Overview
The first, and probably most crucial of all statements of advice in the student guide relates to whether or not they are allowed to use GAI tools in a particular unit/module/assignment. This information is displayed in the form of a disclaimer:
Disclaimer
For you to be able to use Generative AI (GAI) tools in a unit/module at UHI your tutor/lecturer needs to say it's ok to do so. Please check with your tutor/lecturer before setting up any accounts with GAI tools.
Exactly how and which GAI tools may be used for study purposes and submitted work might differ from class to class or even assignment to assignment within a unit or module (especially if a particular learning outcome mentions GAI directly). Your tutor will lay this out for you. It is also the case that the majority of GAI tools approved for your use feature age restrictions (you either need to be 18 and above or have written permission from your parent or guardian on record at UHI).
“At its most basic, GAI is a data machine: it can consume, analyse and synthesise huge quantities of data and help us to make more powerful data-informed decisions than we could never make alone” (Hardman 2024).
The huge quantities of data mentioned above relates to information stored online. GAI companies collect this data, through a variety of methods. Sometimes the datasets are incredibly broad ranging; however, they can also be ring-fenced to focus on one specific field (for example, academic papers related to a particular cancer).
GAI tools (using what are called 'Large Language Models or LLMs) are 'trained' on this data, processing it so as to understand the nuances of language the end goal being the ability to predict likely next words or phrases in a given context. This predictive capability enables AI tools to generate coherent and contextually relevant text, which can be used for a variety of applications such as conversation, translation, and content creation.
Caution
Although GAI appears to be able to answer your questions, GAI tools cannot think or properly rationalise. GAI tools do not know what they are writing, and instead are just predicting which word should follow its last word. GAI is also known to hallucinate, e.g. it makes up references and data, is known to be biased against and towards certain groups and communities. Do not use GAI generated information without checking it first.
GAI companies combine the abilities of their LLMs with an interface that allows you, the user, to converse with it – usually via a text box (what you type in the text box is called a prompt — a prompt could be just a few words, or something lengthier); some invite you to upload material. Outputs also come in various forms: text, images, audio, video, 3D models, all from text prompts.
Note
AI, which refers to computer systems designed to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, is not new - strictly speaking it’s roots are in the 1950s (Stanford Graduate School of Education, 2024); however, publicly available generative AI, which is capable of creating new content, based on patterns learned from existing data, hit the headlines in December 2022 with the release of ChatGPT 3.5.
How might GAI be used in your classes?
Do you have any students in your class that are under 18? One of the most important elements in your decision making on allowing GAI use in your class relates to age. Almost all the GAI tools approved for student use at UHI feature an age restriction (18+). The alternative to this is to have written permission from a parent/guardian. We have an official UHI form for this purpose. If you want your students to use GAI tools, and you have any students under the age of 18, you first need to gain permission from a parent or guardian.
When it comes to using GAI in a particular unit or module, your tutor/lecturer will tell you one of the following 3 things:
- You are not to use GAI tools for any purpose
- You can use GAI tools to assist you with a particular assignment/assignments
- Use of GAI is integral to a particular assignment
Exactly how GAI tools may or may not be used might differ from assignment to assignment within a unit or module (especially if a particular learning outcome mentions GAI directly). Your tutor/lecturer will lay this out for you. It is also the case that the majority of GAI tools approved for your use feature age restrictions (you either need to be 18 and above or have written permission from your parent or guardian on record at UHI).
Important: If GAI tools are allowed by your tutor/lecturer, your use of them must be acknowledged ( full details on how to do this are on page 7 of the UHI Generative Artificial Intelligence Policy).
GAI use in assignments
The following statement applies to the use of all GAI:
"You will be informed by your tutor/lecturer if and how you may use GAI for your studies and assessed work.
Note:
- If you have not been told anything about the use of GAI, then its use is not permitted.
- If you are not certain it you may use it, you must check with your tutor/lecturer first."
(UHI Generative Artificial Intelligence Policy 2024)
There could be various reasons for GAI use not being permitted in your unit/module (other than being given no information about it, as described above), it could be that an external awarding body (Like the SQA) has stated that use of GAI tools is not to be allowed. If you are in any doubt, contact your tutor/lecturer.
Tutors/lecturers may inform you that the use of GAI tools is permitted in particular work or assignments. The details of this will be specified in the assessment instructions.
Please note: Use of GAI in submitted work must be correctly acknowledged, cited, and referenced as specified in UHI’s Generative AI policy (referencing AI-related resources is covered later in this resource).
