Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become widely used by people across the globe, whether in healthcare to improve medical diagnosis or in finance by personalizing services and products. People can apply AI to almost anything. A trending topic in recent years has been students using AI to study, whether it be preparing for a test or completing assignments. Although AI can be a useful tool, it has raised many ethical concerns, especially regarding academic honesty and plagiarism.
AI Ethical Concerns (For Students)
As most of us know, AI has caused mixed feelings regarding academics. A survey shows that 52% of Canadian students use AI for school work, but 60% believe that it’s considered “cheating.”
There is a fine line between using AI as a “tool” and using it for “cheating.”
If AI is doing all the work for you, it’s likely considered cheating (e.g., prompting ChatGPT to write you an essay). However, using ChatGPT as a tool usually consists of it being used as an assistant that helps with your work rather than doing the work for you (e.g., prompting ChatGPT to give you feedback on your essay).
How to Use AI to Boost Your Grades:
Here are some ways to use AI to significantly upscale your academic performance (e.g., grades):
Flashcards:
Studies show that active recall is one of the best ways to memorize information and takes place when you have to recall information from your memory. Flashcards can be one of the best ways to do this. However, it can be really time-consuming. Instead of creating your own flashcards, you can now use AI to make them within a few minutes, just by uploading your study material onto the website, which will then generate them for you.
Study Guides:
A study by Scholar Works showed that students who used study guides increased their test scores by over 30%. A study guide is essentially a document that contains all your exam topics and condenses the material to provide you with key information. Now, you could go ahead and make one on your own; however, it is—similar to flashcards—very time-consuming. So, instead, you can upload your study material to an AI that will generate one for you within minutes.
Feynman Technique:
The most important part of learning is to actually understand the topic(s). One popular method is the Feynman technique, which involves explaining a topic as if teaching a clueless child. This approach helps break down complex concepts and identifies areas where you may struggle. If you’re having difficulty grasping a topic, input it into AI software and say, ‘Explain this topic to me as if I were 5.’ The AI will provide a simplified explanation of even the most complex subjects, often using simple analogies to aid understanding and recall.
Practice Tests:
Practice tests are one of the best ways to ensure you’re prepared for your actual test. You could find practice tests online; however, they may not match your study materials. They might contain too little or too much information. To create a practice test tailored to your needs, input your study materials into an AI application. It will generate a test specifically for you.
Conclusion
AI can significantly boost students’ academic performance if used as a tool rather than for plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Using AI can assist in understanding and retaining information at a much faster pace than doing it by hand. I strongly recommend you test it out when studying for your next exam and see the results!
sources:
- Applications of artificial intelligence (AI) | Google Cloud
- AI in Healthcare: Uses, Examples & Benefits | Built In
- AI in Finance: Applications, Examples & Benefits | Google Cloud
- Everyday examples and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) | Tableau.
- Six in 10 students consider generative AI cheating – KPMG Canada
- Study Guide: What is it & How to Create an Amazing One? – Bit.ai Blog
- Study guides should be required – The Dispatch.