author:
Svitlana Kutsepal (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5528-7438)
Relevance of the research. Although the COVID-19 pandemic now seems like a distant memory and has been overshadowed by the grim reality of a full-scale invasion, it was precisely the quarantine restrictions imposed during the pandemic that brought to light a significant number of social issues, including the challenges of distance learning. The transition to distance learning has exacerbated issues of violations of academic integrity by students – the widespread use of technologies and artificial intelligence capabilities (Chat GPT, Compose AI, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot Search, Adobe Podcast) in the educational process and educational-scientific activities, as well as academic fraud: dishonest borrowing, appropriation, and use of others’ ideas and statements, plagiarism, and breaches of confidentiality.
Problem statement. The Institute of Education in the realities of the digital society is forced to respond to a number of challenges in the educational process and educational and scientific activity, in particular, the problem of monitoring the educational achievements of higher education students and their compliance with the principles of academic integrity.
Analysis of recent research and publications. The issues of academic integrity, its principles, and the standards for upholding it in the context of distance learning – a consequence of the pandemic – are being studied by scholars in the fields of education, sociocultural studies, philosophy, and law.
The issues of distance education and academic integrity are addressed in the works of the following researchers: O. V. Galkin [3], N. V. Kamardash [2], K. Kovalenko [7], O. M. Makovey, R. G. Makovey [8], D. Andres, M. Moritz, W. Oestreicher [4], R. J. Fendler, J. M. Godbey [5].
Despite the large number of studies on the phenomenon of distance education, the issues and principles of academic integrity, the use of artificial intelligence technologies and their impact on the educational process, these topics continue to generate keen interest in both domestic and Western academic discourse.
Research task. The purpose of the article is to conduct a study of the problems of academic integrity in the domestic educational environment in the conditions of distance learning and mass use of technologies and capabilities of artificial intelligence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Main material presentation. The 21st century is a century of digital breakthroughs and digital technologies that are driving fundamental transformations in all social institutions, as well as in individuals’ consciousness and worldviews. The emergence and rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies have also significantly diversified the nature of how digital society functions.
These changes also affect the field of education, as a result of the pandemic and lockdowns – and, in the Ukrainian context, full-scale aggression – offline learning has rapidly shifted to a remote format, transforming into learning that utilizes gadgets and information and computer technologies, resulting in changes to curricula and the modernization of teaching methods, the development of online versions of educational modules, and the transformation of traditional lectures and seminars into webinars (an information and communication technology-based learning method involving interactive remote classes in a synchronous virtual classroom) and web seminars.
Online learning has become possible thanks to the development and widespread adoption of remote communication and data-sharing platforms, the most commonly used of which in Ukraine’s educational sector are Zoom, Google Meet, Google Classroom, and Microsoft Teams.
It is becoming evident that online learning is extremely promising; it frees participants in the educational process from spatial constraints, as it enables participation in educational communication from any country – the only requirement being access to devices and the internet – and the ability to record classes allows students to review them at their convenience. However, distance learning significantly exacerbates the challenges of monitoring the academic performance of higher education students and, consequently, ensuring their adherence to the principles of academic integrity.
According to the Law of Ukraine “On Education”, academic integrity is the set of ethical principles and rules defined by this Law and other regulatory acts of Ukraine, which participants in the educational process must follow during learning, teaching, and conducting scientific (creative) activities in order to ensure trust in learning outcomes and/or scientific (creative) achievements. The legislature recognizes the following as the means and principles intended to ensure academic integrity: the adequacy and good faith of citation practices in scholarly texts, compliance with copyright and related rights legislation, the provision of accurate information, and the objectivity of the assessment of learning outcomes.
The period of quarantine restrictions established distance learning as a response to the need for social distancing; however, in the Ukrainian context, distance learning continues to play a significant role. One of the prerequisites for a new, high-quality level of distance learning is an awareness of the need to adhere to the principles of academic integrity.
Conclusions. Distance learning has become firmly established in the domestic educational landscape during the COVID-19 pandemic. One consequence of the shift to distance learning has been an increase in violations of academic integrity by students.
While distance learning was initially perceived as a necessary response to societal challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent full-scale aggression, it is now becoming a fully-fledged form of organizing the educational process, with both advantages and disadvantages, among which the issues of academic integrity and the use of artificial intelligence tools (ChatGPT, Compose AI, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot Search, Adobe Podcast) in the educational and scientific process stand out.
Adherence to the principles of academic integrity and an understanding of the consequences of violating them must serve as a guarantee of a responsible approach to the use of artificial intelligence tools in the educational and scientific process.
Keywords: academic integrity, distance learning, webinar-based platforms, the COVID-19 pandemic, information technology, artificial intelligence.
References:
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2. Kamardash, NV 2020. ‘Filosofska refleksiia osvitnikh tendentsii metamodernu (Philosophical reflection on educational trends in the metamodern era)’, Humanitarnyi korpus: zbirnyk naukovykh statei z aktualnykh problem filosofii, kulturolohii, psykholohii, pedahohiky ta istorii. Vyp. 36, s. 40-42.
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