Tutors/lecturers may inform you that the use of GAI tools is required for a particular assignment/s. As above, the details of this will be specified in the assessment instructions.
Please note: Use of GAI in submitted work must be correctly acknowledged, cited, and referenced as specified in UHI’s Generative AI policy (referencing AI-related resources is covered later in this resource).
Next
So you can start seeing some of the opportunities GAI tools can offer, the next thing we're going to do is touch on the UHI AI policy, and then have a good look at the various tools that UHI has approved for your use.
UHI GAI policy and guidance
Link to policy and guidance document
The following link will take you to a document on UHI's web site: Student guidance on the use of Generative AI. This is version 1.2 of this document, and will likely feature further updates in the coming months and years.
The various sections cover some very practical instructions, designed to help you use GAI tools (while staying safe and legal). The document focuses on three aspects of GAI:
- May GAI be used for course and assessed work?
- Ethical use of GAI.
- Examples of good practice for students.
"It is essential that use of GAI is implemented in a responsible and ethical manner, guided by the
principles of transparency, accountability, sustainability, and privacy." (UHI 2024)
You should bookmark Student guidance on the use of Generative AI for reference but here are a few highlights:
- Your tutor/lecturer will tell you if and how GAI may be used in your unit/module. All use of GAI must be acknowledged, and full details of how to do this are in the GAI policy.
- Cite Them Right, UHI's referencing guidance tool, features information on the Use of artificial intelligence (AI) sources in academic
work. - The document finishes with five suggestions for some of the ways in which you can use GAI tools to support you, such as "Using GAI tools to assist with planning your project. Conversation-based tools are useful for brainstorming and generating initial ideas and alternatives..." Just remember, you can only use these tools if your tutor tells you that you can and you are over 18 (or if you are under 18, that your parent/legal guardian's permission is on record at UHI).
Next
Let's look at how to communicate successfully with GAI tools, through prompt engineering.
Prompt engineering
The vast majority of GAI tools operate by having you, the user, type in words in the form of a question or a set of instructions - this string of words is called a prompt.
A bit like searching the internet, there are tips and tricks here, skills to be learned, in order to make the most of the tool you are working with. Trial and error, and iteration will often get you close to what you want (and can be fun, especially with images) but knowing a few techniques going in will help you to hit the ground running.
Structured prompting can make a huge difference. Prompts can be anything from a short sentence to a series of lengthy instructions, with examples. What will work best will depend on your needs but in essence, the clearer the better. If you were to ask 5 different chatbots for the key elements in a well-engineered prompt you are likely to get some or all of the following:
Note
Important: If you include text that is not your own in a prompt, be careful to avoid copyright infringement. Citing your sources as you would when including a quotation in an essay is one way to do this, for example:
Elon Musk said, "The first step is to establish that something is possible; then probability will occur" (Musk 2014). Based on this idea, create a series of bullet points for an upcoming tutorial session that outline key factors influencing the future of the global economy. Include technological advancements, potential challenges, and opportunities for growth.
Tip
If in doubt about what will work best, consider asking the AI tool directly "what else do you need from me?" (e.g. "I want to use find literature to support the following argument...What do you need from me?").
A visual example
Have a look at the picture below (click to make bigger)
The prompt used above was “a university lecturer poised over a computer keyboard, thinking of what to input into the prompt area of a generative AI screen.” Note the gender bias, and the anomalies (weird keyboard, monitor that apparently is see-through!).
Tip
Some AI image creators feature galleries of images. Clicking on these often reveals the phrasing of the prompt used to create the image.
Supplemental resources
Jisc: Question generation demonstration (demonstration* of how chatbots can create sets of questions and answers; use pre-existing prompts or self-define) *requires UHI login.
LearnPrompting: Prompt Engineering Guide (features links to free beginners and advanced courses* in prompt engineering) *Requires [free] account to be created.
Prompt Engineering Guide (includes detailed examples of many different types of prompts: zero-shot, few-shot, tree-of-thoughts, etc.).
Next
Let's look at some of the ways that you could put GAI tools to use as a student.
Ways that you could put GAI tools to use as a student
If you have permission and are old enough (you either need to be 18 and above or have written permission from a parent/guardian on record at UHI) to use UHI approved GAI tools, the following list might give you some good ideas of how you could put them to use.
Acknowledgement: Some of these ideas are similar to those listed in UHI’s Student guidance on the use of Generative AI. Acknowledgement is also given to a resource made available by Birmingham University.
As you might search the internet for information, GAI can be a starting point for getting a handle on a topic area.
