Did the Computer Write That Paper?

Let’s face it, AI (artificial intelligence) isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Instead of fighting it, why not embrace it and help our students embrace it in the right way? I believe students can be trained in appropriate ways to use AI in an ELA classroom. 

AI use in the classroom is not for everyone, and I wouldn’t want my students to have free use of an AI program without training. This is one of the main reasons why most schools ban AI programs. Students’ temptation to have AI do their work is just too great for some; therefore, administrators remove this temptation altogether. What teachers don’t want is for students to use AI to do tasks that they themselves should be learning to do. AI should not replace the student. God made each person unique with the capability to think, reason, and problem solve. AI is not capable of those things. Although AI programs may simulate thought, they are really just search engines that synthesize and regurgitate the information they see on the internet. This means that AI programs are subject to errors and biases. When you ask AI to write a paper on a specific topic, it searches for that topic and begins to compile that information in paragraph form. It does not reason or use logic to ensure the information it uses is current, relevant, or accurate. This is why it is not good to have AI do your work for you. It is not reliable and cannot replace the capability of the brain that God gave you. 

I do feel there is a place for AI in the ELA classroom of upper grades. First, I feel that students need to be taught about the fallacies of AI. They need to know how it works and be aware of its downfalls. They need to know that it is not always correct and can reflect the same biases that others show on the internet. Second, students need to be taught how AI can be used to make some tasks easier. For example, if they have a huge list of terms that need alphabetized, AI can do that. If they want to see examples of literary terms, kinds of sentences, or types of poems, AI can do that. If they need suggestions of topics to write about, AI can do that as well. Third, students need to be taught how AI can be used to help them learn difficult concepts. If students are struggling with noun clauses, they can ask AI to explain noun clauses to them in simple terms. This can be done with virtually any difficult concept. If students need more practice with verb tenses, they can ask AI to create a worksheet about verb tenses for their grade level. In this way, AI can be a valuable tool to differentiate learning. Lastly, AI can be used to improve writing. After a student writes a paper, AI can be used in the revision process. If a student is struggling with how to word a sentence, he could ask an AI program to reword the sentence to be more concise and clearer. The student can then look at the suggestions to see what he might want to use in his writing. I would caution against using the completely reworded suggestion from the AI program since it may not be appropriate for the intended audience or may not reflect the intended tone of the student’s paper. However, the AI suggestions can really help get the students thinking about ways to improve their writing. AI can really be a useful tool in an ELA classroom when used in the proper way.

I feel that the use of AI programs in the classroom should be reserved for upperclassmen. By eleventh grade, students should understand basics grammar usage and writing organization; therefore, I may introduce them to AI in the second half of the year. This would greatly depend on where I felt the class was academically without the use of AI. However, if I had to suggest a grade level in which to focus more on correctly using AI, it would be the twelfth grade. AI is not going anywhere, so I feel that it is important to educate our seniors on the appropriate uses of AI as well as the shortcomings and downfalls. I feel that educating our upperclassmen on the pros and cons of AI will help prepare them for success beyond high school.