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to progress through university. They indicated that
these tools could help to: clarify academic concepts;
formulate ideas; structure essays; improve academic
writing; save time; check spelling and grammar;
clarify assignment instructions; find information or
academic sources; summarise academic texts; guide
students for whom English is not a native language
to improve their academic writing; study for a test;
paraphrase better; avoid plagiarism; and reference
better.

- Most students who viewed these tools as
beneficial to the learning process used tools such as
ChatGPT to clarify concepts related to their studies
that they could not fully grasp or that they felt were
not properly explained by lecturers.

Engaged learning

We were particularly interested to find that students
often used generative AI tools for engaged learning.
This is an educational approach in which students
are accountable for their own learning. They actively
create thinking and learning skills and strategies and
formulate new ideas and understanding through
conversations and collaborative work.

Through their use of AI tools, students can tailor
content to address their specific strengths and
weaknesses, to have a more engaged learning
experience. AI tools can also be a sort of personalised
online “tutor” with whom they have “conversations”
to help them understand difficult concepts.

Concerns about how AI tools potentially undermine
academic assessment and integrity are valid. However,
those working in higher education must note the
importance of factoring in students’ perspectives
to work towards new pathways of assessment and
learning.

The full version of this article was co-authored by Marenet Jordaan, Admire
Mare, Job Mwaura, Sisanda Nkoala, Alette Schoon and Alexia Smit.
Tanja Bosch, Professor in Media Studies and Production, University of Cape
Town
Chikezie E. Uzuegbunam, Lecturer & MA Programme Coordinator, Rhodes
University
This article is republished from The Conversation Africa under a Creative
Commons license. Read the original article.

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