Remember, you can hone your prompts as you see the kinds of results you get. For example, you may start with broad requests and move towards very specific ones. You can also ask for different types of resources, including video and journal articles.
Tip
If you find success with a particular prompt, take note of it (prompt diaries/journals can also be very helpful for referencing).
You can tell a GAI tool that it is an expert in student support and ask for guidance on any number of study skills: time management, presentation skills, how to engage an audience, literature searching techniques, exam preparation, etc. Also, bear in mind that many GAI tools can produce more than just plain text. Where appropriate, consider asking for results in tables, graphs, as flashcards, etc.
You can personalise the recommendations you get to your own situation (e.g. ‘I have x number of hours of classes on Monday, y on Tuesday...’, etc.) but be careful not to include any personal information in your prompts.
Remember: UHI has a fantastic Student Support team. You also have access to the suite of Essential Student Skills resources. Think of GAI as adding to these, not replacing them.
Tip
Many GAI tools are able to create tables and/or downloadable templates for you to use.
GAI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot for Bing and Phind can accurately process requests relating to terms like ‘critical thinking’. One way to start would be simply to ask, ‘How can [GAI tool] help me [call yourself a ‘university student’ or similar, nothing personal] improve my critical thinking skills?’ The tools will create bulleted or sectioned lists which by themselves help to define what critical thinking is.
Use the prompt results to narrow your search for help/strategies related to your particular subject or topic.
Tip
You can ask any of the GAI tools to provide you with links to literature and academic guides; Phind will automatically give you links to appropriate sources.
Many GAI tools can be asked to create quiz question sets. You can factor in different levels of difficulty if you want. This can be a great way of testing your knowledge.
As always, be careful not to include personal information in your prompts, or copyright information, which includes any teaching materials.
Tip
One of the approved GAI tools, AI Tutor Pro, is designed purely for helping people develop and test their knowledge and skills. Once you choose the topic and level, the tool will ask you questions and give you feedback. The conversation can go on as long as you want/need.
There are many GAI tools available to help summarise information, make comparisons between text or data, and make reading articles easier and quicker. However, before you can compare anything you have to find appropriate resources.
As you saw in the Prompt Engineering section, when you are asking a GAI tool for something, it's important to specify the kinds of resources you want. If you want peer reviewed journal articles with references, it's best to state that in your prompt. Doing so will get solid results from ChatGPT, and Copilot for Bing. In addition, Perplexity has an 'Academic' focus setting which will search only for published academic papers, and Phind clearly displays academic source material when asked. Semantic Scholar is a tool similar to our own Library Search (see note below). It is able to search through 221 million papers 'from all fields of science' but does not have the same sort of prompting interface as the others. Searching here is done via titles, keywords etc.
Tip
You will get the best responses from GAI tools if you clearly define what it is you want either summarised or compared. This could include methodologies used, findings, conclusions, implications, etc.
Important notes
When using GAI tools, you must not upload material that you do not own the copyright for. Rather than supplying text from an article, by copying and pasting it directly into the prompt area, use the article title, DOI, or a link. The GAI tool will be able to find the content itself and work with it from there.
Also remember that the training data used by GAI tools does not usually come up to the present. To find the most up to date literature, remember that the UHI library service offers a wealth of curated, high-quality resources through Library Search and other online collections, carefully selected to meet study and research needs.
In many ways, the guidance on appropriate use of GAI tools is very similar regardless of the level: undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD. This is because the same UHI GAI policy applies to all students. The differences between levels of students relates more to their likely uses of GAI tools, and their level of academic skills like literature searching and referencing. The following is a short list of potential uses that taught postgraduates might make of approved UHI GAI tools.
Acknowledgement: Some of the structuring and wording of this list came initially from interactions with Claude AI.
Collaborate with GAI to hone your research topic/question – this has two benefits: first, with this collaborative approach, you will be moving towards something the gets at the heart of your interest; second, you will improve your prompt engineering skills as you go (which can include asking ‘is there anything I’m missing/anything else I should be asking?’).
- Doesn't accept suggestions verbatim
- Evaluates each suggestion
- Considers:
- Feasibility
- Research potential
- Personal interest
- Methodological viability
- Deconstructing broad topics
- Understanding research question architecture
- Developing analytical thinking
Collaborate with GAI to go from broad topic query to one that asks about theoretical frameworks, methodologies, suggested keywords.
