Writing the short essay assignments
This is material related to my teaching about AI. For more, see AI Log teaches.
Writing the short essay assignments in How AI is Changing Higher Education
Students taking How AI is Changing Higher Education will write six short essays or βblog postsβ and publish them online. Details about each essay are available in the assignment tab on the Canvas course site.
What is the purpose of these essay assignments?
The purpose of the short essay assignments is to give you an opportunity to reflect on the topics we discuss in class through the experience of writing. As John Warnerβs More Than Words will tell you, writing is thinking, writing is feeling, and writing is a practice.
Writing these essays is a chance to think, feel, and put into a writing practice your ideas about how AI is changing higher education. They are a chance to spend time in your own head, with your own thoughts and feelings, and through the practice of writing, wrestle those thoughts and feelings onto the page for your classmates, your teacher, and anyone else you show them to.
What do you mean by an essay? What exactly are you looking for in these essays?
The most boringly accurate definition of an essay I could find is βa short prose composition treating a given subject in a rather informal and personal manner.β The best definition I know of was written by the guy who coined the word βessay,β Michel de Montaigne. Here is his definition:
If I had written to seek the world's favor, I should have bedecked myself better, and should present myself in a studied posture. I want to be seen here in my simple, natural, ordinary fashion, without straining or artifice; for it is myself that I portray. My defects will here be read to the life, and also my natural form, as far as respect for the public has allowed. Had I been placed among those nations which are said to live still in the sweet freedom of nature's first laws, I assure you I should very gladly have portrayed myself here entire and wholly naked.
Thus, reader, I am myself the matter of my book; you would be unreasonable to spend your leisure on so frivolous and vain a subject.
You are the subject matter of the essays you write for this class. It's your thoughts, your feelings, your practice that I am looking for. There is no formula. There is no rubric. Just try to write something that you find interesting, and that you think your classmates and I might as well. I only ask that you aim your writing in the general direction of the topics at hand (the prompts I give you for each assignment), so that they prepare you to say something interesting during our in-class discussions and activities.
Why do you ask us to post our essays on Substack or another online platform?
I once heard sociologist and NYT columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom tell how she first started writing. One of her teachers in college required students to publish their writing for class online. It started her on a path that continues today, as she is a very successful writer, speaker, and academic. You may be the next Tressie McMillan Cottom, and I want to nudge you in that direction.
Blogs and other forms of writing on the internet are where the most interesting and important writing about AI is being published. There are far too few students represented in that discourse, so I hope you will add your voice to those conversations.
Subtack is an interesting online platform that makes it very easy to publish essays and find an audience for them. Since I currently use it myself, I may be able to answer questions or help with a problem.
If you object to using Substack, I am happy to work with you to find an alternative platform or tool to put your writing online. If you want to publish your essays, but keep them private for just our class, that is fine.
Can I use AI to write the essays?
By the terms of the radical proposal we will discuss on the first day of class, the answer is yes. Assuming the class agreed to the proposal, there are no restrictions on using generative AI tools to prepare the assignments or prepare for class activities.
Please remember that your classmates and I are not particularly interested in what ChatGPT thinks and feels about AI. Your thoughts and feelings, on the other hand, are of great interest. That includes thoughts and feelings that are only half-formed or not quite clear. In fact, those are often more interesting.
Please consult the Penn Code of Academic Integrity for definitions of cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty. You are responsible for submitting honest work.
How can I get help writing my essays?
The best way is get feedback is to schedule an appointment with me. Those in the undergraduate section can also schedule a meeting with Mia. I also encourage all students to check out The Writing Center and use their services.
Remember that if I donβt think your paper βrepresents an honest attempt to think, feel, and practice how AI is changing higher education,β I will meet with you to discuss how it falls short, and you can resubmit. That means this is low stakes. Just give it an honest try and see what happens.
We will also experiment with JeepyTA as a feedback tool. The purpose of this will be to learn about using AI tools, not to replace the feedback I and your classmates give you. Iβm not so sure an LLM tool is good at writing feedback, but I want to know what you think.
How are the essays graded?
Completing all six essays is required to pass the course, but they are not graded beyond judging that they demonstrate an honest attempt to think, feel, and practice writing about how AI is changing higher education and verifying that you remembered to submit each one. The gradebook in Canvas is set up to track your completion of each essay, so that you and I both know when you have completed each one.
If you turn in an essay that does not meet the minimum word requirement, or does, but does not demonstrate an honest attempt to think, feel, and practice writing about how AI is changing higher education, I will meet with you to discuss whatβs happening and what you need to do in order to do to submit a passing paper.
I am happy to read a draft of your paper and give you feedback before you submit it. Make an appointment with me to make that happen.
All essays that demonstrate an honest attempt to think, feel, and practice writing how AI is changing higher education are graded as A.
The last day to submit an essay to be graded is December 18.
What happens if I turn in an essay after the deadline?
Meeting deadlines is an important skill. Unlike judging the quality of a piece of writing, which is somewhat subjective, the question of whether a paper was submitted on time is easy to determine based on the record in Canvas. If you turn in a paper after the deadline, I will grade it as a B. If three of your six essays are graded B and the other three are A, then your letter grade for the essay portion of the class will average to an A-. If four or more of your six essays are graded B, then your letter grade for the essay portion of the class will average to a B. The essays make up half of your grade for the class.
The last day to submit an essay to be graded is December 18.
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