The subject of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has been debated across fields. While there have been some observed risks in letting young students lean on AI, many insist on its ability to provide more tailored experiences for students and teachers alike.
Montclair State University journalism professor Tara George views the development of AI as an opportunity to adapt to, rather than resist, progress.
“I don’t fully understand what it’s capable of yet,” George said about the technology. “But I think it’s an extraordinary tool and I’m really trying my best to figure out how I can use it for what I do and to understand where it’s taking us as a culture.”
George has taught at Montclair State for 12 years. Before teaching, she spent a portion of her career working with local and national newspapers in Singapore, London and New York.
For journalists working with local newspapers, AI can be a convenient time-saver when it comes to transcribing interviews or writing stories. This is something that George has to consider when teaching. She doesn’t recommend using an AI story without monitoring it, but says that this “can be a great starting point for a busy journalist.”
“I’ve noticed that some of my students are quite against AI,” George said. “Which surprises me, because usually students are out in front of faculty in terms of technology.”
George expresses that the overall distaste for AI she sees in her students may not be completely wise. She says that when teaching, she tries to be encouraging to her students and urges them to think of AI “as a way to make them more efficient in what they’re doing.” Still, she makes sure to highlight and help students understand where the use of AI is unethical and where it is smart.
George acknowledges the challenges that come with learning to adjust to AI when teaching and writing. She says that it’s hard to be an expert with a technology that evolves so quickly. Still, she believes her students should learn to work with the technology.
“Students need to embrace [AI] and understand it,” George said. “Because if they don’t, they’re going to be left behind.”
While classrooms are starting to change as AI advances, some still hope to leave the technology behind. Montclair State student Gabriella Socio voices a strong dislike for the use of AI in classrooms.
Socio is a graduate student getting her Master of Arts in teaching in social studies. Being both a student and an educator gave her a look at both sides of what AI looks like in schools.
“As someone who’s studying education, I think [AI] is really harmful,” Socio said. “Especially in the hands of our young students.”
Montclair State graduate student Gabriella Socio, works in education. Socio witnesses firsthand the impact AI has in education. David Bien-Aime I The Montclarion
She expresses concerns over the lack of supervision in classrooms when it comes to their students’ internet usage. Socio substitute teaches at an elementary school in Nutley and sees difficulty in monitoring all her students’ screens throughout the day.
Socio recalls seeing a lot of her current students using AI regularly and notes that they have more difficulty with reading and writing. When it comes to the coursework for her students, she feels that it comes out more rushed. In the classes that Socio takes at Montclair State, she was surprised to be met with encouragement from professors to use AI with her assignments. When asked, Socio states that she prefers AI not to be used by teachers as well.
Socio points to an application called Magic School, an AI program that helps draft lesson plans and curriculum for teachers. She thinks a large drawback to the app is that “AI just spits out what you want.”
This concern is also shared by Professor George.
“[AI] can be a very obedient servant, and it will go and search to give you what you want,” George said. “And if it doesn’t find it, it will make it up.”
Socio feels that some technologies are beneficial to students who need accommodations or modifications, but hopes to limit the use of computers in her classroom for projects and assignments.
In Professor George’s eyes, AI is great for those who need help with a stronger starting point, building a structure, or even just brainstorming when writing.
“I think a general theme that’s emerging, not just in journalism, but everywhere, is that we’ve got to figure out how to use AI as a tool, but not as a crutch,” George said. “We’ve got to supervise it and be aware of its limitations when we use it.”
