Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the world of education, offering new possibilities for teaching and learning in the online classroom. AI can help educators design personalized and engaging courses, assess students’ progress and feedback, and foster critical thinking and creativity among learners. AI can also help students develop digital skills and literacy, as well as ethical awareness and responsibility, as they interact with various AI applications and tools. However, AI also poses significant challenges and risks for education, such as potential biases, privacy issues, and ethical dilemmas. Therefore, educators need to be aware of the benefits and limitations of AI, and how to use it effectively and responsibly in their online teaching practices. Below, we will provide some general suggestions, samples, and resources for use in online course facilitation, based on the latest research and best practices from experts and practitioners in the field. 

• Familiarize yourself - Become familiar with the types of texts that AI tools can generate. Learn about how AI tools work, try an AI tool out yourself, and know AI's strengths and limitations.

• Utilize learning moments - Avoid placing too much focus on detecting or preventing cheating at the expense of fairness, inclusion, and creativity. 

• Lower the pressure - Try to lower the pressure on students whenever possible, making it less likely they feel the need to turn to generative AI programs to help them with their assignments. This might include providing time management strategies, study guides, or other supplemental assistance and materials. 

• Clarify expectations - Know the university's policies on "acceptable" and "unacceptable" uses of AI and communicate this to students.  For example:

Acceptable Use

• • • Writing assistance: AI can help organize writing.

    • Research assistance: AI can access billions of internet resources.

    • Study assistance: AI can help summarize academic content for additional examples.

    • Revision and editing: AI can help identify flaws in reasoning or fix minor errors.

    • Circumstances where AI use is expressly permitted.

Unacceptable Use

• • • Plagiarism: Attempting to take credit for AI-generated content as your own work (students should follow PG Student Code of Conduct and Academic Integrity guidance).

• Ask students to use diverse media - Ask students to demonstrate their learning through an alternative format, such as an audio file, podcast, video, speech, drawing, diagram, or multimedia project, instead of an essay or short-answer writing assignment. 

• Evaluate "process" as much as "product" - Students are less likely to cheat and more likely to develop their own skills and competencies when individual assignments have low or no stakes. Formative assessments with low or no stakes also show students the importance and benefits of the learning process. 

• Acknowledge the struggle - Explain to students that learning involves intellectual challenge and growth, and acknowledge that we can only learn when we go beyond what we already know. This may not always be an easy process, but it is worth the effort to become better critical thinkers and writers. Using AI tools to avoid this challenge, or to find a shortcut, only stops them from learning. 

Course Announcement Outlining Acceptable and Unacceptable Generative AI Use

Class - This announcement is to clarify acceptable and unacceptable uses of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to complete assignments for our class. While generative AI tools have many benefits, including their ability to create new content and enhance creative expression, I would like to caution you to use this tool both wisely and ethically to protect yourself and your academic integrity. 

Generative AI involves uses algorithms and machine learning to analyze existing content and create new content based on its analysis. While this may seem like a convenient tool for completing school work, it can easily lead to instances of plagiarism and academic dishonesty. For instance, the use of generative AI to complete assignments can result in work that is not your own and does not demonstrate your understanding of the material--remember, your ideas matter! 

It is crucial to remember that academic assignments are designed to assess your knowledge and understanding of the material and contribute to your learning. To clarify further, here is a list of acceptable and unacceptable uses of generative AI tools:

Acceptable Use

• • • Writing assistance: AI can help organize writing.

    • Research assistance: AI can access billions of internet resources.

    • Study assistance: AI can help summarize academic content for additional examples.

    • Revision and editing: AI can help identify flaws in reasoning or fix minor errors.

    • Circumstances where AI use is expressly permitted.

Unacceptable Use

• • • Plagiarism: Attempting to take credit for AI-generated content as your own work (students should follow PG Student Code of Conduct and Academic Integrity guidance).

If you choose to use generative AI tools, I strongly advise that you do so carefully and following the above guidelines. More importantly, I encourage you to engage in critical thinking, research, and writing to demonstrate your understanding of the course material and to help you develop your own thinking and analysis skills.

If you have any follow-up questions regarding generative-AI use, or what is and is not acceptable, please don't hesitate to email me and let me know (xxxxxxx@purdueglobal.edu). Thanks!

Professor Doe

Email Outreach Inquiring About Possible AI Usage

Hi Student – I hope your week is going well! I am writing because I took a quick look at your U6: Academic Essay Rough Draft.

The rough draft you completed and shared didn’t sound, or read, quite like your usual writing style. Also, based on the Turnitin Originality Report, and its artificial intelligence (AI) detection tool, as well as my own analysis and comparison to your previous writing and assignments for our class, it looks like a large portion of your submission may have been generated by an AI chatbot such as ChatGPT, Google Bard, Bing’s AI chatbot, etc.

I wanted to discuss the high percentage match to material possibly produced by an AI chatbot. If you don't mind sharing a little more with me, did you get assistance with one of these tools when creating this paper? While generative AI can be used in certain portions of the writing process, such as brainstorming, conducting research, proofreading/editing, etc., it cannot be used to create an entire essay, or even portions of an essay.

If you could, can you please respond to this message with your explanation as soon as possible. Thanks in advance for your response!

Professor Doe

Welcome to our AI Infographics Hub! This section is dedicated to providing easy-to-use infographics to help students explore and understand the fascinating world of artificial intelligence (AI). Through a series of carefully crafted infographics, students can gain insights into various AI applications, learn about its impact on different industries, understand how to use AI responsibly, and acquire practical ways to leverage AI technologies in their academic and professional journeys. 

Click on the infographics below for sharable links of each design to utilize in your classrooms.

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