- Cross-references GAI suggestions with:
- Academic databases
- Peer-reviewed journals
- Supervisor guidance
- Develops independent research strategy
- Uses GAI as a starting point, not a conclusion
- Systematic literature review techniques
- Understanding theoretical framework selection
- Developing research design skills
Collaborate with GAI by engaging in a systematic analysis of your position. Begin by asking the GAI to help deconstruct complex positions into their fundamental components. On your own, try to identify potential weaknesses or gaps in your reasoning. Next, prompt the tool to explore multiple perspectives on the issue, ensuring you have considered various viewpoints and their implications. You could ask for relevant examples and evidence that could strengthen your arguments, while using the GAI to test the logical consistency of your reasoning. Leverage the tool's ability to spot gaps in argumentation and to map the relationships between different elements of your argument. Throughout this process, maintain an iterative dialogue with the GAI, keeping a note of how you refine your prompts based on its responses and your critical evaluation of them.
- Evaluates suggested argument structures for:
- Logical coherence
- Completeness
- Relevance to the topic
- Strength of connections between components
- Questions the GAI's suggested counterarguments by:
- Checking for logical fallacies
- Verifying factual claims
- Assessing relevance to their position
- Critically examines suggested examples by:
- Verifying accuracy
- Testing applicability
- Evaluating strength of support for arguments
- Independently identifies:
- Additional perspectives not mentioned
- Context-specific factors
- Discipline-specific considerations
- Argument mapping and visualisation
- Recognition of logical fallacies
- Understanding of argument structure principles
- Critical analysis of counter-positions
- Evaluation of evidence quality
- Identification of implicit assumptions
- Integration of multiple perspectives
- Enhanced prompt engineering for complex topics
- Metacognitive awareness of reasoning processes
You can use GAI tools collaboratively to discuss better phrasing, scholarly writing style (e.g. how best to incorporate citations, and how many, etc.) but this should remain at the generic level and not include your own written work.
- Reviews writing for:
- Flow
- Consistency
- Academic coventions
- Organisation
- Accuracy of technical terms
- Backing up arguments with approriate citations
- Enhanced academic vocabulary
- Recognition of effective academic writing patterns
- Understanding of discipline-specific conventions
- Improved sentence structure variation
- Better paragraph organization
- Increased awareness of audience expectations
Collaborate with GAI to firstly request complex conceptual explanations from diverse perspectives, then cross reference these against academic texts (found via the UHI library). Compare and contrast the findings.
- Compare multiple GAI explanations
- Cross-reference with academic texts
- Develop personal critical interpretation
- Theoretical analysis
- Multi-perspective thinking
- Conceptual integration skills
Collaborate with the GAI tool to evaluate various methodological approaches, their strengths and limitations, and their appropriateness for your specific research context. Use this dialogue to understand the practical implications of different methodological choices and to identify potential challenges in implementation (pros and cons).
- Evaluate suggested methodologies
- Alignment with objectives
- Feasability
- Ethics
- Understanding research method selection criteria
- Underlying assumptions
- Data gathering requirements
- Potential limitations
- Demonstrate methodological reasoning
- Recognition of research design principles
- Evaluation of method suitability
- Assessment of practical constraints
- Identification of ethical considerations
- Development of research planning skills
Collaborate with GAI tools to identify best practices in areas relevant to taught postgraduate students, such as: project management (which includes time management, organisation, planning and goal setting), and communication skills (which includes writing, data visualisation, and presentation skills as well as interpersonal and networking skills).
Overarching principles
- Use GAI to get the ball rolling; “Use GAI as a starting point, not a destination” (Claude AI).
- Maintain academic integrity – keep good records of all your interactions with GAI tools. Never lose sight of the idea that taking shortcuts never helps in the long run.
- Develop independent scholarship – it is possible, through the collaborative approaches described above to get to the point where you are generating original intellectual contributions, thinking critically beyond existing knowledge. As you do so, reflect on your thinking as this will help you to demonstrate your intellectual journey (and prove that GAI did not do the work for you, e.g. think about how you challenged the suggested perspectives, identified gaps in GAI-generated thinking, brought in personal experience).
- Use technology to enhance, not replace, thinking.
Key recommendations
- Always be transparent
- Critically evaluate any GAI contributions
- Demonstrate your own personal intellectual work
- Develop meta-cognitive awareness (thinking about thinking). Reflective journals are good for this, especially if GAI use is part of the process (think about my interpretations, assumptions, etc.). A meta-cognitive approach differs from a traditional one in that it involves questioning the information source, personalising the process and thinking about adaptation. Keep notes, discuss with others, practice critical questioning.
Next
Let's look at the GAI tools that are approved for student use in detail.
