Webinar on ChatGPT for Academic Staff and Students
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The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools has made it very easy for academic outputs to be improved with ease but with little intellectual contribution. One AI tool that has been the talk of the town in the educational sector since the beginning of this year is - ChatGPT, a generative large language model developed by OpenAI.
As an advanced language generation system, ChatGPT can generate coherent and contextually relevant responses, making it a powerful tool in various domains, including education. However, its introduction has also raised important questions and challenges regarding its impact on academia, academic integrity, and the value of a degree in an era where AI systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The question that confronts the educational sector is SHOULD STUDENTS BE ALLOWED TO USE THESE AI TOOL OR NOT ?
To address these concerns and explore the potential benefits and drawbacks of integrating ChatGPT in tertiary education, the Academic Quality Assurance Unit (AQAU) organized a webinar for academic staff of the University of Ghana on 22nd June 2023. The webinar aimed at providing a comprehensive understanding of this innovative AI tool.
The Director of the AQAU, Prof. Daniel K. Twerfeou welcomed the participants while the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University in charge of Academic and Student Affairs – Prof. Godwin A. Awandare provided the opening address. In his address, he elaborated on the genesis for the organization of the Webinar and commented that the webinar has come at an opportune time since the university is in the process of revising its Plagiarism Policy. He urged participants to share their experiences in the use of AI, especially ChatGPT so that we can have a better understanding going forward. He also used the opportunity to thank the Presenter and Discussants for their support.
The main Presenter was Dr. Frank Tsiwah, an Assistant Professor in Computational Linguistics at the University of Groningen. His presentation was discussed by two professionals from the University of Ghana – Prof. Isaac Wiafe, Department of Computer Science and Mr. Benjamin Cobblah, Deputy Chief Information Communication Officer in charge of Planning and Security Support.
Discussions by the Main presenter centered on the potential benefits of ChatGPT in tertiary education while highlighting the importance of developing policies and guidelines to address concerns such as academic integrity, plagiarism detection, fair use and copyright. According to the presenter, by effectively leveraging AI tools and incorporating them responsibly into the academic environment, tertiary institutions can adapt to technological advancements, prepare students for the future and maintain the value and integrity of a university degree. In discussing the
presentation, the first Discussant – Prof. Isaac Wiafe articulated the implications for policy development while the second - Mr. Benjamin Cobblah elaborated on the ethical issues.
A similar presentation was made to graduate students on Firday 14th July, 2023 by Dr. Frank Tsiwah but with more emphasis on the opportunities and challenges for students.
A screenshot of some participants from the Webinar
In both webinars, the questions, comments, contributions, and overall interest generated by participants suggest that they were very impressed with the presentations. In concluding the webinar, the Director of the Unit, Prof. Daniel K Twerefou, thanked both the presenters and the participants for their involvement and informed them about the series of training sessions on AI that the Unit is planning to roll out. He also took the opportunity to inform participants about the activities of the Unit and encouraged them to take an active part in them.