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Since ChatGPT burst onto the market, students have the option to rely on Large Language Models to “help” them with their assignments. Naturally, this has caused a lot of concern in the teaching profession.
Previously, Spinnaker reported on how one UNF professor has come to integrate AI into their class.
In light of this, I decided to get student perspectives on how professors and students should face AI in the classrooms.
Kayla Drake, a senior in the information science major, views AI programs as an accessibility tool.
Because she is a computing major, Drake initially became interested in AI tools after hearing about them from friends and classmates. While she was unimpressed with nonpractical uses for AI, she stated that learning how to prompt AI correctly revealed how helpful LLMs can be.
“It was through that initial discovery and playing with it that I realized, wait, this is actually a really helpful tool for other things than just playing around,” said Drake.
Drake walked me through some tasks that she uses AI for. She indicated that ChatGPT helps her with coming up with making grocery lists, creating meal plans, writing emails, and understanding confusing language.
When asked about how her professors have approached AI in classrooms, Drake stated that AI usage is largely discouraged, with some practical exceptions.
“We’re often advised to not use it,” said Drake, “but I’ve had some professors who say to use it for outlining or brainstorming or helping with the thought process of pseudo-code and then writing the actual code yourself.”
Drake also shared her perspective on how professors should adapt their classes in the face of widespread LLM usage by students.
“I think AI in classrooms is inevitable,” said Drake, “I think it would be good for professors to start reworking how they teach to be able to accommodate that, such as giving more thought-based questions.”
One example of this assignment type would be having students ask AI models a question and then have them compare their answers to the AI’s, suggested Drake.
Another UNF student I talked to was K-B Corbett. Corbett has a bachelor’s in information science and is currently pursuing his master’s in computer science at UNF.
Corbett also indicated a general need for people to adapt to the changes AI is going to bring.
“I think AI is great. I think it’s gonna be something huge,” said Corbett, “It’s gonna be basically all throughout our lives, whether we like it or not.”
In particular, Corbett emphasized the changes that he believes AI will bring to the job market.
“It’s just going to disrupt a lot of the normalcy… It’s going to create a bunch of new jobs, and it’s going to remove people from certain situations,” said Corbett, “but they’re going to have to either learn new skills… or find new industries.”
While I am an AI skeptic, I can see how practical AI uses can help people like Kayla Drake. Even if I do not believe that AI necessarily has limitless potential, I do believe it is something that students need to prepare for in their future endeavors.
Part of this adaptation may mean AI in classrooms.
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