When syllabi were first handed out and discussed on the first days of school, almost every cheating policy involved artificial intelligence. AI tools like ChatGPT have a reputation for helping students cheat. According to Northern Michigan University, most students use AI to generate essays and use them on exams. I, on the other hand, believe that AI can be used to help students for good. Many services, including ChatGPT, provide students with the opportunity to learn and study through the use of AI.
When AP exam time rolled around in May, I felt panicked and unprepared. Fortunately, I was able to find the AI study tool, Knowt, while on Instagram. Knowt is a study platform made with AI that helps students prepare for their AP exams. The site includes study guides, flashcards, quizzes and practice tests, all made by AI. Knowt also has a place where you can predict your AP score by inputting scores from practice exams. This can help students identify areas for improvement before their exam.
Through these resources, I was able to get a 4 on my AP Human Geography exam. Also, it’s extremely easy to use and can be used with little time. I started to prepare for my AP exam about two weeks before my exam date. Overall, Knowt helped with my study habits by allowing me not to stress over exams.
I understand where the teachers and administrators come from with their stance on AI. AI is notoriously known to help students cheat on homework and exams. However, if we decide to research ways AI can help students learn, like Knowt, we can educate students on how to use AI correctly. Administrators are only looking at this resource as a negative when it deserves to be looked at for the positive. If teachers were able to teach students how to use AI to help them with their homework, students would have a better relationship with AI use and would be able to learn from it. For example, we could use a segment from a round table on Mondays and Tuesdays to inform students about the uses of AI and how it can benefit their learning. Administrators and teachers need to have more trust in students because how are students able to use AI to help them if it is completely blocked off? Blocking it off makes it even more of an issue.
And yes, AI does have environmental impacts that hurt our Earth. According to MIT News, using AI requires a heavy amount of electricity. And a decent amount of water is needed to cool down these AI systems. However, there are more important things that are hurting our environment that should be focused on. Annually, there are 2.1 billion tons of trash tossed around the globe, according to The World Counts. 1.7 billion of this is dumped into the ocean. This affects our environment and ecosystems by destroying habitats for precious marine life and systems vital to the planet. So while AI may be hurting our environment, there are other bigger impacts that hurt the environment just as much, or even more.
Another source that can be used to help students is TurboLearn. This AI software allows students to copy links from YouTube videos and put them into notes and study guides that help students process information. While that is its main feature, there are other amazing tools on this site. TurboLearn also has an area on its site where students can generate an AI podcast curated for their study needs. There is also the option to make flashcards, quizzes and have the ability to record your lectures and turn them into notes, which I personally think is amazing, because in class, you don’t have to worry about taking notes and can actually focus on the lecture. With all the different types of learning tools, this AI source is suitable for all types of learners, whether it’s visual, auditory or verbal.
Sometimes, content is taught to us in ways that students might struggle with. For example, students might struggle with the learning method, indicating that they require an alternative approach to learning the information. Or even if the correct learning strategies are used for the student, terms can be used that blow right over students’ heads. Thankfully, ChatGPT provides a solution that helps me and can help students, too. Instead of just saying ‘What is [insert topic]?’, I can say ‘Explain [insert topic] to me like I’m five.’ You can adjust this based on your learning style. This way, you aren’t blindly memorizing facts with terms you don’t understand, and are actually grasping what is being taught.
While I think AI is a great source for learning, it isn’t 100% accurate all the time. I wouldn’t use AI as your only source of information because it could be teaching you false information. I use AI to build up information I already have a basic understanding of, or to clarify things. Despite this, AI is good to use due to its unique learning benefits.
AI is a quick resource that I can use to help me study and become a better student, and I think others should use it too. AI has been rejected from classrooms due to cheating, but I think it should be given a second chance. We can reintroduce AI as a tool to help us learn, rather than something used to quickly complete an assignment. I think that part of this reputation comes from the way teachers and administrators treat AI. Everyone could benefit from seeing AI from a new perspective and being open to the idea of integrating it into our learning.
