MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — As artificial intelligence continues to grow, Central Michigan University is embracing the technology and implementing it into its classrooms.
"Our students are going to be expected to use AI writing tools in the future," said Troy Hicks, chairperson for the Department of Teacher and Special Education at CMU, "And it's our responsibility as educators, in an age appropriate way, to teach them how to do that effectively."
Hicks said there are ways to use the technology for both teachers and students. For many in his education department, they can use it to create prompts, get feedback or engage in dialogue to generate new ideas.
However, it is not about letting the AI do all the work.
"We're going to have to teach students how to use and interpret these results." said Hicks, "So, not only are they going to need to use the writing tools like Chat GPT, and others, but they're also going to have to be thinking critically and carefully about the search results they get from these popular search engines that are now using AI as well."
He said in one class, he pulled up two screens for students. On one side was an AI powered chatbot. The other was a traditional internet search engine. They then compared the two results and discussed the findings.
There are, however, some reservations.
"One of the main concerns is that we hear people are afraid, educators are afraid, that this is going to essentially cheat students out of the opportunity to do their own critical and creative thinking," said Hicks, "I really hope that we embrace our humanity as we're teaching students how to use artificial intelligence."
Hicks also taught a professional development event on CMU's campus this summer for teachers about using AI in the classroom.
"It is on our minds as faculty, and it is certainly part of the conversation on campus," said Hicks.
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