Academic Librarians' Perspective on AI

 Many academic librarians believe context matters when artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT are used by students and faculty to assist with their work, according to a recent study. While only eight percent of respondents said that they believe it is cheating when students use AI products for research—compared with 49 percent who said it was not—42 percent said that it was “somewhat” cheating.

AI in Higher Education: The Librarians’ Perspectives. (2023, March). Helper Systems.

https://www.helpersystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/HS-AI-Survey-Whitepaper-3-7-22.pdf

Mobile device affect on students

A national survey of educators and interviews with school principals reveal big concerns about how the proliferation of digital devices is affecting K-12 education. Two-thirds of students use smartphones in schools, 90% of high schoolers use them on campus. While such devices facilitate communication and remediation through relevant apps, it also facilitates distractions, misbehavior, and cheating, Nevertheless, usage will probably increase. 

Smartphones and other devices in schools. (2020). Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/media/tc2020%20survey%20report%206.5.20.pdf

Cyber Technology and Cheating in Schools

According to an online survey administered by McAfee, over half of the U.S. teens who responded state that they have seen or heard of another student using technology to cheat in school. A third of respondents also stated they used tech devices to cheat in school. Additionally, a third of U.S. teens surveyed reported having experienced cyberbullying and having access to banned content at school. Slightly less than half of the U.S. teen respondents stated that they receive regular guidelines from their schools on cybersecurity, while a third of the U.S. teen respondents stated that they’ve gotten around these restrictions to access banned content. Gary Davis, McAfee’s chief consumer security evangelist, suggests that in order to combat these trends, it is important to educate children on safe online habits, starting at early ages.

McAfee (2017). McAfee teens and cyber security survey. Santa Clara, CA: McAfee. https://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/06/us-teens-electronics-cheat/

Study Finds Cheaters Overestimate Academic Abilities

In four experiments detailed in the March Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that cheaters pay for the short-term benefits of higher scores with inflated expectations. Researchers found that a majority of students cheat at some point during high school, and the likelihood of cheating increases, even though most students consider it wrong. Fifty-nine percent of public and private high school students admitted to having cheated on a test, including 55 percent of honors students, the study found. Researchers suggest that students who cheat often deceive themselves into thinking they can perform well in the future without cheating. Researchers said thinking is used to justify or distance students from the act of cheating, but will often cause long-term damage to their professional and academic habits.

Harvard Business School and Duke University, 2011, http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/03/02/1010658108.full.pdf+html

teen cheating study

One in four teens say cheating on a test is OK
While 71% of 13- to 18-year-olds say they're ready to make ethical decisions, at least 24% said cheating on a test was acceptable and 38% said cheating, lying or violence may be necessary for success, according to the fifth Teen Ethics Survey. These attitudes point to more than a need for further ethics training at school.
Junior Achievement and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. (2008). Teen Ethics Survey. Colorado Springs, Jr. Achievement.
http://www.ja.org/about/about_newsitem.asp?StoryID=435