I’m so old that I started learning to type on my mom’s typewriter. (I was a child who thought that typewriters were cool, and I wanted to learn to use it. I’m not a particularly fast typist, so it turns out I was more interested in figuring out how it worked than learning to use it.)
When I started having to write papers for every class I took in college, I had a Mac, but I still took notes and drafted my papers longhand (only the first draft — every other iteration happened on the computer).
As a graphic designer, I used version naming conventions (052123_filename.indd, 052223_filename.indd, 052223_filename1a.indd…) for all my files, so that I could present different ideas, or step back if I needed to.
As I learn front-end web development, I’m getting a little bit more familiar with version control, using Git and GitHub.
I’m thinking about all of these practices as they relate to academic integrity in the age of ChatGPT. Teachers are trying to figure out how to prevent students from cheating. And we, as students, have to figure out how we are going to make sure that we can demonstrate that the work we are presenting is ours. In other words, as students, we need to develop a kind of “hygiene” to make sure that they we show the evolution of a project or paper.
(In other words, we all need to figure out how to avoid this sort of thing: Professor Flunks All His Students After ChatGPT Falsely Claims It Wrote Their Papers. )
In my case, I still tend to take notes longhand (I think better with a pen in hand); notes are artifacts, so that’s a reasonable start. Another thing I already do if I’m working on a group project is keep local files of the work I’ve shared (or with Google apps, I’ll make a copy of a file and share the copy) — not because I think my work is of higher quality than the group can produce (it is most assuredly not), but because it creates a situation where I can point to the part of the project I contributed to as an individual.
I think I’m going to start implementing version naming conventions for files if I’m working on a solo project. Also, I need to start getting better at getting to know my professors, so they have a sense of who I am, and how I approach assignments. (For online students, I think discussions are a good way to demonstrate that you’re engaging with the material in a thoughtful way, in your own style, in a less formal context.)
I’ve been pretty fortunate that most of my academic endeavors involve writing and project work, where you have to demonstrate progression of thought through the course of the work. It’s difficult to cheat that process (or the cheating involves so much more work and creativity than the assignment calls for that it should probably be lauded).
Photo offering of the day: this gorilla from the San Diego Zoo, who chose to walk right up to the viewing area, turn his back on all of us, and sit down. He decided that if he had to interact with us, he was going to do it in his own way. (Animals are capable of complex communication.)
Carmen Yount 