Will ChatGPT Negatively Impact Students?

AI essays are a rising issue throughout high schools as they can generate essays by computers that sift through the vast internet and create thoroughly written essays that students can use. Essay generators are free to the public such as ChatGPT, while other websites have a price that the user has to pay. AI generators have been gaining more popularity and attention from teachers and administrators. So what are the schools going to do about this rising problem?

Lately, AI essay generators have become known not only with students, but also with administrators and teachers.

According to an email to the district, Anthony Cooper, the technology coordinator for Delta, “…this is already being used by your students. This is something that all teachers and administrators need to be aware of.”   

Although all of these websites are blocked on school-issued computers students can easily go home and bypass the system.   

Laurie Ranum, an English teacher at Delta High School for 14 years said, “Teachers should recognize that technology is out there and students are going to use it.”  

Not only do teachers have to worry about students using the essay generator, but now they have to worry about anti-plagiarism checkers. Anti-Plagiarism checkers re-word students’ essays to where they will pass the plagiarism checker.   

“This can all be done in about three seconds. A student can also have it rephrased in a style that you as a teacher would believe the student really did write it themselves,” said Cooper in an email to the district.   

Recently, a student at Princeton University developed a website called GPTZero. This website detects if ChatGPT or any plagiarism checker has been used in any text that has been sent to you.   

“It’s just another loop that also teachers have to go through now,” said Ranum.

Now with ChatGPT and Anti-Plagiarism checkers teachers will have to be aware and more thoroughly check students’ essays