UHI approved tools
It is incumbent upon teaching staff that they are aware of what students need to do in order to use particicular tools, and direct them to where the information can be found.
On the page below, students are given a link to the student spreadsheet, they are also given direct links to the ten tools currently approved for their use. When you are introducing these tools to them, consider sharing a few possible scenarios of how these could be used in class, for example seeking literature to support an argument, checking and improving upon sentence construction, getting help with planning a project or presentation.
Be very clear from the beginning about how you want their interactions with these tools to be recorded and acknowledged.
We have a spreadsheet that lists the GAI tools approved for student use. If you are instructed by your tutor/lecturer that you can use a GAI tool, before you use the tool for the first time, you must visit the spreadsheet to make sure:
- it has been approved,
- you meet the age requirements, and
- you have read the terms and conditions.
Important notes
Data protection
If you are creating an account, use your UHI email address but do not use your UHI password (create a new, unique one for each tool). There are many fake GAI tools/sites designed to capture your information, passwords, and put malware on your device. Never use your UHI password to register for any external service. To protect your device from malware, viruses etc., you must ensure your device meets UHI’s minimum specifications: Information for Students - Buying your own device.
Envirnmental impact
Before using GAI tools, consider the environmental impact. GAI tools use high amounts of energy and water. For some GAI tools/sites, it takes the same amount of electricity to create one image as it does to charge your mobile phone. Plan your use of GAI in advance if you can, to make focused use of GAI for the specific tasks you want to use it for. Also ask yourself, would a search engine work just as well? Have you used library search or used online chat to speak to a librarian?
Click on the headings below for more information.
Described by Microsoft as an ‘AI companion’, Copilot in Bing is capable of providing information, creating images, working with code and engaging in conversation. Copilot in Bing comes under the umbrella of our institutional contract with Microsoft. One benefit of this is that, when logged into Copilot in Bing, your interactions are protected1.
Copilot in Bing features a variety of options for you to prompt, based on the kind of output you are looking for, this includes Notebook view, where your prompts can go up to 18,000 characters (approx. 3000 words). This is significantly higher than most tools.
1When Microsoft says your data is protected in Copilot in Bing, it means that your chat data is encrypted both in transit and at rest, and Microsoft does not retain your prompts or responses. Furthermore, this data is not used to train the underlying large language models, ensuring the privacy and security of your information.
A free version of OpenAI’s Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) model, designed for natural language processing and understanding. ChatGPT 4o, a product of OpenAI, can produce textual outputs in a variety of formats and can work with computer code and multiple programming languages. File uploads are possible with ChatGPT 4o.
Important
Before using this tool, please read their Terms of use and Privacy policy. It is crucial that you are aware of the implications of your actions. For example, uploading a file* might give the company rights to use this information. Additionally, creating an account could allow them to contact you for marketing purposes, possibly using automated systems.
*If uploading files please do not include any personal information – this includes metadata (e.g. creation date, modification date, author, file size, file type), as this could lead to unintended sharing and potentially expose the information to unauthorised access. To remove metadata from a Word document or other Microsoft files, go to File > Info. Please note: not all elements of metadata can be removed from files – if you are uncertain about uploading a file, do not do it.
An AI-powered search engine and chatbot. Notably fast in its response times, Phind can be used for providing detailed, step-by-step solutions to technical questions, offering code examples, and assisting with debugging issues. The quality of its auto-generated follow-up question suggestions is a notable feature of Phind, allowing conversations to carry on and even branch out.
Important
Before using this tool, please read their Terms of use and Privacy policy. It is crucial that you are aware of the implications of your actions. For example, uploading a file* might give the company rights to use this information. Additionally, creating an account could allow them to contact you for marketing purposes, possibly using automated systems.
*If uploading files please do not include any personal information – this includes metadata (e.g. creation date, modification date, author, file size, file type), as this could lead to unintended sharing and potentially expose the information to unauthorised access. To remove metadata from a Word document or other Microsoft files, go to File > Info. Please note: not all elements of metadata can be removed from files – if you are uncertain about uploading a file, do not do it.
Claude is an AI assistant from Anthropic, designed to assist users, via chat prompts, in a variety of tasks involving language, reasoning, analysis, and coding. The interface puts more focus than some on your previous chats. When you log back in, clicking on any one of your previous chats instantly brings back the full conversaion chain, allowing you to continue the discussion. *File uploads are possible (max 5 x 10mb).
Important
Before using this tool, please read their Terms of use and Privacy policy. It is crucial that you are aware of the implications of your actions. For example, uploading a file* might give the company rights to use this information. Additionally, creating an account could allow them to contact you for marketing purposes, possibly using automated systems.
