Generative AI for students

If you have not come across Generative AI before, you may wish to start with the Generative AI Pathway in the OU Library’s ‘Being Digital’ collection.

Generative AI tools generate text, images, videos or audio in reaction to user ‘prompts’. They generate new material in a similar but far more sophisticated way than predictive text in messaging apps, based on patterns detected in the vast collections of materials these tools were trained on. Generative AI tools typically do not rely on databases of facts, and they do not have lived experience, logical reasoning, a sense of moral right or wrong, or understanding of the meaning of words, images and sounds. As a result, your work is likely to be of a poor standard if you over rely on Generative AI.

The way Generative AI works means that:

• Training and using AI is a computationally intensive process that requires lots of electricity and water (to cool the servers).
• You may get, for the same prompt and tool, different answers at different times.
• Answers sound authoritative and plausible but may be inaccurate, irrelevant or inconsistent and may reflect (and reinforce) biases that exist in the training materials.

How can I use Generative AI tools?

Most AI tools are accessible via your web browser. While many include paid-for features, the freely available features are enough to support your OU study, should you decide to use them. Typically, these features include the following:

• You can type a prompt or dictate it into your computer’s microphone.
• You can upload files to the AI tool, e.g. by attaching them to a prompt.
• You can have the tool’s response read aloud to you.
• You can copy the tool’s response to the clipboard.
• You can ask the tool to generate a different response.
• You can have a conversation with the tool to refine the response to your original prompt.
• You can have multiple conversations going on in parallel. The tool keeps a record of all of them, so that you can continue them later. You must explicitly delete a conversation you don’t want to keep.
• You can have conversations in languages other than English.

Several browser-based tools can also generate and explain computer code in Python, Java and other programming languages, but specialised tools that must be installed in a programming environment may be better for that purpose. In addition, many other tools, like Microsoft Word, Grammarly and Adobe Photoshop, are incorporating Generative AI features. It is anticipated that the variety and capability of AI tools will evolve rapidly.

What Generative AI tools can I use?

You can use any Generative AI tool you wish. As of July 2024, the most popular in-browser tools include OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, and Microsoft’s Copilot. The most popular tool for programming environments is GitHub Copilot. All tools require you to create or use an existing account, so that they can save your conversations. Gemini and Microsoft Copilot have the advantage of using their parent company’s search engines to retrieve web pages related to the AI answer to help you evaluate its accuracy.

As an OU student, you can use Microsoft Copilot in protected mode: go to https://copilot.microsoft.com, log in with your ou.ac.uk account and make sure there is a shield. Hovering over it should show that data protection applies

Nevertheless, you must not upload personal and organisational data (see Section called Using Generative AI safely).

If no particular tool is suggested for the module or subject you are studying, you may wish to try at least two different tools with the kind of prompts given below, to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Remember that only Microsoft Copilot provides added protection when logged in as an OU student.

The legal framework around Generative AI is complicated and evolving. You should assume any material (text, image, video, audio) that you find on the web to be under copyright unless all its creators have died over 100 years ago or the material includes an explicit statement of being in the public domain. Moreover, you should assume that AI providers will store and use any information you provide, even on a paid plan, unless their terms and conditions say otherwise.

To use Generative AI in an ethical, legal and responsible way, make sure you:

a) Do not include in your prompts and uploaded files any personal or confidential information, about yourself, the OU or any other individual or organisation.

b) Do not include in your prompts and uploaded files any copyrighted material, by the OU or any other individual or organisation, unless:

1. the third-party individual or organisation has given permission to do so
   
2. you are instructed by your course materials to do so

c) Do fully acknowledge any use of Generative AI in your answers to formative or summative assessment. The section below on assessment has more details.

Regarding point a), as a general guide do not enter names of living people into an AI tool, unless they are public figures or have published work in their name.

Point b) means, for example, that unless explicitly authorised to do so, you cannot use AI tools to summarise parts of OU material or third-party articles, to explain figures and charts, or to clarify assessment questions, as all these cases would require copying or uploading copyrighted material to the AI tool. You can however upload your personal study notes to an AI tool and ask it to summarise, restructure and rephrase them, remembering that using AI-processed notes in assessment must be acknowledged as per point c).

Note that points a) to c) also apply to Microsoft Copilot in protected mode. The advantage of the privacy of Microsoft Copilot is that you can upload your study notes without them being used for commercial purposes.

Misuse of Generative AI falls under section 3.6 of the Academic Conduct Policy (if you are an undergraduate or postgraduate taught student) and sections 3 and 4 of the PGR Plagiarism and Research Misconduct Policy (if you are a postgraduate research student).

Subject to the above restrictions, you can use AI tools as much and as often as you wish to consolidate your learning, e.g. to obtain alternative explanations, to test yourself, to critique your work, to practise.

Here are some example prompts you may consider using:

• Explain … with examples.
• Ask me a multiple-choice question about … with 5 options.
• Ask me a fill-in-the-blanks question about … with 3 blanks.
• Critique the following with respect to correctness, completeness and clarity: …
• Let’s chat in basic [language]. I’m a tourist going to the city centre, you’re a bus driver. Wait for me to start the conversation. Don’t correct me during the conversation. (This is followed by a conversation in the given language and at any time you can switch back to English and ask for a list of mistakes you made and their correction).

In the last example, the AI tool will remember throughout the conversation the context you provided (the language, the tourist and driver roles, etc.) because AI tools build on the conversation that has taken place so far to reply to the current prompt. This means that to avoid confusing the tool or having to repeat the context, it is best to keep each conversation to a single topic.

