Research Article
Burhan Ozfidan, Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs, Lama Adel Alsalim
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 16, Issue 4, Article No: ep527
ABSTRACT
This study explores Saudi undergraduate students’ perceptions of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in academic writing. Despite extensive research on AI in higher education, there is limited focus on academic writing, especially in the Saudi context. A survey of 189 students, proficient in English and enrolled in freshmen academic writing courses, was conducted. The students frequently used ChatGPT, Grammarly, and Google Translate. Exploratory factor analysis identified two factors: “instructional support of AI tools” and “instructional practices of AI tools,” explaining 55.302% of the variance. Descriptive analysis revealed strong student agreement on AI tools’ benefits, including idea generation, outline preparation, grammar and spell-check improvements, and time-saving. However, concerns about reliability, contextual accuracy, and ethical implications were noted. The study indicates the need for proper training and clear guidelines to make the most of AI in academic writing. The participants, in various responses, indicated how AI helps develop their writing accuracy and come up with new ideas although some participants worry about relying too much on technology. The study recommends that AI tools can be very helpful, but we need to use them thoughtfully to cater to different student experiences and concerns.
Keywords: AI tools, academic writing, undergraduate students
Research Article
Santi Pratiwi Tri Utami, Andayani, Retno Winarni, Sumarwati
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 4, Article No: ep450
ABSTRACT
Research shows that artificial intelligence (AI) technology positively influences students’ writing skills, but this area has yet to be touched by Indonesian researchers. This study aims to map perception, obstacles, and recommendations for optimizing use of AI in teaching academic writing in Indonesian. This article focuses on a case study of three senior high schools in Central Java, Indonesia. It employs quantitative and qualitative data. The researcher collected the data using questionnaires presented with Likert scale, followed by an in-depth interview through mobile instant messaging interview. Findings show that (1) AI-based learning tools help students to do academic research, especially in the planning step, to identify and develop the topics, as well as in the drafting step, to develop a paper draft, (2) AI-based learning tools are deemed flexible in accessibility despite not being able to cover all necessities required by students in writing process, (3) students are interested in using AI technology in academic writing class so that learning process will not be boring. Although AI has been used in academic writing classes, tools have not positively impacted quality of students’ academic papers in all indicators. There are several obstacles to using AI, namely (1) need for more available feature, especially in editing Indonesian text, and (2) in contrast, the features still need to be optimized. These are the recommendations for the optimization of AI-based learning tools, which are (1) adding features to edit Indonesian text, including spelling, diction, and sentence structure, and (2) enhancing AI literacy to be able to explore and leverage the existing features optimally. This research has yet to accommodate the possible coverage in checking the originality and accuracy of the written product assisted by AI-based learning tools, which could become a focus for future researchers.
Keywords: perception, AI technology, learning tools, academic writing