Victoria Livingstone shares her experience of quitting teaching after nearly 20 years due to the prevalence of AI tools among her students. Despite her efforts to teach critical writing skills, many students opted for the convenience of AI, diminishing their engagement with the writing process.
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman Future Shock by Alvin Toffler
Podcasts: "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" by Lori Gottlieb Documentaries: "Coded Bias" on Netflix
AI-generated content, debate its merits, and explore the nuances of writing without fully relying on it. We can teach them to use AI as a tool for brainstorming rather than a crutch.
Writing is hard work. It is sometimes frightening. With the easy temptation of AI, many—possibly most—of my students were no longer willing to push through discomfort.
These technologies, however, often result in inconsistent writing style, do not always help students avoid plagiarism, and allow the writer to gloss over understanding. Online paraphrasing tools are useful only when students have already developed a deep knowledge of the craft of writing.
Generative AI is effective at correcting grammar. However, the technology often changes vocabulary and alters meaning even when the only prompt is “fix the grammar.”
Victoria Livingstone shares her experience of quitting teaching after nearly 20 years due to the prevalence of AI tools among her students. Despite her efforts to teach critical writing skills, many students opted for the convenience of AI, diminishing their engagement with the writing process.
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman Future Shock by Alvin Toffler
Podcasts: "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" by Lori Gottlieb Documentaries: "Coded Bias" on Netflix
AI-generated content, debate its merits, and explore the nuances of writing without fully relying on it. We can teach them to use AI as a tool for brainstorming rather than a crutch.
Writing is hard work. It is sometimes frightening. With the easy temptation of AI, many—possibly most—of my students were no longer willing to push through discomfort.
These technologies, however, often result in inconsistent writing style, do not always help students avoid plagiarism, and allow the writer to gloss over understanding. Online paraphrasing tools are useful only when students have already developed a deep knowledge of the craft of writing.
Generative AI is effective at correcting grammar. However, the technology often changes vocabulary and alters meaning even when the only prompt is “fix the grammar.”
