Revision Tracking is a Chrome extension designed to help teachers monitor students’ progress in Google Docs and Slides.
2 PDFs, 2 students, 1 assignment. Each PDF is a report on what the student did with the document they submitted. There’s a ton of information, including excerpts of quotes you’ve copied and pasted, timestamps of document activity, number of edits made to the document, number and length of active sessions, and more. And it’s clear which students completed the assignment and which students used the AI.
These PDFs are reports collected from Revision History, a Chrome extension that teachers are encouraged to download. This extension allows teachers to view the complete history of how a document was created, helping to detect unauthorized use of AI.
“Just like we use calculators in math class or on the SAT (they say no calculators here!), the goal is to make sure you master the basic skills first,” writes Jessica DiBuono, English Language Arts 6-12 Coordinator. “AI offers many shortcuts, but you have to be able to do the work yourself before relying on technology.”
Teachers who download revision history have access to all live Google Docs and slide analysis. Key features include video playback of documents being created, identifying “unusual writing patterns” that indicate the use of AI, recording the total amount of edits made, detecting copy and paste, and more. However, it is important to note that this extension is not a formal AI detector.
“This gives teachers concrete information that they can use to make their own informed assessments.” Update history Official website state. “Our tool should be used as a starting point for conversations with students, not as hard evidence of any kind of behavior.”
When AI first became a concern, teachers turned to AI detectors to understand when students were using AI, but these were later found to be inaccurate. Analysis from revision history can help teachers draw conclusions, but it can also hide students’ use of AI. The only way to definitively prove that a student cheated using AI is to confess.
“we [many English teachers at Staples] Because if someone really wanted to use AI or cheat, they would. And they probably won’t get caught most of the time,” said English teacher Jesse Bauks.
Many students are using AI to help them complete assignments. Using AI for brainstorming and revision is considered fair use by many students. This is also something that the revision history probably won’t cover. Staples’ competitive environment could play a role in this type of AI usage.
“If everyone is using AI to write their papers and you’re just crazy, AI clearly has far more resources and experience than the average human, so anyone who doesn’t use AI is at a disadvantage,” said an anonymous AP English student.
Although many students believe that the use of this type of AI is fair and non-threatening, some teachers may disagree.
“Over the last five to eight years, we’ve seen a significant decline in students’ confidence that they are challenged to think critically,” Bauks said. “And I think one of the biggest losses is curiosity. Students just want to give the answer they think the teacher wants, and they don’t want to take risks.”
