The AI Writing Debate: Learning From the Past
All I have heard about these past few weeks is AI writing software. My newsfeed is flooded with articles; my dyslexic fourth graders debate when to start using it, middle or high school. Then, I heard a report on NPR with Wharton Professor Ethan Mollick, who embraces AI and allows his students to use it to generate ideas for papers. Professor Mollick even used it to help generate his course syllabus. The news feeds offer varying opinions about the introduction of this technology. Some scholars feel it means students no longer develop their writing skills. Others consider it is cheating, just one step away from plagiarism. A few people, like Professor Mollick, embrace the technology as they train students to use it effectively.
This debate reminded me of when spellcheck came out on word processing programs. At that time, I was the Director of the Learning Center at an independent boarding school. I pioneered that school’s first attempt at addressing services for neurodiverse students. Immediately, I knew the spellcheck technology would be an extremely useful tool for the dyslexic students in the school. However, the debate between the English teachers and myself was one of the greatest lessons in my career.
The English teachers feared that using spellcheck would make learning to spell obsolete. In addition, allowing students to use spellcheck would be a form of cheating if they were being graded on their ability to spell as a measure of their writing skills.
I advocated that spelling was a separate skill from writing because it is based on the knowledge of phonemes and spelling rules, and writing was based on your ability to use the written word to communicate your ideas and understanding.
Eventually, we agreed to a trial period where the dyslexic students would be allowed to use spellcheck. Soon, teachers realized there was no way to tell if a student used spellcheck, so they allowed every student to use it as a tool.
As time passed, I noticed that spellcheck helped dyslexic students’ spelling skills. They would see the words that needed to be corrected and start to spell them correctly with the help of spellcheck. In addition, we now know that spelling still needs to be taught because to use spellcheck effectively, you need to be able to spell around the 5th-grade level for the algorithms to pick the correct word.
After experimenting with AI writing to write blogs and social media descriptions, I believe we will follow a similar track with AI technology. Once everyone is introduced to the technology, they will discover it is a valuable tool. However, students will still need to learn the writing process and analytical thinking because AI writing has limitations. For example, I could not use AI to write this opinion article. It simply does not have the same knowledge and experience I have as an educator for neurodiverse children.
AI will save neurodiverse students who have difficulty with language or word retrieval an inordinate amount of time. After thinking about how it could assist neurodiverse students, I decided to have AI defend itself, and here is what it wrote.
” AI writing can greatly benefit neurodiverse learners by allowing them to express their ideas clearly and efficiently. In addition, AI writing can help correct common spelling and grammar errors and provide suggestions for better word choices and sentence structure. Many AI writing tools also have features that can adapt to each learner’s needs, making it easier for them to communicate their thoughts. Ultimately, AI writing can help level the playing field and allow learners of all abilities to express themselves and make their voices heard.” – By Canva’s Magic Writing
I couldn’t have written that argument better.
As this new technology rolls out, I encourage you to meet with curiosity, not fear. Instead of spending time on how to keep its use at bay, use it, and learn a new tool. It may make writing more efficient, but It will not kill our writing skills because AI writing needs to be edited and supplemented to make it robust and effective.
