargel sees the source as a good thing for herself as she uses it responsibly to help her with something that her teacher can’t. However, she also sees how it could be used as a “bad thing”.
The problem with using ChatGPT as a source is that students do not get the opportunity to express their own ideas. A large part of education is students learning how to apply their own ideas.
Teachers have found many students using ChatGPT as a hurtful source for their learning, but “more than wanting to cheat, kids don’t feel confident in what their ideas are and what they would think about something,” Yates said.
One way teachers and staff have been able to combat the problem is by using Hapara. This tool lets teachers see students’ open computer tabs and what they are doing on them, which has already prevented students from cheating on assignments and tests. The reason for this is to help students use their own minds and knowledge. ChatGPT can be dangerous in this sense because it can cause too much reliance on other sources’ ideas. In the future, students need to know how to use their own mind and ideas to be successful in life.
AI can be a dangerous source if used irresponsibly. Teachers regulating the use of ChatGPT can help education as a whole. Students could benefit from this new regulation, although it might not be necessary for some, more responsible students.