You might have heard that AI is taking over the world (or at least our classrooms), but what does this mean for academic integrity? Well, let me tell you, it ain’t all doom and gloom!

To kick things off: are students using chatbots to cheat more often than before? According to a recent study by Stanford Graduate School of Education, the answer is… not really. In fact, the data suggests that AI isn’t increasing the frequency of cheating at all (phew). But don’t get too excited just yet this doesn’t mean that chatbots are completely innocent in the world of academic dishonesty.

You see, while students may not be using chatbots to write entire papers for them, they are still using these AI tools as a crutch when it comes to homework and assignments. According to the same study, many students believe that it’s acceptable to use chatbots like ChatGPT for “starter” purposes like explaining a new concept or generating ideas for a paper. But when it comes to actually writing an entire assignment, most students agree that using a chatbot is never okay.

So what does this mean for school leaders and educators? Well, first of all, we need to help students understand the ethics of using AI in their academic work. This means teaching them how to use these tools responsibly (like not copying entire paragraphs from ChatGPT) and encouraging them to think critically about what they’re learning.

But let’s be real chatbots aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, AI is becoming more and more integrated into our daily lives, whether we like it or not. So instead of trying to block these tools from school wifi and devices (which has been shown to be ineffective), we need to find ways to work with them.

At Stanford Graduate School of Education, for example, they’ve developed free resources to help teachers bring AI literacy into the classroom. These activities and lessons can fit seamlessly into what educators are already covering, without taking up too much time or resources. And by teaching students how to use chatbots responsibly (like not copying entire paragraphs from ChatGPT), we can ensure that they’re using these tools for good rather than cheating their way through school.

.. complicated. But with the right education and resources, we can help students use AI responsibly and ethically in their academic work. And who knows? Maybe one day we’ll all be using chatbots to write our own papers (just kidding that would be a disaster).