Overview

This course is designed for university students from all disciplines who seek to deepen their understanding of AI tools and their applications in research, studies, and academic writing. Whether you're in the sciences, humanities, or any other field, this course will equip you with the knowledge and skills to effectively integrate AI into your academic endeavours. Course Highlights: · Comprehensive Introduction: Gain a solid foundation in how various AI tools function as aids for study, research, and writing. Understand the theoretical aspects before diving into practical applications. · Practical Applications for Study: Learn how to apply AI tools in your research and studies. This hands-on approach ensures that you can leverage these technologies to enhance your academic work. · Ethics and Integrity: Explore key issues such as ethics, academic integrity, authorship, and plagiarism in the context of AI tools. Stay informed with the latest guidelines on using these tools responsibly and accurately. Benefits of Completing This Course: · Enhanced Research Capabilities: By understanding and utilising GenAI tools, you will be able to conduct more efficient and thorough research, saving time and improving the quality of your work. · Improved Academic Writing: Learn how GenAI can assist with rigour, efficiency and accuracy in academic writing. · Ethical Awareness: Develop a keen awareness of the ethical considerations and best practices when using AI in academia, ensuring your work maintains high standards of integrity. · Unique Learning Experience: This course stands out by offering a balanced mix of theoretical knowledge and practical skills, tailored to the needs of modern university students.

Syllabus

AI for Students: Using AI Tools in Study and Research

Our first module introduces you to what we mean by AI and GenAI, as well as the concept of digital literacies. We'll cover here the ways in which the tools work and the different categories of tools available. You'll be able to use the information here to boost your confidence in using the various types of AI tools available, as well as being able to discern what the tools do and how they might benefit you in your work, research and study.

AI Capabilities and Human Responsibilites

Our second module expands on the use of AI and GenAI tools. We'll cover here the role of the human and the computer in our tasks when studying and researching for university. We'll also look at the types of tools available in more depth and detail. We'll discuss how and why these work in particular ways, the benefits of using particular types of tools for particular types of work, and the role of AI in your studies. We'll also cover the crucial and important elements of some of the challenges and problems in using AI, including the human and environmental costs, the data biases, and the social issues involved.

Academic Integrity

We've covered now the ways in which you can use AI tools in your studies and research, the types of tools available to you, and some of the wider issues or problems with using AI tools. Below, you'll cover the key elements of academic integrity and good academic practice (including avoiding plagiarism!) when using AI tools. We'll look at the key principles of academic integrity in an AI-powered world, as well as thinking about the rules of research and using data with confidence and confidentiality.