\n Published: 9\/10\/2024\n <\/p>\n
Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t heard, there\u2019s a new assistant in town.<\/p>\n We announced the beta launch<\/a> of our GenAI-powered Student Assistant in August \u2014 designed to personalize learning and help students take ownership of their education. You may be asking: How does this work? What about academic integrity? How did you create it, and why now?<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start at the beginning.<\/p>\n We started the journey in 2022. It took two years of surveys and studies with over 3,000 faculty and 200 students to understand classroom challenges and how GenAI can enhance learning.<\/p>\n In fact, we found 73% of faculty<\/a> feel GenAI is going to play an increasingly important role in higher education.<\/p>\n It\u2019s these insights that informed our patent-pending approach in creating the Student Assistant.<\/p>\n The Student Assistant leverages intelligent language models and Cengage-owned content to focus on a specific discipline. The GenAI-powered Student Assistant guides the students through the process of thinking critically, allowing them to come up with their own solutions. We believe it creates a better experience for the student, as it emphasizes learning over providing the answers.<\/p>\n With GenAI on the rise, plagiarism<\/a> is a top concern in higher ed. Let\u2019s be clear, this tool does not help students cheat.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why we ensured faculty alongside students helped train the Student Assistant. Students held conversations to help inform the tool, while instructors reviewed the exchanges for accuracy, depth and inputs \u2014 <\/strong>and to ensure the Student Assistant walked the students through a collaborative and critical thinking<\/a> process in an encouraging and supportive manner.<\/p>\n 56% of faculty<\/a> cited personalization as a top use case for GenAI to help enhance the learning experience.<\/p>\n The Student Assistant helps students connect with key concepts in new ways, and best of all, provides them with access to resources right when they need them, with personalized, just-in-time feedback. As one instructor put it, the Student Assistant allows \u201cevery single one of my students to have a private tutor.\u201d<\/p>\n So, even those learners who like to study in the wee hours get personalized support!<\/p>\n It\u2019s still in beta, because after all, a tool this meaningful deserves a deep, thoughtful and research-driven assessment process.<\/p>\n Coming this fall, more than 5,000 students across the country will have the opportunity to test the technology in four courses: \u201cUnderstanding Management<\/a>,\u201d \u201cOrganizational Behavior<\/a>,\u201d \u201cHuman Development\u201d<\/a> and \u201cEconomics and Macroecronomics<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Their thoughts will help us to refine the Student Assistant and expand its availability in 2025 \u2014\u00a0 and most importantly, help us develop future applications to better serve you.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n <\/div>\nFocused on what you \u2014 higher ed faculty \u2014 \u00a0and your students need most<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Not your mother\u2019s GenAI-powered assistant<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Keeping academic integrity top of mind<\/strong><\/h2>\n
On a mission to personalize learning<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Student Assistant: There\u2019s more to come <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Meet our GenAI-powered Student Assistant in this video:<\/h3>\n
<\/a>![\"Meet](\"https:\/\/blog.cengage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-09-161910.png\")
<\/a><\/h3>\nWant to know even more about how the Student Assistant personalizes learning? Read the press release.<\/h3>\n