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Well, I teach English as a second language in a non-English speaking country. I often used short essays and diary-writing for homework. The students have had lo

Well, I teach English as a second language in a non-English speaking country. I often used short essays and diary-writing for homework. The students have had lots of English input over the years, but not much experience with output. So, writing assignments work out very well for them. Alas, with ChatGPT on the rise here, they no longer have to write it themselves. The upshot of which is, the useful writing assignments I used to give as homework will either have to be done in class (wasting valuable class time) or given up altogether (wasting valuable learning experiences).

NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
What if they accompany the writings with a recording of them reading it aloud? I think you could pick up right quick on who understood what they wrote, and who didn't.
- jdshaffer 3y ago
  That's actually a pretty good idea. I might have to try it selectively, though it'd be too much for 200 students submitting diaries and summaries every week. laugh They once said I should join Line then we can all talk, then I asked if it's possible to talk in groups of 200+ and their eyes got really big.
deadbeeves 3y ago
Is your objective that your students learn, or to police them? In the latter case, yes, you have those two options you mentioned. In the former case, you can just continue as you were. Some will cheat and some will not. The ones who do are only cheating themselves.
- jdshaffer 3y ago
  My goal is for them to learn. And yes, I can just carry on, and some will cheat. I've caught cheaters in the past, of course, but they were far and few between. With ChatGPT and even improved translators like DeepL, it's hard to get them to do the practice they need to learn. And as a teacher who really WANTS them to learn and to get that feeling, "Hey, I can actually do this!", it's depressing to think of the one who do cheat themselves. Oh well...
  - deadbeeves 3y ago
    Just tell them, "the point of this exercise is for you to practice writing in English, not for me to grade you. If you use ChatGPT to do it for you I won't be able to notice, but it will be pointless. It's better if you don't do it at all than if you do that."
- lopolo333 3y ago
  Teens are very propense to succumb under peer pressure. Some would be honest and do the work themselves, but if a significant subgroup is using GPT there's a bigger chance that this group influences some of them to do so.
aleph_minus_one 3y ago
> Well, I teach English as a second language in a non-English speaking country. I often used short essays and diary-writing for homework. The students have had lots of English input over the years, but not much experience with output. So, writing assignments work out very well for them. Alas, with ChatGPT on the rise here, they no longer have to write it themselves. If your students want to betray themselves of the possible learning opportunities of attempting to formulate the sentences by themselves in English, it is their problem. The same holds in mathematics (degree course): of course, in the first semesters, you can use a computer algebra system like Maple or Mathematica for computing the integrals on your exercise sheets, but you will betray yourself of the practice of computing integrals that these exercise sheets are supposed to teach you.

NoZebra120vClip 3y ago

What if they accompany the writings with a recording of them reading it aloud? I think you could pick up right quick on who understood what they wrote, and who didn't.

jdshaffer 3y ago
That's actually a pretty good idea. I might have to try it selectively, though it'd be too much for 200 students submitting diaries and summaries every week. laugh They once said I should join Line then we can all talk, then I asked if it's possible to talk in groups of 200+ and their eyes got really big.

deadbeeves 3y ago

Is your objective that your students learn, or to police them? In the latter case, yes, you have those two options you mentioned. In the former case, you can just continue as you were. Some will cheat and some will not. The ones who do are only cheating themselves.

jdshaffer 3y ago
My goal is for them to learn. And yes, I can just carry on, and some will cheat. I've caught cheaters in the past, of course, but they were far and few between. With ChatGPT and even improved translators like DeepL, it's hard to get them to do the practice they need to learn. And as a teacher who really WANTS them to learn and to get that feeling, "Hey, I can actually do this!", it's depressing to think of the one who do cheat themselves. Oh well...
- deadbeeves 3y ago
  Just tell them, "the point of this exercise is for you to practice writing in English, not for me to grade you. If you use ChatGPT to do it for you I won't be able to notice, but it will be pointless. It's better if you don't do it at all than if you do that."
lopolo333 3y ago
Teens are very propense to succumb under peer pressure. Some would be honest and do the work themselves, but if a significant subgroup is using GPT there's a bigger chance that this group influences some of them to do so.

aleph_minus_one 3y ago

> Well, I teach English as a second language in a non-English speaking country. I often used short essays and diary-writing for homework. The students have had lots of English input over the years, but not much experience with output. So, writing assignments work out very well for them. Alas, with ChatGPT on the rise here, they no longer have to write it themselves. If your students want to betray themselves of the possible learning opportunities of attempting to formulate the sentences by themselves in English, it is their problem. The same holds in mathematics (degree course): of course, in the first semesters, you can use a computer algebra system like Maple or Mathematica for computing the integrals on your exercise sheets, but you will betray yourself of the practice of computing integrals that these exercise sheets are supposed to teach you.