IN RECENT years, artificial intelligence, or AI, has been a very controversial topic. Many concerns have been raised about its effects on the environment, threat to job security, and the countless artists that have been used to train AI models without consent. However, some classrooms have started using AI based tools, which has actually helped students become better overall writers.
One of these tools is called “Writable.” One of the most prominent features of Writable is the AI feedback tool. Students can ask Writable to put their writing through an AI, which then gives constructive feedback on students’ grammar and writing structure. This tool is especially useful for teachers, who often have to help and give feedback to many students at once.
Some teachers in Granger have introduced Writable in their curriculums. It allows students to get instant feedback on their grammar and writing with AI. James Weimer, a creative writing teacher, encourages students to use the AI tools provided by Writable. “It’s a great tool to help students get grammatical feedback,” he said.
Some teachers were a little resistant to the use of AI tools in classrooms. Juliane Roberts, an English teacher, has expressed her worries about AI in the classroom in the past, but has recently started to change her mind. “I think I’m starting to warm up to it and really see the benefits,” Roberts said.
Both Weimer and Roberts believe that students should be encouraged to use AI tools like Writable. “AI excels in giving fine-tuned feedback to students,” Weimer said. “It has a lot of options, I’m impressed with it,” Roberts added. “It can really help students who are stuck,” she said.
Students in Weimer’s creative writing class do many of their assignments in Writable. Luis Nava (10) is a creative writing student in Mr. Weimer’s class. “I think it gives very good feedback,” Nava said, “It helps very much,” he added. Nava believes that using Writable is better than letting AI do the work for you. “It actually helps way more than just using AI to do the whole thing for you,” he said.
The teachers agree that AI tools can be very easily misused by students who make the AI ‘think’ for them. “AI is only as good as we can make it be,” Weimer said, “it’s not very good at being actually creative,” he said. Students should use caution when using AI tools. “It can really help with inspiring ideas and creativity, but if you let it do all the work you’ll end up losing your creativity. That’s something that makes us human,” Roberts concluded.
The writable.com website states that over 16,000 schools and districts have adopted this tool in their classrooms. Some districts, like Warren County Public Schools in Kentucky, have reported high increases in assessment scores in just one year of using Writable, according to the website. Overall, tools like Writable show the true potential of AI when it is utilized properly, and will hopefully continue to grow and improve education in the years to come.
