STORM WATCH

Tracking gusty winds, rain and snow on the way for Connecticut starting tonight

Sacred Heart University adapts as AI becomes more useful for students

Students started using artificial intelligence tools last year, and now with a new school year and AI developing rapidly, students say they will continue to use it to their advantage.

News 12 Staff

Aug 31, 2023, 9:38 PM

Updated 460 days ago

Share:

As the school year begins, school officials are trying to find ways to handle the ever-growing landscape that is artificial intelligence.
It's been nearly a year since ChatGPT hit our fingertips. Students started using artificial intelligence tools last year, and now with a new school year and AI developing rapidly, students say they will continue to use it to their advantage.
"I'm already hearing those questions from my students on what does this mean?" said Beth Luoma, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Sacred Heart University. "I had one of my students go, 'So I used ChatGPT in high school and I used it to brainstorm, can I do that in your class?'"
Luoma says Sacred Heart University has held continuous conversations as to how to survive what some may describe as Pandora's box.
She says the university is shying away from a disciplinary lens and instead finding ways to embrace and integrate these tools into courses.
"AI is out of the box, and it's not going back in. We need to make sure that they're prepared to use it in their professions or thinking about professions where AI wouldn't be used," she said.
SHU also offers a variety of different AI-geared classes. Luoma says some of those classes include prompt engineering.
Luoma says the school directly calls out AI and delegates professors to have conversations about AI tools and specify in their syllabus what those expectations are.