Assignment Activity 8: Original work engagement or pre-made AI assignments
By
Ekaterina Shchegoleva
Department of Education, University of the People
EDUC 5470-01 Research in Education - AY2025-T4
UNIT 8: Current Research Topics in Educational Contexts
Dr. Bhavika Vyas
2nd June 2025
Abstract
This article discusses whether students are willing to engage in original work when AI software offers pre-made assignments. An adult student struggles with learning English since ninth grade, choosing online studies for freelance work and translating software texts for foreign customers. AI tools like DeepL Translate and Quillbot.com were used for text translation but did not guarantee the preservation of original text meaning. The development of information technology and artificial intelligence raises questions about students' readiness to use AI for grades rather than thinking and creating unique texts. Teachers should teach students not only how to think but also how to use information tools correctly. A study is needed to determine if ready-made AI texts can weaken students' willingness to overcome difficulties.
Key words: AI tools, DeepL Translate, Quillbot.com, self-development, learning difficultiesб teaching creativity using AI
Introduction
At the beginning of 2025, I had an adult student who immediately reported his problem. His problem was learning English, which he had been unable to learn since he was in ninth grade. We studied from January 10 to April 28, 2025, and before the next session my student sent me a message that he had not done his homework and would not come to class because he had
“caught, apparently, the ultimate phobia. I can't learn English, it's getting to the point of breaking down. As/if I redo everything that has accumulated in English, I will let you know. Again, I apologize for not giving you a heads up sooner. It's just now something's come up.”
Should I teach my students better?
During the lessons, the student constantly complained that he did not memorize information, did not want to do his homework at all, and started learning English more than ten times with different teachers. However, each time there was a complete rejection of the English language and the learning process. We tried many different interactive games that usually help to work with children (Niemi et al.,2022), read books adapted to the student's level, worked with news adapted for learning English, and he even cooked besparmak (a Kazakh dish) according to a recipe written in English.
The most surprising thing about this situation was that he is a freelancer, working from home and occasionally just playing computer games in the evenings. He chose to study online due to his own circumstances, especially since distance education is ranked second in research according to EXPLORING CURRENT TRENDS IN EDUCATION: A REVIEW OF RESEARCH TOPICS IN THE PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY JOURNAL (Memisevic et al., 2023). My student wanted to study online as it was the opposite of the traditional approach. The whole motivation to learn English was because of his immediate employer's requirement to translate the texts of their company's software products into English for foreign customers. In fact, my student is sufficient to perform this function two programs:
- DeepL Translate
- Quillbot.com.
But while these programs can help with text translation and spell checking, they cannot give the user a guarantee that the meaning of the original text will be preserved without the user's own control. That is, the programs can only be tools that are useful in the hands of a knowledgeable person. As a result, I taught my student to use these tools by checking the meaning of words with online dictionaries, but I could not motivate him to learn the language for oral communication. On the one hand I felt this as a failure of my pedagogical mission, but on the other hand I realized the depth of the problem faced by the modern generation due to the development of information technology and artificial intelligence.
Will students want to work on original topics when they have ready-made assignments available with AI software?
Thinking needs to be trained, just like any skill, muscle in our body and any talent. A person who goes into an induced coma, for example, upon awakening must make an effort to return to the original ability to walk, talk, and maintain themselves in a domestic sense (Acquired Brain Injury, n.d.). During a coma, any skills learned are lost and must be regained. What if these skills were not developed?
Each work that a student has to do by studying information, analyzing, creating his own idea of the subject and making certain conclusions, creates neural connections in his head, which help to get involved in any processes, to put forward new hypotheses and find non-standard solutions. A student who uses the results of artificial intelligence for grades rather than self-development is stealing their experience and losing the opportunity to develop unique, inherent skills.
I am often wondering what the program will write to my question, but I am not always satisfied with the program's answer because I want to get my own experience or think about the possibilities. In this way I gain confidence and can talk about the topic I am studying from the position of a researcher who has understood the question and terminology, rather than from the position of a dilettante who is focused only on the product of an intelligent program.
This situation with the increasing variety of text creation tools gives reason to think about conducting research on students' readiness to use artificial intelligence for grades rather than as a tool for thinking and creating their own unique text. Furthermore, using texts written by artificial intelligence is not wise due to the fact that texts may have inaccurate data and strange definitions or word usage (Ravi, n.d.). Thus, students need to be taught not only how to think but also how to use information tools correctly.
Conclusion
Returning to my student who could not overcome his negative attitude towards learning English, I would like to draw attention to his desire to know the language and to be able to use it in his mature age. This suggests that even if a student at school does not want to learn something at the time of study, it does not mean that they will avoid the need to apply their knowledge and skills later on. A teacher cannot guarantee a student that their life will turn out in a certain way. Therefore, the teacher's task is to prepare their student for possible situations as much as possible and support them on the way to self-development despite doubts, laziness, difficulties and other obstacles in the student's path.
In this context, it is necessary to conduct a study to what extent the student's willingness to overcome difficulties can be weakened by the possibility of using ready-made AI texts. Would a student be able to voluntarily give up the tempting opportunity to get a grade without effort if given the chance? And even if one single student answers in the affirmative, this is a point at which it is worth thinking about what to do about it and how to change the situation.
References
Acquired brain injury. (n.d.). https://synapse.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ABI_-The-Facts-2016.pdf
Free AI Grammar Checker. (2024). Quillbot.com; QuillBot. https://quillbot.com/grammar-check/d/147d43a2-2d68-4c9a-9357-0c2ecbd3afca
DeepL Translate – Самый точный переводчик в мире. (n.d.). Www.deepl.com. https://www.deepl.com/ru/translator
Memisevic, H., Biscevic, I., Hadzic, S., & Kuduzovic, A. (2023). Trends in education: A review of research topics in the problems of education in the 21st century journal. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 81(2), 258-268. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1379601.pdf
Niemi, H., Pea, R. D., & Lu, Y. (Eds.). (2022). AI in Learning: Designing the Future.Springer International Publishing AG. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/univ-people-ebooks/detail.action?docID=7147233
Ravi, P. (n.d.). Kritik - How to Ensure Students Aren’t Using AI Content for Assignments. Www.kritik.io. https://www.kritik.io/blog-post/how-to-ensure-students-arent-using-ai-content-for-assignments