BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – From Snapchat AI to Chat GPT and AI-powered translation apps, artificial intelligence programs that were once viewed with suspicion are now being embraced by schools, but with a healthy dose of skepticism.
These programs can offer advantages for teachers and students, but they can also cause problems.
Artificial intelligence programs are here to stay.
Educators like Legacy High School’s Haleigh Harter believe it’s important to adapt and evolve.
She said AI has created a more level playing field.
“There’s a difference between equality and fairness, and because I work with students who are in reading strategies and may need a little extra help in reading comprehension, there are ways to use Chat GPT to make texts more accessible to them,” said Harter.
Harter also said AI programs like Chat GPT can format her lesson plans and act as a study partner for students.
For ESL teacher Christina Kitzman, AI and translation apps have only benefited her and her students.
“My students practice speaking. And so, they talk into a program, and it gives them feedback on how they’re doing with their English speaking, so that’s really cool. We also have conversations with AI as well, so they can practice real-world situations,” said Kitzman.
These programs help students like Modou make strides in and out of the classroom.
“It helped me out with spelling, reading, everything, really, everything the teachers are teaching me. It helped me out at home as well,” said Modou.
But these intuitive programs also have pitfalls that can limit learning progress, like writing an entire paper by typing in a prompt or citing sources that either don’t exist, or provide an author’s name who never wrote the cited work.
“One of the things we do talk about is how Chat GPT hallucinates—that’s kind of the term that they use for it. What I tell my students is Chat GPT is lazy too,” said Harter.
Simply put, when it comes to teaching and learning, AI programs are here to guide students and educators, not to help them take the easy way out.
Teachers have programs to monitor their students’ AI use and to help protect their students’ personal information.
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