AUSTIN, Texas — School districts in the Austin area are taking different approaches to address new artificial intelligence like ChatGPT.
Austin ISD and Eanes ISD spokespersons said that because of plagiarism concerns and an age requirement of 18, ChatGPT is banned on school networks and devices for students.
AISD said teachers have access to resources to support concerns regarding potential plagiarism. For instance, Google Assignments within BLEND (Canvas) allows for the use of a plagiarism checker on up to three assignments per course.
Fred Benitez with Eanes ISD said the district plans to update its responsibility guide this summer to set expectations before incorporating the technology into coursework next school year.
"We value the potential of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning," said Fred Benitez, Eanes ISD's director of educational technology. "We just also want to make sure we're being thoughtful in its application."
Manor ISD is already embracing the technology.
"Our energy doesn't need to be focused in trying to stay ahead of what the kids can find on their own devices anyway or at home anyway," Manor New Tech High School teacher Samantha Miller said. "We are committed to making sure our students know how to leverage this technology."
Miller knows ChatGPT is capable of many things, including answering questions and writing essays, but she said Manor ISD isn't too concerned about plagiarism because of its teaching techniques.
"You have to present things, oral communication, your ability to speak clearly and concisely and in an engaging manner," Miller said. "That's not something ChatGPT can do for you."
She also said there is a lot of collaboration work and peer assessment in-person. While they assess written communication, she said the bot can be a tool to help.
"Not necessarily just something that they would put an input in and get the answer out; it's also only as good as what you prompt it to do," she said.
The chatbot became available in November. Junior Antonio Garcia said school was tough before that.
"Well, it was really stressful," Garcia said.
He said ChatGPT has helped bring his grades from failing to As.
"So whenever I see like big words, like big paragraphs and instruction, I'm like, where do I start?" Garcia said. "If you can just copy and paste it, put in that chat, easy breakdown, step-by-step what to do."
Garcia said it's also helpful for summarizing book chapters and more, which helps his ADHD.
Miller said she just gave teachers at the high school a crash course on using the chatbot to improve workflow.
"I started with how can you use this to go from a blank email that you need to send to a parent to a draft email that you can now adjust and put your own voice into," Miller said. "And ChatGPT can translate it into Spanish, which for our community is really important."
Eanes ISD said that is its primary focus at the moment.
"Right now, the focus is on how to make the life of a teacher easier," Benetiz said.
Benetiz said he currently uses it as a personal assistant for feedback on his writing and for creating content for teachers.
"This helps to change the scale of it so that it's for different grading levels, reading levels for students," Benitez said. "So before, I would take the time to write it for senior level, the middle school and elementary."
This may be the last school year these students and teachers are working without the help of advanced chatbots.