Artificial intelligence (AI) has become extremely prevalent in daily life, and while it can be dangerous, AI can be used in a helpful setting for college students.
Grammarly
Many students use AI daily through Grammarly and other grammar and spell-check tools, whether they realize it or not. Grammarly can help students write grammatically correct papers or anything else they may need to write. This program is free to use and can be accessed through any search engine.
Checking Work
In addition to using Grammarly and spell check to assess a student’s work, students can also use programs such as ChatGPT to compare the instructor-provided rubric to a paper or any other work. Students can use this program to ask AI to grade them based on the rubric and give them feedback on how to improve. As long as students do not use this to write the paper for them, this is an ethical use of AI.
Organizing and Setting Schedules
For many students, worrying about completing assignments on time and staying organized is a major stress factor. Through AI programs, students can put all assignments and personal things to complete into a system that will keep them organized, helping to eliminate this source of stress.
Putting Together a Study Plan
Different AI programs can also aid in study and tutoring plans. While no AI program can replace a tutor or the personal aspect one brings to the table, it can assist in finding specific things to study in a way that works best for the student.
Research
AI-powered research is a polarizing topic with many differing opinions. It is important to realize that AI cannot replace research, but it can provide a tool to help students find similar articles and provide a baseline for their own research endeavors.
Important things to know
While AI can be a helpful tool, it must be used ethically. According to Lauraine Langreo, a staff writer for Education Week, the four most important things everyone needs to have are “critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity.” These things are fundamental and cannot be replaced by AI.
If a student uses AI to aid in research, they must fact-check the information they receive, acknowledging that often, the information provided by AI can be incorrect. In addition, AI should not be used to write papers for you, and any assistance you receive from AI in a formal setting should be reported as a source.
AI can be a helpful tool, but students should not be dependent on it. If any questions arise about the ethical and proper use of AI as a student, they should refer to the AI guidelines CCIT page on Clemson’s website.
Lauren Douda is a freshman secondary education and English major from Lexington, South Carolina. Lauren can be reached at [email protected].
