The Grey Area of AI in School
A few years ago, the rules were simple: don’t copy your friend's homework and don’t buy essays online. Now, things are complicated. You have a tool that can write a whole essay in seconds. But should you use it?
The short answer is: It depends on how you use it.
Some schools have banned AI completely. Others encourage you to use it like a super-powered calculator. If you use ChatGPT to do the work for you, that is cheating. If you use it to help you understand the work, that is usually okay.
Here is how to tell the difference and stay out of the principal’s office.
Step 1: Check Your School's Rules First
Before you open ChatGPT, you need to know what is allowed. Every school and every teacher is different.
Read the Syllabus: Most teachers now have an "AI Policy" section in their syllabus.
Ask Your Teacher: If you aren't sure, just ask. Send an email saying, "Can I use ChatGPT to help me brainstorm ideas for this paper?"
Don't Assume: Just because one teacher lets you use it doesn't mean the next one will.
If you use AI secretly when it is forbidden, that is considered academic dishonesty.
Step 2: The "Green Light" – How to Use AI Legally
You can use AI to be a better student without cheating. Think of ChatGPT as a tutor that never sleeps. Here are safe ways to use it:
Brainstorming: Stuck on a topic? Ask AI for 10 ideas for your history project. You still have to do the research, but it gets you started.
Summarizing: Paste a long, confusing article into the chat and ask it to "explain this in simple terms." This helps you learn, but you must still read the original text to verify facts.
Quiz Yourself: Paste your notes and ask ChatGPT to create a practice test for you. This is a great active study strategy.
If you need help finding the right words to ask, you can find student-friendly prompts at Vertech Academy. Using the right prompt ensures the AI helps you learn rather than doing the work for you.
Step 3: The "Red Light" – When It Becomes Cheating
There is a clear line you should not cross. If you turn in work that you did not think through yourself, you are cheating.
Avoid these behaviors:
Copy-Pasting Essays: Never ask AI to write your essay and then submit it as your own.
Fake Citations: AI often "hallucinates," meaning it makes up facts and book titles that don't exist. If you use these, your teacher will know immediately.
Solving Test Questions: If you are taking an online test and you feed the questions into AI, that is plagiarism.
Step 4: How to Cite AI Correctly
If your teacher allows you to use ChatGPT, they will probably ask you to give it credit. You cannot claim AI-generated text as your own writing.
You need to cite it just like you would cite a book or a website.
APA Style: The American Psychological Association has specific rules for citing OpenAI. You can read the official APA guide here.
MLA Style: If you are in an English class, you will likely use MLA. Check the MLA guide here.
Usually, you will need to mention the prompt you used and the date you used it.
Step 5: A Warning About AI Detectors
You might think, "I'll just change a few words, and they won't catch me." Be careful.
Schools use tools like Turnitin to scan for AI writing. These tools are not perfect—sometimes they flag innocent students—but they are getting better every day. If you write an essay using AI, it often sounds robotic and repetitive. Teachers can usually tell the difference between your natural voice and a computer's voice.
For a deeper look at this debate, check out this video on whether using ChatGPT is cheating or learning.
Summary
You don't have to be afraid of AI, but you do have to be honest. Use it to brainstorm, summarize, and study. Do not use it to write your papers. When in doubt, always ask your teacher.
If you are looking for safe, effective ways to use AI for your studies, check out the resources at Vertech Academy. We help you use technology to get smarter, not to cut corners.