Being specific with your prompts can help the Generative AI tool to provide a more relevant response. For example, here are some prompts with added specifications:

• Explain … to a second year Computing undergraduate who has not taken calculus.
• Regenerate the previous answer without using the concept of …
• Summarise the concept of … from the perspective of a first-year psychology student.

You may also use Generative AI to support a literature search and review but, as explained in Section Understanding Generative AI, due to the use of linguistic patterns over factual knowledge, bibliographic references and summaries may be fabricated. You may prefer to use specialised tools, like Consensus and Undermind, but keep in mind that no tool can replace your own reading of source materials.

Since answers may be wrong or biased, you must critically review the output of Generative AI tools. The following may help you do so:

• Read the OU materials before you use an AI tool and compare the facts provided.
• Use Gemini or Microsoft Copilot to retrieve related web pages and check the answer against them.
• Evaluate the tool’s output (and any retrieved pages) using the PROMPT method (Presentation, Relevance, Objectivity, Method, Provenance, and Timeliness).
• Discuss the tool’s output in a module forum.
• Attend (or watch the recording of) the OU Library training session on Exploring Generative AI: critical skills and ethical use.

Keep in mind that being able to critically review Generative AI output requires you to already have enough knowledge of a topic to decide if the material generated is valid and accurate.

More generally, make sure you use Generative AI to complement your study of OU materials and your interactions with peers and tutors, not to replace them.

While the use of Generative AI for learning is unrestricted, its use for each formative or summative assessment piece (e.g. a single question, or an MSc or PhD dissertation) falls into one of three categories.

Category 1: You cannot use Generative AI to complete an assessment piece.

Some assessment questions are designed to help you practice and demonstrate basic knowledge and skills (including the application of concepts, developing arguments and following procedures) needed for your study and employment. This category typically applies when the use of AI tools would prevent you from acquiring those skills. Using Generative AI for this category is subject to academic conduct procedures.

Category 2: You may use Generative AI to assist you in completing an assessment piece.

Even when allowed to use Generative AI, you should avoid relying too much on it, as this will prevent you from developing the higher-level skills (concise and clear oral and written communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, etc.) needed for studying subsequent modules, for employment and for making a new contribution to your field (if you are a PhD student). Also remember that if a module permits you to use Generative AI, this does not mean you are required to use it.

Category 3: You must use Generative AI to complete an assessment piece.

Typically, this category allows you to use Generative AI for addressing larger or more complex problems or assesses your skills in using AI tools and critically examining their limitations.

Category 2 is the default for all assessment. If an assessment piece falls under category 1 or 3, this will be stated in the piece itself, in the assessment tab of your module site or in the research degree regulations.

Regardless of what category your assessment falls under, remember that:

1. you cannot enter the questions or other OU module materials into AI tools (Section 2b)
2. your assignments must be your own work, spoken or written in your own words and therefore represent your own voice, properly referenced to indicate sources you have used. You should also look at the Good Academic Practice Collection on OpenLearn.

Acknowledging Generative AI

If the assessment falls into Category 2 or 3, you must acknowledge the use of Generative AI, except for minor changes to the form of your answer. This means that you don’t need to indicate the use of AI tools for correcting spelling and grammatical mistakes or for converting passive to active voice, for example. However, any Generative AI used for producing the content of your answer, or for substantial changes to the form, must be acknowledged. Examples include ideas and outlines, rephrasing and restructuring paragraphs, and changing informal to academic style.

Unless the assessment tells you otherwise, you should report the use of Generative AI as follows.

• Reference all AI-generated outputs, using the Generative AI (Harvard) style. Use of third-party material (including AI outputs) in assessment without citing it constitutes plagiarism, which is an academic conduct offence.
• Summarise how you used Generative AI in an appendix that describes your conversation with the tool and what you did with its outputs. Put your prompts in quotation marks and cite the conversation as personal communication. For example,

  For Question 4, I asked for “3 arguments in favour of and 3 against [topic] in 150 words” (Gemini, 2024).
  I expanded two arguments and submitted a draft, asking the tool to “critique it for clarity and style”.
  It suggested adding examples for clarity, which I did.

• Keep a record of the conversation so that you can provide it to your tutor if asked for it. Most tools automatically save the conversation until you delete it.

In summary, show your working and use Generative AI to work with you and not for you.

Generative AI can be a powerful aid to your studies, but it also reduces opportunities for learning if relied upon too much. You may want to ask yourself routinely the following questions, suggested by Jennie Blake, Head of Learning and Teaching at the University of Manchester Library:

• Why am I considering using a Generative AI tool? What do I hope it will do?
• Am I losing out on key learning by using it in this way? What should I do to make sure I learn what I need to?
• What are the risks of using the tool like this and what else should I think about?
• Having used the tool, what skills have I acquired which I did not have before?
• What is my plan for using these skills/the tool now/next?

For example, as part of what else to think about in the third point, you may reflect on how much time you spend with Generative AI (including rewriting prompts and acknowledging its use) and whether it leads to improved productivity and outcomes.

We aim to review this guidance annually, to ensure it reflects developments in Generative AI in education. If you have any questions not addressed by this guidance, you can either:

• If you are a taught student, check your module and qualification websites for any additional guidance, before contacting the Student Support Team.
• If you are a research student, check the Graduate School Network Guidance site for any additional guidance, before contacting the Graduate School.