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AI tools: What can I use? (students)

This portal provides access to information around generative AI tools - how to use them appropriately at the University and general considerations around their use.

Using AI with your assessments - The University's position

From Study essentials - AI in Assessment:

  • Make sure that any work you submit for assessment is your own original work.
  • Follow your course coordinator's instructions around the use of genAI. Do not use genAI in any way that contradicts their instructions - if you are unsure, ask.
  • Please make sure that you retain drafts/versions of your progress prior to assessment submission (including before and after any use of genAI). This will help if your course coordinator wants to discuss your construction of an assessment item with you. See How do I turn on AutoSave? and View previous versions of a file for Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint or Word.
  • Acknowledging your use of AI tools is key. If you have used genAI in your assessment, make sure your use is correctly referenced.
  • AI detection software may ​be used to review any written work you submit for assessment.
  • Make sure you understand expectations around academic integrity. Misuse of AI tools may be considered a breach of the University's Student Conduct Rule and could result in disciplinary action.

Students should read the University's Policy on the use of Generative AI in Teaching, Learning and Assessment to better understand their responsibilities around academic integrity and the use of AI in courses and assessment. The following PDF slides (April 2024) present the University’s overarching position on the use of AI by students. Scroll on the right:

What to check for in your course

Your course coordinator should provide guidance around the use of genAI in your course's assessable and other tasks. You may see the following visual cues:

Image for AI not permitted in assessment
Assessment items where generative artificial intelligence must not be used at all.
Image for AI somewhat permitted in assessment
Students may use generative AI in preparing their assignment. Any use must be correctly acknowledged.
Image for AI expected in assessment
Use of generative AI is an explicit part of the assessment. Any use must be correctly acknowledged.

 

Note that options for use may vary within your course for different assessments. Don't assume that all assessments will allow for use of genAI tools. Do not use genAI in any way that contradicts instructions from your course coordinators - if you are unsure, ask.

Using genAI ethically for your studies

Some ways that you could use genAI tools ethically (within the parameters allowed for students). Ask or use the tool to:

  • Help you learn a language, or translate content from English into your first language to assist understanding.

Here's an example prompt to try, after which you can have a whole conversation where ChatGPT will answer what you write (in French or English) in French, followed by an English translation. PROMPT: "Have a conversation with me. Please write your answers in French and then add an English translation. I heard it will rain later." OUTPUT: "[text in French, then translation] It seems that it will rain later. That's a shame, I'd like to go out for a walk."

Screenshot from Generative artificial intelligence technologies and teaching and learning by Monash University, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

  • Create a summary of information, policies, strategies, etc., to help with understanding or learning.

Copilot summary of Closing the Gap strategy, based on the prompt: "Tell me the key points of Australia's Closing the Gap strategy"

Screenshot taken from Copilot, response generated 25 March 2024 [response shown is incomplete for space reasons]

  • Explain complex concepts in a variety of ways, or explain unfamiliar jargon.  
  • Generate responses to study concepts, then compare and contrast those responses to what you have already learned.
  • Generate quiz questions or flashcards to boost your recall of content.
  • Help you create study plans and schedules.

Our Writing prompts page includes other ethical uses: 12 ways to use genAI prompts for learning

 

For more see:

Academic integrity and genAI in your assessments

AskUON knowledgebase articles on the use of genAI

Visualising the 1800s or designing wedding invitations: 6 ways you can use AI beyond generating text (The Conversation, April 2024)  

University access to Copilot

The University provides free access for staff and students to the premium version of Copilot; sign in using your University Microsoft account details. 

Copilot can also be accessed via the icon in the Edge browser, top right, along from the URL bar.

 Copilot icon

Copilot draws from GPT-4 and is connected to the Internet so its responses have more chance of using up-to-date sources. Copilot also provides links to where it obtained information, which can aid in checking for authority and accuracy (this is important to do!). Image generation is also possible via Copilot's integration Designer (powered by DALL-E).

The University's access to Copilot provides enterprise protection for your data and does not use your prompts to train the language model or system. Your prompts and Copilot's responses are now saved for 90 days, under enterprise data protection.

It's important to check for the shield icon top-right of window to ensure that you're logged in through the University's access. If you hover your mouse over the shield it should read: "Enterprise data protection applies to this chat", as shown right.

MS Copilot security icon

Update 21 August 2025: Microsoft has added opt-in access to GPT-5. To enable GPT-5, users currently need to click the button shown right. The button will then display as 'GPT-5 On'.

Try GPT-5 button

Our Writing Prompts page has information from Microsoft on how to get the best out of Copilot.

