OTAN News

What do we Gain and Lose when Students use AI to Write?

This article is part of the guide: For Education, ChatGPT Holds Promise — and Creates Problems.

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“If a student uses AI to write and nobody notices, does it matter?”

Writer Tony Wan explains the evolution of technology from cursive writing to the typewriter to speech to text functions. “When groundbreaking technologies enter schools, old skills and habits make way for new ones. Some we may not miss much, like cursive handwriting. Other conveniences come at a cost.” Will AI replace the need to both learn to read and write?

Gain

AI can “shorten the amount of time it takes teachers to give feedback about the writing process.” With some AI tools, teachers can upload their rubric expectations and AI can handle the basic feedback. Then teachers can focus on important areas like ideas.

So far there are limitations with using AI with identifying and evaluating the “structural pieces of argumentative writing.” This further necessitates the partnership with a human teacher who understands the student cultural context and background knowledge.

Lose

Most people do not enjoy the brutal writing process. The exercise in taking a blank document and creating a cohesive piece of writing is something to be learned through lots of practice and rewrites. Traditionally, this practice makes a competent writer. With AI shortcuts, we don't build the writing muscles needed to brainstorm, connect ideas, edit and rewrite. Without the practice and resilience to write and rewrite, using AI as a shortcut could lead to underdevelopment of the process itself.

For the full article.