Let’s make sure we’re using it to our advantage
ChatGPT can benefit education in several ways. As a language model, ChatGPT can assist students with a variety of writing-related tasks, including generating ideas for writing assignments, providing feedback on written work, and answering questions about grammar and syntax.
AI helps to base grades on subject matter
We often hear people say that they’re good at maths, or good at english, and lacking in the other. Some say it has to do with which hemisphere of the brain is dominant. It could be argued that AI helps any students who might be lacking in language skills to write thought provoking insight on topics they’re interested in, without having to rely on literacy skills that they might struggle to develop.
One opportunity of generative AI for student writing is that it can help students to develop their writing skills and improve the quality of their work. For example, ChatGPT can generate writing prompts or suggest improvements to students’ writing, which can help them to become more proficient writers.
AI can act as a first check for spelling and grammatical errors
Another opportunity of generative AI for student writing is that it can help to automate certain aspects of the grading process. For instance, AI can help to identify spelling and grammar errors in students’ writing, and provide instant feedback on these errors. Many students leave the formatting and final checks of their work to the last minute and often these are overlooked. By using an AI to check for these errors, the quality of work handed in to educators and academics will be of better quality and the subject matter content isn’t devalued because of some grammatical issues.
There’s a risk that students will become too reliant on AI
However, there are also potential issues associated with using generative AI for student writing. One concern is that students may become overly reliant on AI-generated content, and may not develop their own writing skills as a result. This being said, students who struggle with writing may be able to pick up tips and feedback from the AI when checking their work, and this may benefit them in the future.
Privacy and data
Another issue is that the use of AI in education raises important ethical questions around data privacy and ownership. For instance, there may be concerns about who has access to student data generated through AI, and how this data is being used and protected. For example, there’s been talk in the media lately of AI generated text being stored in a database so it can be used by plagiarism checkers.
Overall, while there are certainly opportunities for using generative AI in education, it is important to be mindful of these potential issues and to develop appropriate safeguards and guidelines to ensure that the technology is being used in an ethical and responsible manner.