*If uploading files please do not include any personal information – this includes metadata (e.g. creation date, modification date, author, file size, file type), as this could lead to unintended sharing and potentially expose the information to unauthorised access. To remove metadata from a Word document or other Microsoft files, go to File > Info. Please note: not all elements of metadata can be removed from files – if you are uncertain about uploading a file, do not do it.
Similar to Claude, Perplexity gives quick, referenced, answers to questions. Notably, it draws attention to the sources it uses and divides feedback into different formats, like text, imagery and video. Like others, it offers auto-generated follow-up questions that can help you to dig deeper into a subject. Focus feature allows you to restrict search results using filters like Academic and Video.
Note from the Library Service
Before using AI tools like Elicit, Perplexity, or Semantic Scholar, remember that the UHI library service offers a wealth of curated, high-quality resources. Our extensive subscriptions provide access to a vast range of academic materials through Library Search and other online collections, carefully selected to meet your study and research needs.
To make the most of these resources, we highly recommend installing the Lean Library browser extension. This tool ensures that UHI resources are easily discoverable even when you are searching through platforms like Google or Google Scholar. By beginning your research in the UHI library, you may find all the relevant and authoritative materials you need, saving you time and providing more accurate results.
Important
Before using this tool, please read their Terms of use and Privacy policy. It is crucial that you are aware of the implications of your actions. For example, uploading a file* might give the company rights to use this information. Additionally, creating an account could allow them to contact you for marketing purposes, possibly using automated systems.
*If uploading files please do not include any personal information – this includes metadata (e.g. creation date, modification date, author, file size, file type), as this could lead to unintended sharing and potentially expose the information to unauthorised access. To remove metadata from a Word document or other Microsoft files, go to File > Info. Please note: not all elements of metadata can be removed from files – if you are uncertain about uploading a file, do not do it.
Sematic Scholar is a library search tool. Note: It is recommended that you use UHI's Library search first before using this tool as that will give you direct access to books and journals, databases etc., that are available to UHI students.
Searches within this tool only interrogate research documents (currently over 218 million ‘papers from all fields of science’). Offered freely to the world by Paul Allen's (Microsoft founder) Allen Institute for AI, this vast corpus is being used by other AI tools for powering their academic search functions.
Note from the Library Service
Before using AI tools like Elicit, Perplexity, or Semantic Scholar, remember that the UHI library service offers a wealth of curated, high-quality resources. Our extensive subscriptions provide access to a vast range of academic materials through Library Search and other online collections, carefully selected to meet your study and research needs.
To make the most of these resources, we highly recommend installing the Lean Library browser extension. This tool ensures that UHI resources are easily discoverable even when you are searching through platforms like Google or Google Scholar. By beginning your research in the UHI library, you may find all the relevant and authoritative materials you need, saving you time and providing more accurate results.
Important
Before using this tool, please read their Terms of use and Privacy policy. It is crucial that you are aware of the implications of your actions. For example, creating an account could allow them to contact you for marketing purposes, possibly using automated systems.
Satlas is a platform (again provided free by the Allen Institute for AI) for visualizing and downloading global geospatial data products generated by AI using satellite images. Currently, it includes three types of data: marine infrastructure (offshore wind turbines and platforms), renewable energy infrastructure (onshore wind turbines and solar farms), and tree cover, but they hope to include many more over time. They hope that this data will be useful for earth and environmental scientists, as well as for organizations working in a variety of geospatial domains.
Important
Before using this tool, please read their Terms of use and Privacy policy. It is crucial that you are aware of the implications of your actions. For example, creating an account could allow them to contact you for marketing purposes, possibly using automated systems.
Elicit is a research assistant. It is not designed to operate like a chatbot (e.g. ChatGPT). Three of its advertised features are that it can offer single sentence abstracts of lengthy academic articles, that it can help you select relevant papers (and automatically search for related ones), and that it can extract particular data from papers and tabulate that for you. It does have a free account (which gives 5000 'credits' - these credits do not renew but one search equates to approx. 7 credits, so they should last a while).
Note from the Library Service
Before using AI tools like Elicit, Perplexity, or Semantic Scholar, remember that the UHI library service offers a wealth of curated, high-quality resources. Our extensive subscriptions provide access to a vast range of academic materials through Library Search and other online collections, carefully selected to meet your study and research needs.
To make the most of these resources, we highly recommend installing the Lean Library browser extension. This tool ensures that UHI resources are easily discoverable even when you are searching through platforms like Google or Google Scholar. By beginning your research in the UHI library, you may find all the relevant and authoritative materials you need, saving you time and providing more accurate results.
