Think all students are using GenAI in the same way? Think again.
In a survey of over 8,000 students across four Australian universities, 83% reported using GenAI in their studies with 44% using it weekly.
The students’ reported uses included editing, generating ideas, summarising notes, teaching them how to do something, finding information, generating code or formulae or written answers, transcribing class interactions, translating text or audio into another language, creating images, generating artwork, images, diagrams, completing part or all of an assignment and more.
All these categories, however, still oversimplify the situation. Student interactions with GenAI are often complex and varied, shaped by individual needs, preferences, and values.
Focus group data from 79 students across four universities reveals part of this nuance. Some students like Bill use GenAI constantly:
If I’m on the computer it’s on sitting right next to me, and I’m having a two-way conversation with it just about constantly… I don’t go to campus or have a network of people I talk to because I live in a regional area as well… So yeah. ChatGPT is my surrogate University fraternity of people going through the course at the same time I am.
By contrast, others, like Naina, avoid it completely: “I really like what I write,” she explained, “so I have no interest in using ChatGPT”.
The assumption that all students are using AI the same way not only oversimplifies their choices but risks missing the nuanced support they might actually need. Universities must consider this diversity when shaping policies, curricula, assessment, and resources.
Dr Jack Walton and A/Prof Christine Slade are representing the Students and AI collaborative project team of 20 scholars from 4 universities. More at AIinHE.org.
