AI in English Education

  Kristine L. Blair closes her Letter from the Editor for the March 2023 volume of Computers and Composition by pointing out that the discussions about AI and ChatGPT have already started. While there aren’t many scholarly articles out there yet, this will soon change, as we cannot ignore the importance of the topic. I would definitely keep an eye on this journal for any future volumes.

  Christine Elgersma summarizes what educators can and shoulddo in their classrooms when it comes to the use of AI.  Of course, the current concerns of educators are valid. We need to discuss questions of plagiarism, ethics, and issues of biases and misinformation. Elgersma doesn’t just ask the questions but also offers some ideas on how to start the conversation about them. Have you run into any of these problems in your classroom or institute? Read the article here: https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/chatgpt-and-beyond-how-to-handle-ai-in-schools  

  Nancy Gleason was ahead of the flood when she published an articleback in December on the use of ChatGPT in higher education. At the time it was still fairly new and the version most people could access produced less “ready” text than what today’s version does, but it was already obvious that this was going to be a huge new tool. While she warns that we should be very careful to make sure we evaluate our students rather than AI, she also offers ideas on how to incorporate the chatbot into a writing class by providing a sample class activity: let your students use the bot during class time, and then have them discuss its generated text, so that they can assess what the AI came up with. I do not think this will end academic dishonesty, but it is a great first step in teaching our students how to use the chatbot in an ethical way. What are your thoughts? Would this work in your classroom? You can find the article here:   https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/chatgp...

  Hong Yang is offering some answers to this very current and important question : how we can use the chatbot(s) in a responsible way when we are teaching. The article was published in Nature . Yang of course recognizing that students could use this technology for cheating, but instead of instantly punishing them, he concentrates on ideas of how to change his own teaching to better accommodate the changing world of academia. The first of his ideas is rethinking assignments so that students do more hands-on work rather than writing literature reviews. Surely, it seems as an easier solution when we talk about science subjects rather than English, and especially composition, but reconfiguring our assignments will likely be the very first step we have to take. He also offers some practical tips, out of which my favorites are diversifying our assessments and to be aware of what risks ChatGPT possesses so that you can be ready for what your students may bring to your class by using it. W...