Robot-Proof Your Writing Assignments
It’s difficult to estimate the exact number of students who are using AI to help with their homework. However, with the increasing popularity and accessibility of AI technology, it’s likely that a growing number of students are using AI-powered tools and applications to assist with their studies, as well as cheat on their assignments. However, AI use is not all bad. For example, some students may use AI-powered learning platforms or tutoring systems to help with specific subjects. We use one for our students in our English composition courses to help students with grammar and punctuation. Others may use AI to generate reports or summaries of academic articles. Additionally, AI-powered writing and grammar-checking tools like Grammarly are also becoming more common for students to use when working on essays or other written assignments. But not every student is looking to AI for support. Some are looking for an easy way to get their assignments completed without much effort on their part. But there is something we can do about AI. We can either embrace AI and create assignments that utilize these powerful tools to help students learn, or we start robot-proofing our assignments so it’s not so easy for AI to do it for them.
Making assignments that are “AI proof” can be challenging, as artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly sophisticated and can potentially be used to complete assignments on behalf of students. However, there are some strategies that instructors can use to create assignments that are more difficult for AI to complete. Here are some tips:
- Use personalized or creative prompts: Assignments that require students to draw on their own experiences or creativity can be more difficult for AI to complete. For example, instead of asking a question with a clear answer that could be found through a search engine, ask students to write a personal essay or create a piece of art that demonstrates their understanding of a concept.
- Randomize questions and answers: Rather than using the same set of questions and answers for each student, consider randomizing them. This can make it more difficult for AI to predict the questions and prepare answers in advance.
- Use short answer questions: Questions that require a short answer or explanation can be more difficult for AI to generate. In addition, you can change the questions from year to year to make it more difficult for AI to find pre-existing answers.
- Use open-ended questions: Open-ended questions require students to think critically and engage with the material, which can be more difficult for AI to complete. This could be questions that require students to analyze a case study or explain a concept in their own words.
- Use plagiarism detection software: Plagiarism detection software can help to identify assignments that have been completed by AI or copied from other sources. This can serve as a deterrent and help to ensure that students are completing assignments on their own.
Overall, making assignments that are completely “AI proof” may be difficult, but by using a combination of these strategies, instructors can create assignments that are more challenging for AI to complete and promote student learning.
Here are some examples of how students might be using AI to help with their homework but don’t have to be considered cheating:
- AI-powered tutoring systems: Some students are using AI-powered tutoring systems to receive personalized feedback and guidance on specific subjects. These systems can help students understand challenging concepts and improve their problem-solving skills.
- AI-powered writing and grammar-checking tools: Students often use AI-powered writing and grammar-checking tools to improve the quality of their written work. These tools can catch spelling and grammar errors, suggest word choices, and provide feedback on writing style and tone.
- AI-powered study aids: Students may use AI-powered study aids, such as flashcard apps or educational games, to reinforce their understanding of specific subjects. These aids can provide customized learning experiences based on the student’s progress and performance.
- AI-powered research tools: Students can use AI-powered research tools to quickly summarize academic articles or search for relevant information on a particular topic. These tools can save students time and help them focus on the most important information.
- AI-powered language translation tools: For students studying foreign languages, AI-powered language translation tools can help them understand and translate written material and other sources of information.
These are just a few examples of how AI is being used to help students with their homework. The use of AI in education is still in its early stages, and new applications are being developed all the time.
Reading:
Here’s an article with some more strategies to prevent students from using AI tools. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2023/01/19/ways-prevent-students-using-ai-tools-their-classes-opinion
Pain & Suffering or Just Assessment & Evaluation?
That’s how many instructors and students feel about assessment and evaluation. It’s a lot of needless pain and suffering. It always seems so punitive to students who struggle. But assessment doesn’t have to be that way. Many instructors have found ways to teach and use assessments in a way that encourage students to do better the next time. The key is that there is a next time, and that can be the challenge.
In writing courses, instructors can get overloaded with grading. The more a student writes the better that writing becomes, but who has time to grade all that writing. Apparently writing instructors do. However, there are ways to break down the concepts and skills needed to write well and have students practice those concepts and skills without the need of instructor grading. For instance, much of the bad writing that I see, stems from poor sentence structure. Students love a good run-on sentence, with a few fragments thrown in for good measure. It drive me crazy. “Use a comma or a period somewhere, please,” I beg.
