A commentary by (sort of) a high school literature and composition teacher in Nelson.
British Columbia. Below is my draft article on the student use of AI chat software to do their homework for them. Please note that the article has a twist ending so you have to read to the final sentence to fully understand it:
As a high school English teacher living in the winsome mountain town of Nelson, I have noticed a growing trend among my students: the use of ChatGPT to write their English essays.
ChatGPT, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a type of artificial intelligence that can generate human-like text based on a given prompt. Students are using this technology to write their essays, and it is inhibiting their learning and development as writers.
One of the biggest problems with ChatGPT is that it is not able to generate original ideas. Instead, it simply regurgitates information that is already available online. This means that students are not learning how to think critically or creatively, and are not developing the skills they need to become effective writers.
Another problem is that it is difficult for teachers to detect this form of plagiarism. ChatGPT-generated text can be very convincing and it often blends in with the work of other students, making it difficult for teachers to identify which essays are original and which are not.
As a teacher, it is my job to help my students become better writers and thinkers. The use of ChatGPT is not only cheating, but it is also preventing my students from reaching their full potential.
It is important for students to understand that writing is a skill that needs to be developed through practice and hard work, and not through the use of artificial intelligence. As teachers, it is also important for us to be aware of this form of plagiarism and to do our best to detect and prevent it.
Oh, by the way, I should mention that ChatGPT wrote this entire article.
