Both teachers and students find use for ChatGPT

The Future. After an initial outcry that ChatGPT could upend the education system for the worst (cheating, misinformation, plagiarism, etc.), students and teachers are saying they see its benefits. With the proper safeguards in place, ChatGPT could soon just be another tool to enhance the classroom — like a calculator for students or a TA for teachers.

Vibe update
A survey from the Walton Family Foundation found…

• 51% of teachers (K-12) are using ChatGPT for things like lesson planning, brainstorming, and “building background knowledge.”
• 33% of students ages 12-17 use it to “improve as students” and “hasten their learning process.” (read: get answers faster).

Overall, 88% of teachers and 79% of students who have used ChatGPT say it has a positive impact.

Study buddy
The hope is that ChatGPT and other AI platforms can help close the learning gap caused by school closures during the pandemic.

Romy Drucker, director of the K-12 Education Program at the Walton Family Foundation, told Axios, “What we see in the data is that teachers need better tools and resources to meet this moment, and that’s why they’re among the earliest adopters of ChatGPT.”

The wrinkle may be in catching plagiarized work and looking out for all the ways ChatGPT confidently spits out wrong answers from time to time. Always check your sources.