AI is a skill, not a shortcut
How students use evolving technology
Story by Michael Hogan
Artificial intelligence, or โAI, has evolved from something of the world of science fiction to an easily accessible reality for many. Despite the frequently negative view of AI in the classroom, Baylor students and professors have found ways to use the online platforms for education purposes and academic growth opportunities.
Students with internet access need only to visit certain sites, like the popular ChatGPT, to access tools that could write an academic essay in seconds. Some AI programs online can create content with just a sentence-long prompt by pulling online data to match oneโs request. Teachers in classroom settings teach about the unknowns of AI.
Dr, Daniel Watkins, associate professor and undergraduate program director of history at Baylor, says AI can be a useful tool for helping students revise their writing.
Only recently have the impacts of AI begun to show themselves. Dr. Daniel Watkins, associate professor and undergraduate program director of history at Baylor, said he considers one of the important aspects of AI to be whether it is considered plagiarism. Watkins said despite the common concerns posed regarding AI in the classroom, it can be a tool in the right hands.
โI think generative AI is shockingly good at helping people revise their writing. I think it can also be a really great tool for shedding light on some of the skills that we are developing in humanities classes that canโt be replicated well by computers or machine learning, like critical thinking or critical skill usage,โ Watkins said.
Dr. Richard Jordan, a political science professor, encourages the use of AI in his classroom for such things as giving a student a preliminary grade on their papers.
In the area of humanities, AI platforms are useful tools for helping students advance their writing skills by eliminating unnecessary words or showing students ways to bring a long thesis statement down substantially.
The Week Magazine conducted a study that found that 90% of students use AI as an academic resource, primarily as a tool for studying. They also found 95% of students had grade improvements by utilizing the tool.
Lago Vista sophomore Jake Lacour said AI is something he has used for writing in the past. Lacour said AI tools have helped him establish stronger writing techniques that he has been able to implement in his work.
A student prepares for finals in Moody Memorial Library using artificial intelligence study assistance to test her knowledge.
โI find some sentences that I donโt think are very good and I put them into one of the machines and ask it to help me either stretch them or shrink them. Also just helping me to see what words I can get rid of and things I wouldโve never thought of,โ Lacour said.
Students who struggle with their writing and lack the time or skill to readily improve it can utilize AI for small mistakes. AI can also be helpful for brainstorming ideas, or even giving hypothetical grades for assignments to find ways to improve before a final submission.
Dr. Richard Jordan, a professor of political science, is a proponent of AI usage in his classrooms and encourages his students to use AI properly. Jordan discourages students from using AI to write an entire assignment, but he allows students to have AI give them a preliminary grade on their papers.
โIt’s a great way of understanding how your professor is going to grade and if you have weaknesses that need to be addressed,โ Jordan said. โIf that were to take place between a professor and a student, that could take hours and hours which I simply donโt have, but AI can reduce that process dramatically and that is a great advance.โ
Jordan is optimistic about the future of AI in the classrooms and believes that one day AI could potentially pinpoint where students struggle the most, giving teachers the opportunity to assist students so they are not left behind. Jordan said he views AI as a tool, not merely something to be removed from the classroom.
โI believe we are entering a new technological age that will change everything,โ Jordan said.