Lucky for us at GCC, we’ve found an adaptive learning tool to help us teach students the grammar and mechanics skills, including sentence structure that they struggle with. If you’re not familiar with adaptive learning, it “is an educational method which uses computer algorithms to orchestrate the interaction with the learner and deliver customized resources and learning activities to address the unique needs of each learner” (Wikipedia). The tool we adopted from McGraw-Hill is called Connect, which includes LearnSmart Achieve. LSA provides an adaptive learning system designed to identify students’ areas of weakness. It uses supplementary content, such as videos, interactive activities, additional readings, and even a time management feature, all intended to guide students through content and resources at an appropriate pace. You can see an example below.
The beauty of this type of tool is students are being assessed all through out the process, and the system is adapting to their needs. If they’re struggling with the content they get more resources and more practice. If a student clearly understands, they hit mastery sooner and complete the lesson. So instead of a lot of pain and suffering, students get what they need. Missing a question doesn’t seem like a punishment. It becomes and opportunity to learn why and try again until they get it right. And as an instructor, I don’t have to grade any of that work. That’s the real beauty. My assessment comes when they put those skills to the test on an essay assignment.
Unfortunately, we can’t eliminate all the pain and suffering. At some point students have to write an essay, and instructors have to grade it. Well, more like grade 100+ of them (24 students x 5 classes). And we assign 3-4 essays in each course, so it’s still a lot of grading. But I digress. Once a student submits a finished essay, eager with anticipation of a passing grade, it takes some time to get that feedback back to students. During that span (1-2 weeks on occasion), students forget all about that paper and the effort or lack of effort they put into it. And when the paper is return, the process often ends there. There’s no motivation to do better. We teach that writing is a process, yet we make the process end when we’re ready. I believe with a C paper and especially an F paper, the process is not over yet. The student needs to continue to work on that essay, not the next one, in order to improve his/her writing.
So my assessment technique involves giving students an opportunity of a rewrite. Yep, more pain essays for me to grade. But it works because students have to tell me what it is they did to improve the essay. What skills did they work on? What help did you seek? Did you work in LearnSmart Achieve? Did you visit the Writing Center? Did you schedule a conference with your instructor? So the process doesn’t have to end with an F paper crumpled and thrown in the trashcan as the student walks out the door (clearly that’s an old reference to times gone by). Writing is a process and the only way to get students to write better is to keep the process going for as long as they need.
Example of McGraw-Hill LearnSmart Achieve
The Pressure is on for English Teachers
I teach English at GCC. Technically I teach Freshman Composition, but we say English when asked what we teach. Composition is writing. This is a very interesting considering I majored in English Literature. You know: Beowulf, Shakespeare, Austen, Joyce and Lawrence. I was never taught to write beyond ENG101 and ENG102 in undergrad, but I was expected to do it in every literature class I took. I eventually graduated with a degree in English Literature. So what kind of job does one get with a degree in English Literature? Education or teaching is the number one option. So here I am, teaching English at GCC.
What you can garner from that short story is that most college students get very few opportunities to learn how to write, even when you are studying to be an English teacher. I eventually earned a masters degree in education where I learned to teach writing, but composition classes prior to that were minimal. That is why ENG101 and ENG102 for our students is so crucial. For most it will be their only opportunity to learn to write for their college careers and life in general. Those important skills they learn in Freshman Composition include:
- Written and other communication skills
- Understanding complex ideas and theories
- Research
So the pressure is on for English teachers – ENG101 and ENG102 teachers. These are important skills that go beyond just writing an essay. We’re trying to teach students to think critically, read critically, research critically, and then write. That’s what makes Freshman Composition challenging for students. For the most part, students know how to write or they should considering they just spend four years in high school learning how to do it. But college writing is different. There’s more at stake considering this may be students only chance to learn these skills. Yet many students don’t see the importance of these two courses. They take it for granted.
As I sit here reflecting and writing, I’m all that more thankful for the English teachers I had at Phoenix College and Yavapai College. Because with out that foundation those instructors instilled in me, I really don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing today. And I don’t just mean teaching English. I mean blogging and writing all over the internet in social media sites, writing emails to my colleagues, and writing in my profession. I’m thankful I have the skills, written and other communication skills, critical thinking skills, and research skills, to do my job and do it well.
Conducting Peer Review Assignments in Canvas
At GCC we have another option for conducting online peer review assignments in the composition course. I previously posted about the option I use in Connect Composition, but today I want to share with you a 2nd way that a few of our faculty are using. Below is the method that Gary Lawrence uses. I posted previously about his heads up about this process, but this post will give a few more details on how it all works. He even shared a video below that he made for students to show them the peer review process.
It’s not a perfect process, but it works well enough if you don’t have access to Connect Composition. It requires that students have MS Word to be able to “track changes” and leave comments on the documents. There are work arounds for that, but it might further complicate the process. Below is an image Gary created for students to explain the peer review process to them. Read more
A Heads Up for Creating Peer Review Writing Assignments in Canvas
Below is a guest post from Gary Lawrence, adjunct English faculty member teaching online and hybrid at GCC. He shares his experience with doing peer reviews using Canvas and points out one minor flaw in Canvas that everyone should be aware of to help out this process. If you have any questions, let me know and I’ll pass them on to Gary.
