Google's head of education says students are “creatively” using new technology in ways that instructors don't understand, but they know that simply using artificial intelligence to assess them “is not good for them.”
Shantanu Sinha, vice president of education at Google, said: times higher education Despite claims that AI is “transforming everything,” the conversation about student cheating may be misguided.
In recent months, Google has released a series of products aimed at students and educators. The company's Notebook LM can turn student notes into flashcards, quizzes, mind maps, and even podcasts and videos with narration and animation. Earlier this summer, Gemini also introduced a “guided learning” mode, similar to Chat GPT's learning mode. It acts as an electronic personal tutor that guides students through their learning rather than providing them with answers.
Sinha said this guided learning mode was actually driven by the students, who acknowledged that “just asking a chatbot a question and getting an answer and copying it is not good for me.”
“They know it's not good for them because it puts their recognition at risk. At the end of the day, their motivation is not just the task. Their motivation is to get good grades and do well.”
Sinha believes that students are leveraging these technologies in creative ways beyond instructors' imaginations, and that this tool has the ability to create more “self-directed” learners by making learning more engaging.
“A pessimistic way of looking at this would be, 'OK, students are cheating now.' But it's not clear that that's actually true.”
Rather, the rise of AI may highlight areas where universities can improve the effectiveness of their assessments and ensure critical thinking is promoted.
“No matter what kind of professor you are, you have to look at who you are.” [assessing] We try to understand where there is a risk that students will inappropriately avoid learning in the assignment, and then we ask, 'How do we actually get students to the place where they can get the learning that really matters?' ”
He added, “If it's an easy task to look up things, it might not be the best task. There's more to learn.”
He said it is “quite difficult” to have a “one-size-fits-all approach” to what is acceptable for universities when evaluating AI policies, noting that there are different approaches and opinions on AI among academics.
However, he said that “more clarity” would be helpful for students, saying, “I don't want to use it incorrectly, but sometimes people wonder, 'Why is it OK to ask a friend for help?' or 'Why is it OK to search the web?' That's not true. The line is a little blurry.”
Although AI is having a major impact on higher education, the “center of the classroom” still revolves around discussions between students and academics, and written exams that are “fully AI-proof.”
For Sinha, it is a positive future, one where higher education can be at the forefront of AI innovation and creative approaches to technology and learning.
“AI will transform almost every field to some degree, so in more and more places it will be important for higher education to be at the cutting edge.”
He added, “We can make learning even richer than before, we can start leveraging AI to create project-based learning that unlocks all kinds of possibilities, and we can start driving deeper and more creative experiences in the classroom. It's going to take time, and we still need a lot of innovation to get there, but I think there's great potential.”
juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com