Important
Before using this tool, please read their Terms of use and Privacy policy. It is crucial that you are aware of the implications of your actions. For example, uploading a file* might give the company rights to use this information. Additionally, creating an account could allow them to contact you for marketing purposes, possibly using automated systems.
*If uploading files please do not include any personal information – this includes metadata (e.g. creation date, modification date, author, file size, file type), as this could lead to unintended sharing and potentially expose the information to unauthorised access. To remove metadata from a Word document or other Microsoft files, go to File > Info. Please note: not all elements of metadata can be removed from files – if you are uncertain about uploading a file, do not do it.
Similar to Elicit, SciSpace is a research assistant with access to over 270m academic papers. It is designed to help you select conduct literature reviews, create brief summaries with citations, and discover related relevant papers. An interesting filter you can choose is to view only open access journal content (this way you are guaranteed full text access).
Note from the Library Service
Before using AI tools like Elicit, Perplexity, or Semantic Scholar, remember that the UHI library service offers a wealth of curated, high-quality resources. Our extensive subscriptions provide access to a vast range of academic materials through Library Search and other online collections, carefully selected to meet your study and research needs.
To make the most of these resources, we highly recommend installing the Lean Library browser extension. This tool ensures that UHI resources are easily discoverable even when you are searching through platforms like Google or Google Scholar. By beginning your research in the UHI library, you may find all the relevant and authoritative materials you need, saving you time and providing more accurate results.
Important
Before using this tool, please read their Terms of use and Privacy policy. It is crucial that you are aware of the implications of your actions. For example, uploading a file* might give the company rights to use this information. Additionally, creating an account could allow them to contact you for marketing purposes, possibly using automated systems.
*If uploading files please do not include any personal information – this includes metadata (e.g. creation date, modification date, author, file size, file type), as this could lead to unintended sharing and potentially expose the information to unauthorised access. To remove metadata from a Word document or other Microsoft files, go to File > Info. Please note: not all elements of metadata can be removed from files – if you are uncertain about uploading a file, do not do it.
Leonardo.Ai is an image creation tool. Similar to other image creators you can pre-select 'platform', style and contrast. The results are rapid, compared to some other tools. Their free version gives you 150 tokens/day (usually it 'costs' 14 tokens per 4 image set). Bonus feature: Hover over anything in their Community Creations gallery to see the prompt. This can be a great way of honing your prompting skills.
Important
Before using this tool, please read their Terms of use and Privacy policy. It is crucial that you are aware of the implications of your actions. For example, creating an image might give the company rights to use this. Additionally, creating an account could allow them to contact you for marketing purposes, possibly using automated systems.
Activity: Hands-on practice
The activity below is designed to let you get some hands-on practice with UHI approved GAI tools.
Instructions
It's very straightforward:
- Select the tool that you want to practice with from the dropdown menu below, then
- Click Generate Random Question.
The idea then is that you use the selected tool to solve the question (you can also compare and contrast the ways that different tools handle the same question). You might also want to try a variety of prompt engineering techniques. The questions feature hints to help you with strategy. It could be that the tool you pick is not the best choice for answering the prompt - this is fine, feel free to switch to a more appropriate one.
Notes: The questions often mention specific subjects, if you wish to swap that subject out for one you teach, feel free. This tool is mainly intended to help save you time coming up with prompts to practice with. Also, it could be that the tool you pick is not the best choice for answering the prompt - this is fine, just switch to a more appropriate one.
The activity below can also be found online.
Referencing GAI
Important note: If a tutor/lecturer allows GAI use, they should be open and encouraging about it, and acknowledge their own use of GAI. As Diaz (2024) states "As with any new, potentially transformative technology, the best outcomes for AI will be achieved when community members come together to share information, ideas, concerns, and solutions in an evolving, uncertain space." If you are open about GAI, students will behave the same way. However, students who feel that they are only being allowed to use GAI grudgingly, or that they are being looked down on for lacking originality, are less likely to act with integrity. They may well still use the tools, but they won't acknowledge it.
In August 2023, the UHI Harvard referencing style and guide was replaced by Harvard Cite Them Right (12th edition). Cite Them Right, is the university's official support tool for constructing references correctly (including GAI-related references).
Access Cite Them Right
Click on the following link to access Cite Them Right (Note: you might be asked for your UHI login credentials).
The link above will take you to the overall home page. From there, where it says 'Choose your referencing style', select Harvard*. Next, scroll down to Digital and Internet. Under Software you will find 'Generative AI'.
