As artificial intelligence rapidly rolls out to the public, the debate over its use in classrooms is ramping up.
Broward County Public Schools recently blocked the use of certain A.I. tech, like ChatGPT, on all district-owned devices.
“The District has taken steps to block access to such systems from District-owned devices, while the ramifications of their use are analyzed, and possible measures are considered," a district spokesperson said in a statement to NBC 6.
At Broward College’s downtown Fort Lauderdale campus, a committee is being created to grasp the emerging technology. The college’s Interim Dean of Online Campus and E-Learning says she wants teachers to be prepared.
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“…just identify what A.I. looks like in written work or in other works, so that faculty can be more savvy,” Priscilla Suarez said.
But the real eye-opener happened a few weeks ago when English professor Laura McDermott Matheric ran her student’s creative writing essay through a plagiarism detection program. The result? A 100% A.I.-generated paper.
“We don’t allow such academic dishonesty because whether it’s created by a BOT or another person, it’s not original work," Matheric said. "What we’re encouraging is original, self-creation through critical thinking."
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According to the student, the paper was simply put through the online grammar checker Grammarly to check for spelling and grammar errors. They claim the plagiarism software misidentified it as being A.I. generated.
Still, it’s a concern among many educators who know a student can ask apps like ChatGPT to write an entire essay in seconds, by giving it the proper directions.
Other professors at Broward College are trying to embrace the technology, something Rick McCawley says is inevitably going to be part of our lives in the future, much like the internet.
“Every single human being is going to be visited by an alien. That alien is artificial intelligence,” McCawley said. “It’s a resource if we make it act that way."
McCawley recently assigned his graphic design students to use A.I. in order to create illustrations. The results were beautiful and striking. Still, he says, there are many ethical layers that need to be worked out.
“If we send it in the right direction, it will extend our reach beyond our wildest imagination,” McCawley said. “We’ve got to get on top of it with both legal ramifications, ethical thought process, and education is where that has to get started.”
NBC6 also reached out to Miami-Dade County Public Schools on the use of A.I. in classrooms. The district says such tech isn’t meant for minors but sees A.I. as a useful tool for teachers when it comes to professional development.
