Research Article
Maria Eleftheriou, Muhammad Ahmer, Daniel Fredrick
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 17, Issue 3, Article No: ep587
ABSTRACT
Like many student writing centers, the American University of Sharjah Writing Center is seeing a rise in student reliance upon generative AI (GenAI) tools, which are artificial intelligence systems capable of generating human-like text. Peer tutors frequently seek guidance on how to approach student papers involving GenAI tools such as ChatGPT, yet writing centers have offered relatively little direction on this emerging issue. Our study examines the challenges peer tutors encounter when addressing AI use in student writing, as well as the strategies they employ to navigate these issues. A focus group discussion with peer tutors and an analysis of a collaborative document co-developed by the peer tutors provided insights into their experiences. Findings reveal that peer tutors encounter difficulties when students use ChatGPT covertly, struggle with ethical concerns about hiding AI involvement, and report inconsistencies in faculty policies regarding AI use, making it difficult to offer consistent advice to their students. To address these challenges, peer tutors encourage students to disclose their use of AI, explore their motivations for using it, and discuss both the benefits and limitations of AI tools. They emphasize students’ potential, encourage rewriting and revising AI-generated content, promote learning and independence over AI reliance, engage in discussions about ethical considerations, and advise adherence to professors’ guidelines. This research will contribute to developing practical guidelines for responding to AI in writing centers and provide peer tutors with the tools they need to navigate these changes. The study’s findings will also contribute to the evolving dialogue on academic integrity and the role of AI in higher education.
Keywords: generative AI, GenAI, AI, AI tools, writing center pedagogy, ChatGPT in education, academic integrity, AI in student writing
Research Article
Edmund De Leon Evangelista
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 17, Issue 1, Article No: ep559
ABSTRACT
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, particularly OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has significantly impacted higher education institutions (HEIs), offering opportunities and challenges. While these tools enhance personalized learning and content generation, they threaten academic integrity, especially in assessment environments. This study systematically examines the impact of ChatGPT on academic integrity in HEIs, focusing on exam design, assessment strategies, AI detection tools, and policy frameworks. This research draws from current literature and expert recommendations to identify practical approaches for developing assessments that foster critical thinking and deep cognitive engagement, making them less susceptible to AI-generated content. Key areas explored include the creation of complex, analytical exam formats, deploying advanced AI detection software to counter AI-assisted cheating, and formulating institutional policies that promote the ethical use of AI. This comprehensive framework aims to equip educators and administrators with practical strategies to preserve academic standards while harnessing the potential benefits of AI, ensuring the continued validity of assessments in the AI-driven educational landscape.
Keywords: ChatGPT, academic integrity, higher education, exam design, AI detection, assessment strategies, AI policies
Review Article
Muhammad Imran, Norah Almusharraf
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 4, Article No: ep464
ABSTRACT
This study examines the role of ChatGPT as a writing assistant in academia through a systematic literature review of the 30 most relevant articles. Since its release in November 2022, ChatGPT has become the most debated topic among scholars and is also being used by many users from different fields. Many articles, reviews, blogs, and opinion essays have been published in which the potential role of ChatGPT as a writing assistant is discussed. For this systematic review, 550 articles published six months after ChatGPT’s release (December 2022 to May 2023) were collected based on specific keywords, and the final 30 most relevant articles were finalized through PRISMA flowchart. The analyzed literature identifies different opinions and scenarios associated with using ChatGPT as a writing assistant and how to interact with it. Findings show that artificial intelligence (AI) in education is a part of the ongoing development process, and its latest chatbot, ChatGPT is a part of it. Therefore, the education process, particularly academic writing, has both opportunities and challenges in adopting ChatGPT as a writing assistant. The need is to understand its role as an aid and facilitator for both the learners and instructors, as chatbots are relatively beneficial devices to facilitate, create ease and support the academic process. However, academia should revisit and update students’ and teachers’ training, policies, and assessment ways in writing courses for academic integrity and originality, like plagiarism issues, AI-generated assignments, online/home-based exams, and auto-correction challenges.
Keywords: AI in education, chatbots, ChatGPT as writing assistant, scientific writing, academic integrity
Research Article
Angelos Konstantinidis, Dimitra Theodosiadou, Christos Pappos
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 4, Issue 3, pp. 212-221
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this review is to analyze and evaluate the research findings on using Plagiarism Detection Services (PDS) in universities. In order to do that, conceptual issues about plagiarism are examined and the complex nature of plagiarism is discussed. Subsequently, the pragmatic forms of student plagiarism are listed and PDS strategies on detecting plagiarism are accounted briefly. Research findings are categorized into four interconnected areas: (a) effectiveness and efficiency of PDS; (b) university and course context; (c) perceptions and attitudes towards use of PDS from educators; and (d) perceptions and attitudes towards use of PDS from students. Finally, the authors discuss their own perspective on the issue of implementing PDS in various educational contexts.
Keywords: Plagiarism detection services, Plagiarism forms, Plagiarism prevention, Academic integrity, Perceptions about plagiarism.