This is the way the peer review process works in Canvas: As part of a draft assignment, I usually let Canvas assign the peer reviews automatically. The cleanest way to do that, I think, is to “lock” submissions, so you don’t have a bunch of late contenders to deal with. So under the draft assignment, I give a due date, and then I select “more options” (shown in blue box below) and check “require peer reviews,” “automatically assign peer reviews,” pick the number of reviews per student, tell Canvas when to assign the peer reviews (default = assignment due date), and then “lock submits after (date)” to keep it clean. I also happen to restrict inputs to .doc or .docx files so students can use “track changes” features of MS Word for line comments.
TYCA West Presentation: The Not-So-Distant Education – Blended Comp Courses That Rock!
Many community colleges have experienced a growth in students over the past few years, and with a limited number of classrooms available, many colleges are trying to find a way to accommodate the needs of all of these new students. We’ve managed to meet this need by offering more online and hybrid freshman composition courses. Online courses obviously are not for everyone, but what about blended learning? This presentation will demonstrate how I created and now teach blended composition courses that meet the needs of all types of students (dev-ed to honors) by incorporated good course design, gaming, challenged based learning, self directed learning and multimedia elements. I will discuss basic design steps for developing a blended course, as well as discuss the pedagogy and tools necessary to make it a success.
Tools discussed: Canvas, Connect Composition, Google+, GoSoapBox, Tegrity, YouTube, Piazza, SoundCloud, Camtasia Studio and SnagIt (Jing).
Topics Discussed:
- Course Design
- Gaming
- CBL
- Self Directed Learning
- Multimedia
Presentation Slides: TYCAWestBlendedCoursesRock.pdf
Mobile Learning Takes Shape in ENG101
I’m about one semester away from teaching a fully mobilized ENG101 course. What do I mean by a mobilize course and mobile learning? Mobile learning is learning that happens when the learner takes advantage of the learning opportunities offered by mobile technologies. Mobile gadgets are everywhere, and just about every student has a mobile phone in his/her pocket. Why not take advantage of these learning tools, as like to refer to them?
So this semester I introduced a mobile learning opportunity to my students in the ENG101 class. I created content that could be viewed, read, watched and listened to on a mobile device. Then I created this video to tell students about it. How they take advantage of what I’ve created and to what extent is yet to be seen.
Video Essay Option Available to Students
For two semesters now, I’ve written into the plans an option for students to do a video essay for the argumentative essay instead of writing a traditional position paper. So far only two students have attempted a video, with mixed reviews. In the first case, the student did a good job with using the technology, but the argument itself was a bit confusing. It’s unclear if this is due to the use of the technology or if the student just had trouble rationalizing her argument. In a written paper it is easy to quickly dismiss the argument as poorly written and unsupported by the evidence in the paper. But with a video, it is not as clear. With so few students choosing this option, it seems a waste of time to dig into supporting arguments in video form. This is something I will have to do as more and more students choose to do video.
Presently this is the only criteria I have listed in the instructions:
- 3-5 Minutes in length
- documentation required (use APA style)
- work needs to make a claim and support it (in other words, this work should have a thesis and support that thesis just like the position paper)
- research (at the very least, for images, video, and audio) required
Grade will be determined by how well video essay meets criteria and how the essay is suited/developed for the video format.
In preparation, I ask students to:
You will need to script your work. Beyond the obvious (you need to determine what claim you will make and how you will support it), you should storyboard your work. An easy way to do this is by creating a table using a wiki (why a wiki? this way, you can keep it as a resource for your final portfolio). To create a storyboard, simply create a two column table in a document. In the left hand side you may put an image or a description of an image. In the right hand side, place any notes or voice overs that you may include. I’d suggest you list your purpose in a brief heading/ abstract.
I found most of this assignment on the internet and have adapted it to fit my needs for this assignment. I also had to update the technology instructions to fit the tools available today. I give them an example of the storyboard and then give them some steps to follow in creating their video using Windows Movie Maker. Students are required to submit their storyboard and a works cited page with the video essay. I won’t have an example until we work out all the kinks or until a student knocks this assignment out of the park.
New Player for ENG101 Podcast
I’ve been experimenting with flash players for my weekly podcasts in my freshman composition courses. I this one from MyFlashFetish.com was pretty cool. I’ll paste the code into the course blog and see how students like it.
I made this music player at MyFlashFetish.com.