Thank you for sharing this - it seems like you've been having really constructive conversations with your students!
What I've seen with my community college students so far has been similar to what you describe. When we've talked about ChatGPT et al, students' expressed responses have generally ranged from "meh" to "blech", and I've seen very little evidence that they're using it in the stuff they hand in. Actually, a significant number of my students prefer to do much of their writing on paper. (Some do use grammar checkers and translation tools, both of which I'm generally ok with.)
My sense is that there are a number of things going on:
1. I am primarily teaching in person, so I'm working with students who have generally chosen a less technologically mediated experience.
2. Some of my students are dealing with barriers in terms of technology access and literacy.
3. Many of my students have had bad experiences with ed tech in the past, and I suspect that this informs their response to ChatGPT et al as relates to their studies.
4. Some of my students appear to view using ChatGPT et al as some combination of trashy/untrustworthy/inauthentic/dishonest/cheating. Others are just not interested. (I do get a few AI enthusiasts, but not a lot.)
5. My classes give students a lot of space to decide what they want to do and how they want to do it, and I make a point of encouraging them to do things in a way that involves genuine thinking and learning *for them*.
6. Moving toward ungrading seems to be leading to higher engagement and lower anxiety.
I hear different things from colleagues, especially for courses that are fully online, but this is what I've been seeing myself.
Thank you for sharing this! Yes, I feel like everyone has had a slightly (or radically?) different experience with AI in their classrooms, and so many factors are informing how students approach it.
I'm especially struck by your point about bad experiences with ed tech or a sense that AI use, for any purpose, is dishonest. This is fine with me: just as I'm not interested in banning AI use, I'm also not interested in forcing students to explore it. The autonomy piece, which you mention in point 5, is so important.
The thing is that I'm not sure how long these student attitudes will persist. This technology is developing so rapidly that it's hard to predict what's coming next or how students will be thinking about it a year or even six months from now.
Thank you for sharing this - it seems like you've been having really constructive conversations with your students!
What I've seen with my community college students so far has been similar to what you describe. When we've talked about ChatGPT et al, students' expressed responses have generally ranged from "meh" to "blech", and I've seen very little evidence that they're using it in the stuff they hand in. Actually, a significant number of my students prefer to do much of their writing on paper. (Some do use grammar checkers and translation tools, both of which I'm generally ok with.)
My sense is that there are a number of things going on:
1. I am primarily teaching in person, so I'm working with students who have generally chosen a less technologically mediated experience.
2. Some of my students are dealing with barriers in terms of technology access and literacy.
3. Many of my students have had bad experiences with ed tech in the past, and I suspect that this informs their response to ChatGPT et al as relates to their studies.
4. Some of my students appear to view using ChatGPT et al as some combination of trashy/untrustworthy/inauthentic/dishonest/cheating. Others are just not interested. (I do get a few AI enthusiasts, but not a lot.)
5. My classes give students a lot of space to decide what they want to do and how they want to do it, and I make a point of encouraging them to do things in a way that involves genuine thinking and learning *for them*.
6. Moving toward ungrading seems to be leading to higher engagement and lower anxiety.
I hear different things from colleagues, especially for courses that are fully online, but this is what I've been seeing myself.
Thank you for sharing this! Yes, I feel like everyone has had a slightly (or radically?) different experience with AI in their classrooms, and so many factors are informing how students approach it.
I'm especially struck by your point about bad experiences with ed tech or a sense that AI use, for any purpose, is dishonest. This is fine with me: just as I'm not interested in banning AI use, I'm also not interested in forcing students to explore it. The autonomy piece, which you mention in point 5, is so important.
The thing is that I'm not sure how long these student attitudes will persist. This technology is developing so rapidly that it's hard to predict what's coming next or how students will be thinking about it a year or even six months from now.