Writing My Course Policy for Generative AI

I’m teaching DLHE 7305: Introduction to Digital Learning Environments, a course in the Doctorate of Education in Leadership and Higher Education at St. Edward’s University for the fifth time in Summer 2023. Last time was Fall 2021 which was before the hype of Generative AI. So, last Friday before I published my Canvas course, I knew I needed to add a statement about the use of Generative AI in my class. Thanks to this resource, Classroom Policies for AI Generative Tools, created by Lance Eaton, I had plenty of models that allowed me to leapfrog forward in the creation of my own policy.

I’m creating this post to share what I came up with, the models I used in creating it, and why.

Statement:

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

You may use generative AI programs, e.g. ChatGPT, to help generate ideas and brainstorm.  You should note, however, that the material generated by these programs may be inaccurate, incomplete, biased or otherwise problematic.  Beware that use may also stifle your own independent thinking and creativity.

Generative AI also derives its output from previously created texts from other sources that the models were trained on, yet doesn’t cite sources.  You may not submit any work generated by an AI program as your own.  If you include material generated by an AI program, it should be cited like any other reference material (with due consideration for the quality of the reference, which may be poor).  When/if you use Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms in your assignments, please write a note to clarify where in your process you used AI and which platform(s) you used. See this article for proper APA formatting of such citations: How to cite ChatGPT

Models and Motivation

I specifically modeled my statement on three policies I found among the Classroom Policies for AI Generative Tools, #6 by Holly Fernandez-Lynch, #9 by Spencer Ross and #15 by Maha Bali. I liked #6 because it allowed for the use of AI programs, wasn’t too long, and included a warning about the output. (It didn’t hurt that Penn is my alma mater, so that one had caught my attention.) My class is about looking at technologies with a critical eye and being a critical user of technology, so this one strikes the right tone to reinforce the story of my course. I pulled from #9 for elaboration on the problems with uncited material in AI to add support for citing sources, then added a pointer to the APA model for citing ChatGPT, since that is the style guide my students must follow in this program.

Finally, I liked the transparency approach framed by Maha Bali–the idea of adding a note to explain working process. I believe that my students will need to use generative AI to become more productive if they want to compete, and reflecting on process needs to be part of that learning. I’m doing a little of that reflection right now. When I added my own policy to the growing list of models, I had to go back and find the ones I had used so I could acknowledge them. (I have to admit I was looking at policies more than people the first time I reviewed these models, but I’m not surprised that I ended up using one created by Maha.) And, while we are talking citations, this is a good time to say, feel free to use my policy under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)