Note: The following tip was shared as part of a 2/18/25 Faculty Development Center workshop, "Encouraging Academic Integrity in the Era of AI." Please feel free to adapt and make it your own.

Given faculty concerns about AI-assisted or even wholly-authored student papers, faculty could use a simple feature in any Google document, spreadsheet or presentation slide: its version history, which includes a summary or detailed date & time stamp of every addition or edit. As such, the goal is not to detect the presence of AI in student writing, which is currently very difficult due to “false positives,” but more so to detect the absence of originality.

Why & How This Might Work

Unlike the iterative, word-by-word or sentence-by-sentence approach of most original writing, students who use AI or plagiarized material are likely copying & pasting entirely ‘in-tact” content as “whole cloth” blocks, perhaps with minimal or even no changes before submitting as a final draft. If so, requiring students to submit a Google Doc for their paper will contain a version history that faculty can inspect. If version 1 – or any version – contains large blocks of text in a short period of time, one can reasonably assume the work is not original. More importantly, if students know that faculty know there’s a version history that can be inspected – and questioned about – maybe they will think twice.

Issues & Opportunities

• A student could just try to emulate iterative authorship, copying one word or sentence at a time -- but likely not in a hurry before a deadline, which is the use case most common to plagiarism. Still, the attempt would result in an ironic, self-inflicted penalty, by forcing the student to take time to cheat to appear not to have done so.
  

• Some students may complain that being required to use a Google Doc inhibits their creative writing process or doesn’t show “offline” musings written by hand or in other editors, including notes made on their mobile devices. However, faculty could say the Google Doc version history allows them to extend the conditions for how students are assessed over time on any assignment vs at the same time (e.g., answering an essay question on an exam). Also, all Google Docs have mobile apps.
  

• For faculty who are ok with students using AI – as an aid to counter writer’s bloc or if clearly cited in the final version – a version history could be a “teachable moment” for how, where and when to do so. Students could be asked to “name” their versions as AI or “mine” or add a comment to explain where and why they changed any AI output.

Suggested Approach

• Create a Google Doc template you ask students to copy and use for their written assignment. You could even make this a Google Assignment for submission in a Learning Management System (LMS) like Blackboard.
  

• Tell students you’ll only accept their assignment if you are a named editor/collaborator (you need editing privileges to view a Google Doc’s version history).
  

• Tell students you reserve the right to randomly inspect the version history of any Google Doc they submit as their own work. You can also require an oral interview to have students explain any version.
  

• FYI: A sample syllabus statement on use of AI by students is below (source: John Fritz, DoIT):

Recent updates to federal guidelines for digital accessibility underscore the critical need for educators to ensure that all course materials are accessible to every student.

One of the most prevalent accessibility issues in digital course materials is the lack of proper descriptions for images. According to Anthology, nearly one-third of all images flagged by Ally are simply marked as decorative without any descriptive text, which creates a barrier for students who rely on descriptions for their studies.

Properly tagging images not only meets federal guidelines, but also plays a crucial role in creating an inclusive learning environment. Alternative descriptions serve as vital information for students who use screen readers, providing them with textual explanations for images that otherwise visually conveyed. This practice not only supports students with visual impairments, but also benefits those with cognitive disabilities who might struggle to understand the context of images with additional context. 

Ally will flag images that lack a description in a Blackboard course. Instructors can enter a description themselves, mark the image as decorative, or leverage AI tools, powered by Microsoft Azure AI Vision, to scan the image and generate a suggested description. Instructors retain full control over the image and can edit the content to make corrections or clarify the information before saving it.

Image 1: Example of Ally's AI generated image description.

Note: Alternative descriptions are not applied automatically. Each suggestion requires the instructor’s review and approval to ensure that the final output aligns with the instructor’s original purpose for that image.

If the alt text does not meet the instructor’s needs, such as a complex image or diagram, ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot provide excellent tools to create detailed alternative text and long descriptions.

For example, this prompt was shared by the International Ally Users Group. It can be customized for the uploaded image according to context, function and prospective audience (e.g., students). 

When we integrate comprehensive and accurate alt text for all images, we adhere to accessibility standards and legal requirements. We also foster an inclusive and supporting learning environment where every student has the opportunity to succeed.

Providing accessible images is a crucial step to ensure inclusivity and equal access to learning. When images are properly described, students using screen readers are able to access an equitable educational environment. We use the alternative text field when placing images in documents, presentations, and in our Blackboard courses.

There are several tools available to help faculty with accessible images. 

1. Ally Course Accessibility Report provides a big picture overview of your course's accessibility score, growing content by type and identifying issues in your course that is easiest to fix. Clicking the Start button will open a panel that helps you find the images and enter alternative text for those images in your course.
2. When using images in Google Slides or Documents, you can click on the image to activate a new menu, Format Options. Select Alt Text to enter a description. Repeat this process for every image.
3. When embedding images into Microsoft Word/PowerPoint files, you can improve accessibility with a simple right-click on the image. This action will activate a menu where you can find Edit Alt Text. If the image does not contain information, such as a stylistic border, you can mark it as decorative.

What if your course uses complex images, bursting with intricate details? How can you ensure that every student, regardless of visual ability, fully grasps their significance? 

ChatGPT 4* offers powerful image input functionality, allowing you to upload an image and generate complex descriptions. With its advanced language capabilities, ChatGPT can analyze an image, identify key elements, and produce informative alternative text that conveys the essence of the image. For example, we uploaded three complex images to generate extended descriptions of 100 words or less.