*Harvard is the standard for most students at UHI; however, if you are not sure which style to use, read the Libguide: Referencing, and RefWorks and EndNote. After that, if you are still not sure, please ask your tutor/lecturer.
Examples of GAI-related references
Note: advice about citing and referencing AI tools is constantly evolving. Cite Them Right covers two forms of GAI-generated content: content that can be viewed online via a public url*, and content that is only available to you (as the account holder).
*If a GAI tool's prompt results can be viewed via a public url this will usually be found in the Share function of the interface. You can test the share link using a private/incognito browser window. Not all approved tools produce public urls; ChatGPT and Perplexity do, but Copilot in Bing does not.
Content with public urls
If the generative AI material is available online, The Cite Them Right website tells you can cite it as an electronic version of a source (such as an artwork or article).
In-text citation
The AI-generated flower (Shutterstock AI, 2023) ...
Reference list
Shutterstock AI (2023) Photo of pond with lotus flower [Digital art]. Available at: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-generated/photo-pond-lotus-flower-2252080005 (Accessed: 31 March 2023).
Content without public urls
If the AI’s end product (for example use of ChatGPT in conversation) is only available to you, the Cite Them Right website directs you to cite your use of AI as a personal communication and include a description of the AI generated material in your in-text citation.
In-text citation
When prompted by the author, ChatGPT responded with a ‘definition of academic integrity’ (OpenAI ChatGPT, 2023). A copy of this response is in Appendix 1.
Reference list
OpenAI ChatGPT (2023) ChatGPT response to John Stephens, 2 April.
Academic integrity
Citing your sources is a key element of academic integrity, required of both teaching staff and students at UHI. Correctly formatted citations and references are examples of the kind of transparency that is required at the university. Typical sources of material requiring to be referenced include printed books and electronic journals - but this list also now includes content created wholly or in part with the assistance of GAI.
A failure to cite the work of others, including AI-related sources, is considered plagiarism, which is a form of academic misconduct. Guidance on how to stay on the right side such rules is covered in: Essential Student Skills: Referencing, Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct.
Supplemental resource: A video introduction to Cite Them Right
The UHI library has a wealth of general information and guidance on Cite Them Right in their Referencing, Refworks and EndNote LibGuide.
The Cite Them Right web site offers a wealth of interactive resources designed to get you familiar with referencing and plagiarism. The following video is aimed mainly at students but it does cover the broad strokes of what the tool is capable of.
Additional guidance
Currently the links below are nested under the single heading 'Guidance'. Future editions of this resource may see some sub-division of this.
The following list represents just a snapshot of the enormous amount of guidance on GAI out there! Feel free to branch out from these to other places. In fact, asking the GAI tools themselves for guidance on how to make the most of them isn't a bad strategy.
UHI: UHI AI policy and associated guidance
JISC: Innovation > Artificial Intelligence
Scottish AI Alliance: Living with AI free online course
Contact North: AI in Higher Education Resource Hub
Harvard metaLAB: AI Pedagogy Project
AI for Education: Resource Hub
Australian Framework for Generative AI in Schools
Understanding AI [blog/newsletter]: Large language models, explained with a minimum of math and jargon
Kathryn Conrad: Critical AI Literacy for Educators (categorised links to resources on AI literacy, ethical issues, policy, etc.)
Glossary
Click on any term below to read a full explanation.
Source: Combination of results from Copilot and https://aipedagogy.org/guide/starter/
References
Center for AI Safety (2024) An overview of catastrophic AI risks. Available at: https://www.safe.ai/ai-risk (Accessed 15 August 2024).
Diaz, V. (2024) Exploring the Opportunities and Challenges with Generative AI. Available at: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2024/2/exploring-the-opportunities-and-challenges-with-generative-ai (Accessed 26 June 2024).
Marr, B. (2023) The most thought-provoking generative artificial intelligence quotes of 2023. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/11/29/the-most-thought-provoking-generative-artificial-intelligence-quotes-of-2023/?sh=537e6d477afa (Accessed 20 June 2024).
Hardman, P. (2024a) The AI Magpie Effect. Available at https://drphilippahardman.substack.com/p/the-ai-magpie-effect (Accessed 17 February 2024).
Stanford Graduate School of Education (2024) Is AI new? Available at: https://craft.stanford.edu/resource/is-ai-new/ (Accessed 8 April 2024).
Downloadable version
Download
To download a PDF version of this resource, click on the following: UHI student training: Generative AI (GAI) - information for unit and module leaders
