UF students waiting for grades to be uploaded might be able to stop refreshing e-Learning.
EdX has introduced an online learning system that scores students’ essays using artificial intelligence. The program offers free courses to any institution that wants to use it, according to the edX website.
Michele Traub, a UF graduate instructor for applied behavior analysis, is skeptical of such a computer-based grading system. She said programs like this tend to look for key terms in students’ responses without considering their context.
“For me, I like to see what people are understanding,” she said.
Claudia Weeks, an 18-year-old UF sociology freshman, said she hates the similar system used in online psychology.
“It will give you a bad grade for overusing words like ‘brain,’ which has no synonyms,” she said. “But if my teacher was actually grading it, she obviously wouldn’t take points off for that.”
Caroline Stone, lecturer for advanced argumentative writing in the UF English department, said many students already complain about the lack of attention and feedback they get from professors in their online classes. She believes an artificial intelligence system would further disadvantage students.
“We, as faculty, have a responsibility to take the time to give students quality feedback on their writing,” she said.
