Generative AI for Students
The Essential Guide to Using Artificial Intelligence for Study at University
Student Success
Can Generative AI help you study? Absolutely. Ready to learn how? This is the book for you.
This authoritative guide puts a study buddy at your fingertips, equipping you with practical knowledge to leverage Generative AI as a powerful study aid. Exploring a wide spectrum of topics, from demystifying jargon and fostering critical thinking to addressing special educational needs, diversity, inclusion and academic integrity, this is your essential guide to enhancing your academic skill set and succeeding in your studies.
By the end of this book you will:
- Become critically literate at using Generative AI
- Understand what the ethical use of Generative AI looks like in practice
- Learn how to use Generative AI to enhance traditional study methods
- Encounter real-life case studies and worked-through examples to put theory into practice
- Gain a comprehensive grounding in how to engage with Generative AI Tools
Praised for its accessibility, this book considers the needs and goals of neurotypical and neurodivergent students throughout.
David Meechan is a Senior Lecturer in Education and member of the Centre for Active Digital Education (CADE) at the University of Northampton. He is an active member of the AI Special Interest Group within CADE.
I've been looking for a good book that helps students understand how to use Generative AI tools in the classroom. Fortunately this one ticks all the boxes - I really liked how it talks about using tools such as ChatGPT and Co-pilot to get inspiration for student work and how AI can be used as a personal tutor to help students focus on what they're being asked to do. The author takes a positive view of how we can use these new tools productively without losing site of our own creativity or focus. I'd give it 10 out of 10 and will be recommending it to my fellow teachers.
David Meechan’s Generative AI for Students is an incredibly accessible and well-structured guide that demystifies the use of AI in academia. Written in a clear, engaging style, it offers a practical approach to integrating AI into university studies, making it an essential read for students looking to enhance their academic work efficiently and ethically.
As mentioned before, one of the book’s standout strengths is its easy-to-follow format. Meechan doesn’t just introduce AI tools—he explains which tools, where and how they can be most helpful, from brainstorming ideas and conducting research to refining drafts and interpreting feedback. The book highlights AI’s role as a study buddy, a Socratic-style revision aid, and even a skill-building companion (including its value for SEN students), all while stressing the importance of maintaining academic integrity.
Additionally, the test your knowledge quizzes at the end of each chapter were really useful. They helped reinforce key points, ensuring I wasn’t just passively absorbing information but actually understanding how to apply AI effectively and ethically in my studies. Furthermore, I found Meechan’s discussion on AI usage trends—high-achieving students being more likely to engage with AI, a fascinating observation. His comparison of AI to electricity also stood out, emphasising its growing inevitability in education.
Overall, this guide is a must-have for any student keen to use AI effectively and responsibly. Highly recommend!
A must-read for anyone working with students and/or wanting to better understand AI
This book is essential reading—not just for those working with students (though if you are, you really should read it!), but for anyone looking to understand AI better. It’s a user-friendly and insightful guide that breaks down how to use AI ethically and responsibly.
What really stood out to me was the emphasis on responsible AI use. The book offers practical advice and clear guidance, making it easy to see how AI can be a powerful tool when used thoughtfully. Highly recommended!
As AI becomes increasingly more widely used, it’s more and more important for students to know how to use it properly. This provides a thorough and detailed explanation of how GenAI can support studying without crossing any ethical lines or getting you into trouble. It covers everything from introducing AI tools, using it to help plan assignments, refine study notes to making sense of feedback on assignments, as well as providing useful examples for many of the tip, with what was input from the user and the outcome from the AI. It also makes a good case for using AI, comparing the “old” method of studying to more modern practices. Rather than focusing on one specific AI tool (like ChatGPT), it gives general advice and refers to several different AIs, so readers can pick the AI that works best for them. This also means the book stays relevant even as AI keeps developing. If you’re student (or if not!), this book is a must-read to level-up your study game and improve the quality of your assignments.
This volume provides an interesting and useful volume for supporting both students and staff in identify where the use of artificial intelligence in assessment in Higher Education may be appropriate and / or ethical.
The volume appropriately identifies that insitutional differences will have an impact on the issues of appropriate and acceptable use of AI. Given the HE sector differences it will take some time before a general concensus is agreed - if ever. In this environment the volume does provide a good basic approach to the issue of student use of AI in assessment and study.
With the pace of technological development, the specifics of AI use will change, but the volume's general approach and guideance will have longer utilisation than the specific forms of AI.
Using it to support students with their studies and educating them on how they can incorporate AI into their studying and assessments without commiting an academic offence
a good introduction for students
