With the explosion of AI tools in recent years, a new challenge has emerged in student writing: is it truly their work? In the South Shore area, this issue has even made headlines, prompting teachers and districts to closely examine best practices. I believe AI can be a powerful tool and a valuable scaffold in the writing process, but we’ll need to find the right balance between authentic student writing and writing supported—or generated—by AI. In the meantime, I’ve been helping teachers develop strategies to prevent inappropriate AI use while we all learn the best ways to incorporate AI into the writing process with students.
Accurate 💯
One important thing to demonstrate about generative AI tools is that they’re not always accurate. These language models source information from the internet, and as we all know, there’s a lot of incorrect—and sometimes harmful—content out there! For a quick example, try asking your favorite AI tool for a list of vegetables—you might be surprised by the mistakes.
Even when using AI to assist with writing, it’s crucial to include the human element and do your research. Generative AI can also carry biases, which is another critical factor to keep in mind when using these tools.
Tips 💡
We’re all doing our best to integrate these tools with students in effective and meaningful ways, and that process takes time. In the meantime, though, students still have writing assignments where teachers need to assess their individual abilities. Check out the one-pager below for quick tips to help students produce authentic writing.
Writing Tech Tips 💡 in the time of AI by Erin Fisher
Closing Thoughts
I’ve heard about some powerful ways AI has been integrated into the writing process with students, and I’m excited to see how we’ll continue to use these incredible tools in the future. Stay tuned for more posts on THAT! What an exciting time to be in education!
Are you using generative AI tools throughout the writing process? I’d love to hear it! Throw me a line 🐟🐟🎣 Thanks for reading 💙
Take care,
oFIShally yours,