Higher education has already proven itself willing to embrace artificial intelligence’s potential for impactful learning. Compared to K12, students and professors are more willing to use the technology. But which tools in particular are the most popular on your campus?
Roughly 86% of college students say they use AI in their studies, a new global survey of college students by the Digital Education Council suggests. Among them, 54% say they use it on a weekly basis. Another 24% rely on it daily.
One could argue that generative AI is slowly becoming the new Google as 69% of students say they use it to search for information. Other ways students utilize the technology include:
- Checking grammar: 42%
- Summarizing documents: 33%
- Paraphrasing documents: 28%
- Creating a first draft: 24%
To no surprise, ChatGPT emerged as the most popular tool used by students, followed by Grammarly, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini and Perplexity. The average student uses two AI tools for homework help.
Additional support is needed
Despite the overwhelming number of students who say they use AI, many of them don’t feel equipped to use the technology (58%). The survey indicates that colleges and universities should consider training students to use gen AI.
Eighty percent of students believe their school’s AI integration doesn’t meet their expectations. Additionally, 59% expect faculty to be prepared for AI integration. Seventy-three percent of students agree that universities should provide training for faculty on the effective use of AI tools.
So, how can higher ed leaders help support students in using this technology? The research offers four recommendations for getting started. Universities should:
- Ensure that all educators are trained and proficient in handling AI tools and have a plan to integrate them into teaching and learning.
- Seek feedback from students and faculty about how AI should be implemented and the effectiveness of its integration.
- Identify the attributes of AI that their students and faculty value.
- Define guidelines for usage by students and faculty.
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