It’s no secret that school has become a technology-based learning environment. Even when attending in-person classes, everything essential for a class is found behind a screen: assignments, notes, or even just communication with a professor or other students.
With over half of college students utilizing online education courses, the integrity of education is lost. More students are obstructing their long-term comprehension for a quick assignment completion, hindering their future careers.
Since the rise of AI technology, many aspects of daily life have been affected, one of the biggest being education. Systems like ChatGPT have become less of a resource for students and more of a lifeline. The dishonesty in academics is becoming more difficult to detect with AI systems, leading to deceiving students receiving better scores. This is extremely discouraging to students who display the true effort it takes to succeed in college. At a societal level, cheating creates mistrust in a system, but at a personal level, it deprives a student of truly learning.
In-person education can be advantageous for any student, but especially those aiming for specific careers. The shortened eight-week classes at Amarillo College already create a challenge when it comes to long-term comprehension, but with online education systems, how can we be sure our future doctors, nurses, or teachers are truly gaining what they need to be successful? The hurried curriculum creates pressure that, in the long run, results in a neglect of critical thinking and on the spot problem solving. With in-person classes, assignments can be more monitored, and discussion is stimulated among students. This experience is stripped away in online courses.
The flexibility of online education is convenient for those who may not have access to in-person classes. By implementing heavy restrictions in an attempt to alleviate chatting and plagiarism, online classes could still remain a reliable option. Systems like lockdown browsers or webcams can be put in place to ensure material is being retained and used rather than Googled or plagiarized.
The integrity of online education is a responsibility that needs to be shared among faculty and students. College success shouldn’t be measured by how well students can recite an AI system, or how well they did on a quiz that came with a corresponding Quizlet, but rather how prepared they have made themselves for their future careers.
Leave a Reply