To learn more about Copilot:

Using Writing Feedback+ (Studiosity)

Writing Feedback+ is the free AI-powered feedback service that provides 24/7 personalised feedback on writing, grammar, structure, and critical thinking. The service is available via the Studiosity learning support platform (see Need Help? in Canvas) and allows for unlimited submissions.

While Writing Feedback+ is AI-based, it is not a generation tool like Copilot/ChatGPT/etc. No changes are made to student submissions, as can be the case with other tools that create edits or 'fixes'. This service simply provides helpful advice and suggestions on how to improve the submitted text. Students have control over changes to their writing, making this an ethical and responsible choice for all written assignments. In addition, student submissions are not used to train the platform so data security is not an issue.

Learn more, including how to connect to Writing Feedback+

Using Grammarly

Language editing tools, such as Grammarly, can be useful to improve the expression of academic writing. However, it’s always best to check with your course coordinator whether such tools are allowable in a particular assignment.

In particular, the genAI functionality that Grammarly now incorporates should only be used if your Course Coordinator has permitted use of generative AI in the assessment. If you are not sure, you should always ask your Course Coordinator.

If AI is not allowed in a particular assessment, you should make sure that Grammarly's genAI settings are turned off via the Feature Customisation page for your account before use.

Turnitin’s Artificial Intelligence Detection may flag use of Grammarly in written submissions, and drafts of your work can be a useful part of any discussions around your learning and assessment. If you are using Grammarly or similar tools, make sure that you always retain drafts/versions of your work as evidence of how you have constructed your final submission.

See How do I turn on AutoSave? and View previous versions of a file for Microsoft products such as Excel, PowerPoint or Word. Or, you could save a copy of your original draft under a different file name and use this copy with Grammarly so that the AI changes are restricted to a distinct version.

Please note that AI features offered by tools like Grammarly, such as 'grader' and 'detector', should not be relied upon for accuracy. Course materials, including assessment documents and rubrics, must not be uploaded to any AI tools unless the tool is endorsed by the University (see Uploading files to genAI).

AskUON knowledgebase article on Grammarly

View the Academic Integrity Module

Uploading files to genAI

There are important considerations around uploading files to genAI tools.

Data security/privacy

  • GenAI systems often use user inputs as part of their training data, so if you are using a platform without data security, you should be careful with your assessment files, as they could become part of a later output and used by someone else.
  • The University's enterprise access to Copilot includes data security so use of Copilot is recommended.

Copyright

University-owned materials

  • The University owns course materials, computer works, and materials created by professional staff, as per our IP Policy. University owned materials or information should not be shared with unapproved platforms (as per the Copyright Compliance Policy), including with genAI.
  • The University's enterprise access to Copilot has been approved for use with University materials by DTS due to its data security, the icon for which is visible top right of screen when you are logged in.

Cultural considerations

Uploading your own information to genAI

As noted above for files, data security/privacy is a big concern for genAI systems. To ensure that any information you provide in an input does not become part of the AI tool's training data, you should check what is being shared, and whether you can opt out.

The JISC National Centre for AI (UK) has a great summary to help with navigating the terms and conditions of genAI tools across text, image, audio and video generation, plus others, that makes it easier to see what is being shared and whether you can opt out. It's also important to check after any updates/upgrades to the platform that you are still not sahring your information more broadly, otherwise it could become part of a later output and used by someone else.

Note that the University's enterprise access to Copilot includes data security that is highly visible when you log in, top right of screen.

To be safe, it's always best to limit any personal or potentially sensitive information shared with a genAI tool, so being careful when creating CVs and personal or oral histories. Consideration should also be given to uploading interview transcripts and similar materials.

Additional considerations for HDR students

HDR students may have additional considerations from working in research spaces. HDR students and their supervisors should read the guidance for Generative Artificial Intelligence and Higher Degrees by Research (PDF). See also our page on AI for Research.

Theses

  • Don't share your thesis material with any genAI system unless you know that data security is in place - your thesis belongs to you and you don't want the thesis becoming part of genAI learning materials before it's released.
  • Ensure that you are transparent in any use of you make of genAI with your thesis.

Articles and papers

Other Intellectual Property (IP) - research & organisational

  • Material from patents you are writing should not be shared with genAI as it could potentially affect your ability to secure the patent (see Data security/privacy, above).
  • Materials owned by the University under our IP Policy (including from University projects) should not be shared with unapproved platforms (as per the Copyright Compliance Policy) - this includes genAI. If in doubt, limit your use to the University's enterprise access to Copilot.

How can we improve?

We'd love to hear your feedback on this portal. If you think changes could be made, or more information added, please visit our feedback page.

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