Artificial Intelligence - Robust or Robbery?

AI has been changing the world in innumerable ways for many years, but it has hit mainstream and is available to everyone everywhere. Students and professors alike use it to aid them in completing all types of work. It can help with research, creating assignments, writing assignments, grading assignments, and much more.

As with any technology, AI can aid in accomplishing your goals or it can quietly sabotage them. It all depends on what you, as a student, are looking to get from your educational experience. Professors are quite aware that students are using AI for their work and even encourage it. It can be very helpful if used as a tool to understand concepts and to correct assignments. It can save time and effort and there is immeasurable value in using such tools. Professors know this. The pitfalls come when AI is being used for everything possible and supplanting a student's relationship with important educational material. Educational robbery!

Using AI to perform duties that are instrumental in learning and mastering certain skills can cheat students out of their education and leave them unqualified for a career that they want. A student needs to be clear on what their goals really are. Where do you want to end up? Why are you going to college or university? Several typical answers are:

• to get a degree for a career
• to expand your mind and find yourself
• to experience what is out there in the world
• to meet many people your own age from similar and different backgrounds
• to do what is expected of you by others (family, parents)
• to provide for your family

As a professor, I see so much potential and incredible opportunity in education with artificial intelligence.  My reservations surface when someone is using it for everything they possibly can and missing out on opportunities for real learning and growth. When they bypass learning key skills and knowledge, what will happen when they are called upon in the future and cannot perform? Can a professor prevent that from happening? Not really. A professor can only present information and opportunities. We can not make you learn, but if you let us, we can be your guide!

Professors can be valuable resources for students by working to identify when AI can be helpful and when it can burgle you. Most professors will welcome the opportunity to guide you on your journey. Ask them!

Getting Every Last Point By Changing Your Point of View

 Alternate View of Your Assignments

When a professor assigns something, believe it or not, there is an actual reason behind it! Some professors are better at making the reasons known than others, but there definitely are reasons. Typically assignments are used to help the student learn and/or practice something important that the professor is trying to teach. Keep in mind that every time a professor gives out an assignment, they are obligated to grade the assignment...except there is an entire class of assignments to be graded. The professor must really believe that it will be helpful to the students because they know going in that they will be assigning themselves an enormous pile of student work. For every one piece you produce, they may have 75 more to grade. Knowing this, professors assign things that help you gain the knowledge, skills, and tools that you need to succeed in the course, your job, and at life. This is the professor's perspective. This is one window into the professor's mind.

As a student, you see an assignment as an obstacle to overcome and move on. A professor sees it another way altogether.  Professors see it as helpful and necessary for the students, but then also as a lot of time and work for them. This is where you can help yourself earn as many points as possible for your assignment. Complete your assignments so that they are easy to grade. And how might you do that, you ask?

The first step is to follow the directions. If the directions say to do things a certain way, then do them that way. Read the directions a few times to make sure that you are clear on what is being asked. Take the time to view the grading rubric if there is one provided.

Tips:

• After you have finished your assignment, wait a bit and then go back and read the directions again and look at your assignment. Did you follow the directions? If not, fix it.
• Are your answers easy to find?
• Did you answer everything?
• Is it clear which answer goes with which question if applicable?
• Is it easy to read, or is it jumbled or fragmented? 
• Did you use the correct punctuation so that the meaning is clear? A comma can completely alter the meaning of a sentence.
• Is everything presented in the same font and size? These things matter because they speak to your attention to detail, and strangely enough you may think, also to your respect for the professor. Different fonts and sizes can indicate that something is copied and pasted from somewhere else. Maybe that is ok, maybe it isn't.
• Did you highlight things? Was that asked for in the instructions? If not, get rid of the highlighting. It can make assignments look like a cartoon and annoyingly hard to read.

All of the above can make a difference in how your professor views you and your work. Even if just  subconsciously, an impression is made. Your aim is obviously for a favorable impression. If you did not turn in something that resembles what they wanted, there will be consequences.

Other tips that come to mind if you have the time:

• Proofread your work out loud. This helps find mistakes that you do not see when just reading through.
• Find someone else to read the assignment to see if they understand it (yes, this can be difficult to do).
• Grade your own paper based on the original assignment. How do you score?
• Use the tools that your software programs provide to catch grammar mistakes and misspellings.

If you try to think like the professor, or at least like the person that is grading your assignments, it may help you improve scores on everything that you do going forward!