UT's approach to AI in the classroom
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The University of Texas is embracing artificial intelligence in the classroom while steering away from tools designed to catch students using it.
Why it matters: Banning AI won't stop students from using it, experts say, but there are ways it can assist learning and track progress.
State of play: UT has spent the past couple of years following an "AI Forward, AI Responsible" framework that encourages students to become fluent in AI without becoming dependent on it, Julie Schell, the university's assistant vice provost of academic technology, tells Axios.
- "We want students to be highly fluent and sophisticated in their approaches to AI," Schell says. That means "knowing when to use it and knowing when not to use it."
Catch up quick: UT faculty have discretion over whether and how students can use AI in their classes, and this fall the university began requiring professors to spell out those policies in their syllabi.
The big picture: Schools nationwide are experimenting with a "show your work" approach as AI becomes increasingly embedded in education.
- Canvas, a learning management system used by more than 8,000 school clients — including UT — is testing tools that would have students do writing assignments aided by AI.
- The platform already integrates with Google Workspace, which includes Gemini, and Turnitin, a plagiarism detection tool that now has writing aids.
Zoom in: UT is vetting possible "AI add-ons," including Canvas' writing assignment assistant, but is not currently using the tool, according to Schell.
- Plus, UT isn't using any AI-detection technology to determine whether students' work was generated by a chatbot over concerns about those tools being "easily circumvented" and creating intellectual property issues, Schell says.
Yes, but: The university has developed its own AI tutoring platform, UT Sage, which is integrated into Canvas and can be turned on by faculty members for their courses, according to Schell.
- Professors can build tutors around their own course materials and instruction, giving students a way to learn with an AI tool their instructor has endorsed.
Dig deeper: Schools adopting AI could see benefits (and more work)