This guest blog post was written by an undergraduate student at California State University, Los Angeles, who worked with Digital Promise earlier this year to evaluate submissions to a request for information about innovative uses of AI in mathematics instruction and learning. Guerrero Zotea is also part of BUILD. Learn more about that work in our report.
As a student at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) entering my fourth year and majoring in English literature, I’ve seen the impact of AI on education. Artificial intelligence is here to stay as it becomes an integral part of everyday life through technologies like Siri, Google’s Gemini, notebook LM, ChatGPT, Grammarly, and other popular AI programs. However, the rise of AI has raised concerns among educators about how to ensure students are completing their work authentically. The challenge of assessing work involving AI has complicated the issue of plagiarism, leading to a perception of AI as a potential threat in academic settings. This has strained the trust between students and teachers, particularly when assignments submitted by students are entirely generated by AI. Rather than outright villainizing AI, it’s important to educate students on how to use it effectively to enhance their academic work. AI can serve as a valuable tool, encouraging deeper analysis and supporting learning in ways that align with current educational needs. Many professors are adapting their assignment policies to accommodate the use of AI, recognizing its potential to contribute positively to the learning process. This shift is becoming increasingly common in higher education, as experienced firsthand during my time at university.
Concerns have led professors to modify lectures and assignment structures. In one class, electronics were banned during class time and could only be used when indicated by the professor to foster original analytical interpretations. These adaptations affect us as students because it can feel like our professors do not trust us. Rather than banning AI (or technology more broadly), educators should explore ways to use it as a tool to enhance our learning—and learn more about how to use it ethically. Instead of viewing AI as a villain, we should reframe it as a helpful sidekick. Banning electronics is just one example of how some educators have adapted to the influence of AI. In contrast, CSULA has taken a more constructive approach by offering a self-paced course that teaches students how to effectively use AI to enhance academic performance and prevent plagiarism. Additionally, students can receive further support from librarians at the free writing center, which is open to all students and provides guidance on integrating AI into their studies. This in turn helps students feel less compelled to plagiarize and learn how to incorporate new, easily accessible tools that use AI. It also allows many students to become more efficient when it comes to writing essays or other types of literary works. This would benefit many students to save time and focus on real-world situations such as taking care of younger siblings or managing the work-study balance.
Although the use of AI remains contentious among educators, many are beginning to embrace it as a tool that helps students improve their study habits and enhance their learning experience. Recognizing the realities of student life, especially since more than half of CSULA’s students commute by car or public transit, the university understands the importance of effective time management. That becomes particularly crucial during major exams, as students often manage two sets of notes—one from assigned readings and another from in-class lectures—leaving them with disorganized material that takes hours to sort through and organize.
To address these challenges, students should be encouraged to use AI tools to organize notes into clearer, more accessible formats, such as converting them into audio versions or podcasts that pose analytical questions to activate active recall when studying for exams or material that is difficult to understand. This process promotes a deeper understanding of the material being learned while also reducing stress for many students. CSULA is also helping students become more aware of how to prevent plagiarism claims by teaching them how to properly cite and become aware of misinformation when using AI-generated content. This ensures students can integrate AI tools responsibly and ethically into their academic work, reducing the risk of unintentional plagiarism.
AI tools are intended to support learning, and it is important for educators to recognize that students seek to engage with the material in diverse ways, not just by reading and summarizing but by answering the essential question, “Why does this matter?” By integrating this course into all academic instruction, students will be effectively guided in using AI to enhance their academic performance while preventing plagiarism. This approach offers a constructive alternative to the drastic measures some professors have adopted, such as banning electronics.
Most often, my peers and I use AI to quickly get information. For example, during my junior year of high school, I turned to AI tools due to conflicting cross-country practice times and office hours [for math class]. With the help of Photomath, an AI tool that provides instant solutions, I could quickly find the correct answer. However, I wasn’t just focused on getting the answer—I was more interested in understanding the full process of solving the problem. Since exams were conducted with paper and pencil under closed-note and closed-book conditions, I knew I wouldn’t have access to this tool during tests. Instead, it became a valuable resource for addressing my questions when my math teacher wasn’t available, especially during late hours. This flexibility allowed me to meet my academic commitments without being constrained by conflicting schedules, as it’s only possible to attend one place at a time.
These are small but practical examples of how I’ve seen AI used productively. Addressing AI misuse and plagiarism will require creative and flexible thinking on the educator’s side in collaboration with understanding how students find it most useful. Our teachers can focus on assignments that encourage personal opinions and complex analytical thinking. This approach would reduce reliance on AI and enhance the quality of academic work, similar to how calculators are used to understand equations. I am confident that our institutions will adapt and embrace AI with creativity and flexibility and as a valuable tool in education, and I encourage them to lean on student voices to guide the path forward. By doing so, we can ensure that AI enhances learning and growth as a sidekick rather than diminishing the authenticity of academic work.
